Summary of Activities for
the Child-centred Family Justice Fund
2003-2005

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Appendix I:
Jurisdictional Breakdown of Activities

The following breakdown by jurisdiction highlights many of the major activities undertaken by our provincial and territorial partners through the Child-centred Family Justice Fund. While not all services offered by the jurisdictions benefit directly from funding under the Fund, as a result of receiving federal funds to contribute to certain activities and services, provincial resources are freed up to proceed with other innovative actions and activities. While this is the case for certain activities described below, all of these activities form an important part of the overall Strategy. As noted above, the services described do not constitute a comprehensive list of the family justice services that exist in a province or jurisdiction, but describe services supported by the Fund.

Newfoundland and Labrador

• Family Justice Services Western (FJSWestern) gives separating parents an alternative to the court system for the first time ever in the western region of Newfoundland and Labrador. Services include information sessions for adults on family law and parenting issues; mediation on custody, access, child support and spousal support; counselling for adults and children on separation issues; workshops on communication skills and conflict resolution; support group for children dealing with separation/divorce; automatic recalculation of child support.
• The Support Enforcement Division is currently working on developing an electronic interface with the Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics as well as with provincial applications such as the Judgement Enforcement Registry (JER) and Family Orders and Agreement Enforcement Assistance Act.
• A new component was added to the Administrative Recalculation service to allow for automatic and mandatory recalculation of all child support orders as of July 1, 2001 in accordance with section 25.1 of the Divorce Act.

Nova Scotia

• The Parent Information Program assists parents in identifying the effect of separation and divorce on children and to identify and practice ways to keep children from getting caught in the middle. The province continues to collect client feedback information in relation to its Parent Information Program.
• As part of their duties, the Conciliator acts as a high level intake person, and serves to assist negotiation between the parties and is guided by the responsibility to make appropriate referrals to services. The Conciliator also screens for violence and abuse issues that may affect the appropriateness of certain referrals and the risk of bringing the parties together to discuss issues.
• The Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) is extending many efforts to keep the Nova Scotia public informed about the MEP and its mandate. Pamphlets on the MEP services are available and are widely distributed. A Field Officer carries out investigations focused on payors who have never paid child support as ordered, are delinquent with payments and/or for whom MEP cannot find employment information. The goals of the project are to increase the enforcement rate, improve recipient satisfaction, increase confidence in the program and reduce costs to other governmental departments. The province also commissioned an examination of the performance of its MEP. The researchers analyzed existing performance measures and evaluated alternative models to the current administrative system of maintenance enforcement in Nova Scotia.
• Intake Assistants (IAs) provide information to the public on child support, custody and access issues. The IAs coordinate a triage type of service delivery by making appropriate referrals to the Parent Information Program, conciliation or mediation, screening for potential violence and identifying assistive services such as legal aid, income assistance and transition houses.
• The Nova Scotia Department of Justice has developed an Administrative Recalculation Program to be piloted in areas of the province serviced by the Supreme Court. The Recalculation Program provides for the annual recalculation of child support/maintenance orders and court registered agreements involving the basic table amount of child maintenance in sole, joint (not shared) or split custody cases.

Prince Edward Island

• Prince Edward Island has been funding its Positive Parenting from Two Homes program since March of 1999. The program is extensively promoted through a variety of media advertisements and community agencies and participation includes a copy of a Parent's Manual. A three-year evaluation considered implementation as well as impact and outcomes assessments. The evaluation indicated that participants reported a significant increase in the level of understanding of co-parenting issues, mediation and support services. Results also indicate that the program has helped with parents' adjustment to parenting from two homes and that there was a significant decrease in conflict after attending the program.
• One of the most promising activities under the Family Justice Initiatives component of the Fund, Prince Edward Island's Positive Parenting From Two Homes: For Kids! child education program builds on the parent education program developed by the same province. Objectives include educating children about separation, divorce, and having parents in two homes; providing children with age-appropriate activities through which to process their thoughts and feelings; and providing a supportive, neutral environment for children to explore their feelings. Evaluation conclusions support the continuation and expansion of the "For Kids!" program. Ninety percent of parents surveyed reported improvements in children's emotional health after attending the program.
• Mediators deal with family law issues of custody, access and child support. Participation in the mediation service is voluntary. One part-time mediator is available in Charlottetown. She also travels to sites outside of Charlottetown as required. There are also two family court counsellors who mediate cases where there is a conflict of interest and overflow. In 2003-2004, a total of 89 clients contacted the office requesting mediation services, of which 56 were screened in.
• The province has worked with the Community Legal Information Association (CLIA) to develop, organize, implement and evaluate a pilot family law information program. Existing PEI educational resources and opportunities were reviewed, key stakeholders were consulted, and the content and format of a short informational/educational family law information program for self-represented litigants in family law was developed. An evaluation tool for collecting feedback from presenters and participants at the pilot family law information program was developed. Presenters and participants were identified and contacted to participate in the pilot family law information program. An evaluation report was written, including recommendations for future delivery.
• The Administrative Recalculation of Child Support Regulations came into force in September 2003. For more information on this service, please see Support Variation/Administrative Recalculation of Child Support.

New Brunswick

• For the Sake of the Children is a parent education program designed to assist separating parents in reducing parental conflict and the negative effects it has on their children. It is offered to the public at no charge.
• The Child Support Variation Service (CSVS) is a pilot project for all cases where motions to vary child support orders are filed, both the applicant and the respondent must appear before a Conciliation Officer who meets with both parties, reviews the evidence provided, ensures necessary documentation is present and calculates a new child support amount. As part of an evaluation of the CSVS program, a legal research firm was retained to prepare and deliver an evaluation design report with survey questionnaires. The evaluation for the CSVS program will be conducted in 2004‑2005 and completed by fall 2005.
• The Court-Ordered Evaluations Support Program (C‑OESP) is a mechanism that provides financial assistance for the costs of court-ordered evaluations to qualified parties (those for whom the costs of such evaluations could cause financial hardship). C‑OESP optimizes the use of available funding to assist the maximum number of parents at the lowest possible administrative expense. Eligibility for assistance is determined by using a financial means test (sliding scale).
• Family Support Order Services (FSOS) enforces support orders for beneficiaries to ensure the financial contribution of payors. A comprehensive project to renew the FSOS encompasses a number of interrelated initiatives, including stabilization of the business application used by FSOS and its eventual replacement with a comprehensive case management system; a legislative reform package; revitalization of the Programs organizational structure, including staffing and policy and procedure revisions.
• The toll-free Family Law Information Line is staffed by a trained individual who provides callers with general family law information, such as child support guidelines information. Participants for the Parent Education Program register for classes through this toll-free line.

Québec

• Justice Quebec is pursuing an action plan with the intent to improve their operational activities and evaluate the legislative reforms to ensure that the objectives targeted by the legislation are met. Justice Quebec will continue to offer ongoing projects such as the group information sessions on family mediation, promoting the mediation program (17,000 mediation cases per year) and the Règlement sur la fixation des pensions alimentaires pour enfants (respecting Québec's model for the determination of child support)through advertisements and brochures distributed to practitioners and at various courthouses throughout the province. More information about these services is available on the Justice Québec website.
• Revenue Quebec's Maintenance Enforcement Program is promoted through an awareness campaign addressed at judicial officials, payors and recipients. They also provide additional training to the interveners involved in the Program and undertaking a feasibility study on the withdrawal of professional licenses for non-payment of child support. Revenue Quebec will also continue to make technical changes to their computer system to improve their accounting services, increase staff productivity and improve client services.

Ontario

Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG)

• The Family Law Rules are specialized rules of procedure for family law cases. Since 1999, they have applied to family law cases in the Family Court of the Superior Court of Justice ("Unified Family Court") and the Ontario Court of Justice. Effective July 1, 2004, the application of the Rules was expanded to the Superior Court of justice, resulting in a single set of court rules for all family trial courts. The Rules emphasize the early resolution of cases and incorporate a system of case management, a key feature of which includes a duty to manage cases expeditiously and fairly.
• Family Law Information Centres (FLICs) have now been established at all court locations across Ontario. FLICs provide valuable family law information to members of the public, whether or not they have started a court case.
• The Mandatory Information Program at the Superior Court of Justice in Toronto is required by all litigants in contested family law proceedings before continuing with their court proceeding. Litigants are presented with information about the process of separation and divorce, options for dispute resolution, legal procedures and support available in the community.
• All family litigants in the Ontario Court of Justice in Toronto have access to information sessions as a result of the Donner Pilot Project. Evening information sessions are provided to clients and cover a wide range of issues related to family law, the court process and the impact of divorce and separation on children.
• To facilitate public awareness and understanding of the Child Support Guidelines, a public inquiry line continued to be funded and information kits on the Child Support Guidelines and other family law materials continue to be distributed to the public, court staff, client services associates at FRO and Family Support Workers at the Ministry of Community and Social Services.
• At the 17 Family Court ("Unified Family Court") sites, the Ministry contracts with service providers through a competitive procurement process to deliver voluntary mediation and parent information sessions. These services include mediation of most issues arising due to family breakdown: custody, access, support and division of property. Off-site mediation services deals with complex issues and there is a user fee. On-site mediation services are available to deal with narrow issues for parties on that day's court list, and are free of charge. An Information and Referral coordinator provides information about mediation services, community resources and makes appropriate community referrals.

Ministry of Community and Social Services, Family Responsibility Office (FRO)

• In November 2001, FRO entered into a partnership with four private sector collection agencies and established the Enhanced Collection Agencies Project (ECAP), which was concluded in November 2004. A value for dollar audit concluded that ECAP met its mandate by helping FRO identify difficult to enforce cases so that resources could focus on their arrears and by assisting FRO in the collection of arrears in these difficult to enforce cases.
• An enhanced Trace and Locate Unit was formed within FRO in 2003/2004 to conduct intensive trace and locate actions on returned mail. In the past this mail would accumulate and no action would be taken. This new unit has been extremely successful and has exceeded its targets by tracing and locating not only current mail being returned but mail that has been returned in the past.
• In 2003/2004, FRO launched its new Registration Calls Unit. This is a dedicated unit that endeavours to contact approximately 400 new FRO clients per week, within 48 hours of their case being registered. During this phone call, FRO welcomes them to the program and explains to them their rights and responsibilities and updates any incomplete or missing information on the file.
• A new system for referrals to credit bureaus was developed and implemented by FRO. The system warns the defaulting payor before they are reported to the credit bureau and gives the defaulting payor an opportunity to contact FRO to set up a payment schedule in order to avoid being reported to the credit bureau. If the defaulting payor does not respond to FRO's warning letter then the payor is reported to the credit bureau and the system creates an electronic report of defaulting payors to be reported to the credit bureau. Results from this initiative have been extremely positive in that payors tend to make contact with FRO to avoid being reported to the credit bureau.
• As part of the project to enhance reciprocal enforcement with other jurisdictions, FRO's legal counsel worked on the development of reciprocating agreements with three other jurisdictions: the Czech Republic, the Slovak Republic and Switzerland. FRO is also currently in the process of negotiation with Hungary and has reported that those negotiations are proceeding extremely well.
• FRO has placed considerable emphasis on awareness building activities and has developed a structured and strategic outreach initiative that provides more materials to high-traffic government offices and proceeds with ongoing client and stakeholder outreach and website improvements. FRO has also developed Outreach Sessions for legal professionals, police, judiciary, the bar and family support workers.
• In 2003/2004, FRO launched the pilot project phase of the PIN project. FRO has moved to stage two and three of the PIN project and is now issuing PINs to all newly registered FRO clients and to clients who phone the Call Centre.
• FRO has also undertaken research activities including the implementation of the national Maintenance Enforcement Survey in Ontario. The Maintenance Enforcement Survey has been in place since 1999/2000. The purpose of the project is to collect data and deliver tables for inclusion in a national survey of provincial and territorial child and spousal support data.
• In 2003/2004, FRO started preliminary work on a Client Satisfaction Survey. It is critical for FRO to gain more information about the clients (payors and recipients) it serves and about the quality of client service that FRO provides to these clients.

Manitoba

• Manitoba's Family Conciliation, Department of Family Services and Housing Manitoba offers free of charge a parent information program called For the Sake of the Children, which is delivered as a six-hour program divided into two seminars. The first seminar is generic with all participants attending. With assistance from program specialists and by completing a "self screening questionnaire" participants enrol in one of two programs provided in the second seminar. One seminar is designed for parents with lower conflict relationships where higher contact is possible. The other is designed for parents in higher conflict relationships where lower contact is preferable. To address remote service delivery and the needs of the northern communities, Manitoba launched a CD‑ROM package in November 2003 containing information from the first seminar that includes a copy of the Legal Considerations video. Development is underway to produce the second seminar on CD‑ROM format. Parents located in northern communities can obtain a copy of the CD‑ROM package through a number of service providers such as their local library, women's resource centres, court offices and legal aid offices to name a few. A portion of Manitoba's funding is used to offset administrative and operational program costs.
• The Comprehensive Co-Mediation Program became a service integrated with Family Conciliation, Department of Manitoba Family Services and Housing, after the Comprehensive Co-Mediation and Mediation Internship Pilot Project ended in September 2000. The Comprehensive Co-Mediation Program provides parents with a cost-effective alternative to litigation while helping to reduce the levels of conflict between parents. Comprehensive Co-Mediation involves a consideration of all the issues that arise from separation/divorce: parenting issues (parental responsibilities/time sharing), child support, spousal support and division of marital property. A family law specialist/lawyer and a family relations specialist/social worker work together with the family to assist in resolving their issues. After completing the co-mediation process, a written agreement is drafted, reflecting those issues that are successfully resolved through co-mediation. This agreement is then forwarded to the participants' lawyers for review and possibly made into a legal separation agreement or a consent order. Ninety‑two percent of the mediated cases reported reaching a full or partial agreement with the majority of these (73%) being full agreements. The demand for this program has risen considerably resulting in a waiting list of two to three months on average.
• For the past ten years, the Manitoba Court of Queen's Bench Family Division has been operating a Case Management Program in Winnipeg. The case management process is intended to promote a non-contentious resolution of family law matters, reduce unnecessary delays and minimize costs to litigants. A critical component of case management is the case conference, an informal meeting between the judge, the parties and their lawyers. The goal of the case conference is to encourage parties to work together to reach a satisfactory solution to their cases. Only if the case cannot be resolved in this non-contentious manner (or if the matter is deemed urgent) will the judge schedule a contested hearing. During the initial phase 10-20% of new cases were randomly selected for case management, and in November 2002 case management was implemented 100% in Winnipeg. An evaluation was conducted in 2003/2004 to measure the level of success in the expanded program and the effectiveness of the court process and procedures. The Case Management of Family Matters brochure is available on the internet at: http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/family/law/casemanagement.html (English) and http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/family/law/casemanagement.fr.html (French).
• As part of the Family Division Case Management process, the Brief Consultation Service provides families and their lawyers, as well as the court, with brief, timely consultation services regarding children's developmental issues; post-separation parenting; post-separation communication options; counselling needs; information sharing with children related to separation/divorce; scheduling issues and access options; and information/screening regarding other relevant services. A brief focused assessment is conducted by a Family Conciliation counsellor who meets with the parents and if necessary with the child(ren) and prepares a report for the court within five weeks of the court referral.
• The Automated Family Court Order Project, or the "Auto Order" computer process, eliminates traditional delays by enabling family court orders to be produced immediately after a court hearing. The Family Law Branch staff creates a Draft Order using the Auto Order computer system and electronically submits it into the Court Registry System. In the courtroom the clerk edits from the Draft Order (prepared by counsel) and electronically submits into the Court Registry System and distributes it to all parties—all prior to anyone leaving the courtroom. Plans to expand the Auto Order computer technology to Manitoba law firms and the public are underway. The Auto Order Standard Clauses are available on the Internet at: http://www.manitobacourts.mb.ca/english/family/autoorder/autoorder.html (English) http://www.manitobacourts.mb.ca/english/family/autoorder/autoorder.html (French)
• As of July 2005, Manitoba Justice began operating a Child Support Recalculation Service. Part of a two-year pilot project, the service recalculates certain child support orders at regular intervals, based on updated income information. To be eligible for recalculation:
  • The order must contain an amount for child support based on the Child Support Guidelines tables.
  • The child support order must, in most cases, be based on the actual income of the parent paying the child support.
  • Both parents must live in Manitoba.
  • One of the parents must get a court order authorizing the recalculation.
• Manitoba's A Guide to Changing a Child Support Order in Manitoba is intended to help a parent apply to Court in Manitoba to change a child support order. This comprehensive guide contains information on the requirements and procedures of the courts for child support variations, a resource section as well as a glossary of terms to assist a parent in understanding the procedural and legal terminology used in the variation process. The Guide is available on the Internet at: http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/family/law/changembsupportorder.html (English) http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/family/law/changembsupportorder.fr.html (French)
• First published in 1994, the Family Law in Manitoba public information booklet has been revised several times over the past ten years to reflect changes in provincial and federal legislation. The booklet is designed to provide separating and divorcing parents with an overview of family law and the legal system and the services and resources available to assist them. The Family Law in Manitoba, 2005 booklet is available on the Internet at: http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/family/law/englishbooklet/index.html (English) http://www.gov.mb.ca/justice/family/law/frenchbooklet/index.fr.html (French)
• Since Manitoba's new Common-law Partners' Property and Related Amendments Act came into force on June 30, 2004, common-law partners have been able to register their relationship with Vital Statistics. New property laws that took effect the same day give common-law partners (who have lived together for a certain period of time or registered their relationship with Vital Statistics) the same rights that married couples have to family property on separation or death of a partner. A public information pamphlet describing how the Act can affect common-law partners and a section on frequently asked questions was developed with the support of the CCFJF.
• A Compliance Unit was established in Winnipeg's Maintenance Enforcement Program in 2002-2003 to establish consistent, aggressive enforcement practices with default hearings. MEP consolidated all default hearings using both levels of court available into a single caseload and prepared evidence for these processes. As a result, the Unit continues to secure fuller compliance for some of the most difficult files.

Saskatchewan

• The Parent Education Sessions include options for resolving disputes; the Child Support Guidelines; stages of separation and divorce; the impact of separation and divorce on children and parents; and the importance of ongoing positive parenting. To address parents with high conflict needs, Saskatchewan has developed a high conflict module.
• A curriculum and series of videos was developed for children experiencing separation or divorce. Children learn to understand what they are experiencing, how to communicate with their parents and that they are not alone in dealing with these issues.
• The Support Variation Project provides an out-of-court alternative available to lower-income parents who can agree on varying their child support order or agreement. As part of its information and resource component, the Support Variation Project also responds to requests for assistance with self-help kits for court applications to vary child support.
• Saskatchewan Justice continues to operate the provincial toll-free information lines, one for the north and another for the southern part of the province.
• Specialized self-help kits for the use of self-represented litigants seeking to vary court orders are being developed.
• The Maintenance Enforcement Office helps collect maintenance or support payments ordered by the court or agreed to by two parties.
• This jurisdiction began researching what family law services are required by Aboriginal communities and whether existing family law and related programs and services meet those needs through consultations and analysis of existing reports from other jurisdictions. It is anticipated that consultations will be held in northern communities as well as urban centres.

Alberta

• The Parenting After Separation seminars are now being provided in twenty one locations across the province by the Court Services Division of Alberta Justice.
• Mediation clients are referred by way of the two Family Law Information Centres (FLICs), the Parenting After Separation seminars, Family Court Counselors, the judiciary and the family law bar. The Alberta Department of Justice now provides for the mediation of provincial family court disputes as well as divorce matters throughout the province.
• The Court Services Division of Alberta Justice has operated two FLICs since 1997. These offices provide information and materials on child support; making or opposing family law applications, including custody and access; access enforcement; spousal support; reduction or cancellation of arrears and stay of enforcements; and ex parte restraining orders, protection orders on notice and emergency protection orders.

British Columbia

• The Family Justice Registry Program (Rule 5 Project) requires all parties to a family court application to attend a "triage" session with a Family Justice Counsellor (FJC) prior to a first appearance in family court. During the triage session, the FJC will discuss methods of dispute resolution, assess the particulars of the parties' case and make appropriate referrals. The Comprehensive Child Support Service (CCSS) operates at the Family Justice Registry sites and consists of services provided by a Child Support Officer (CSO), an advice lawyer and a Family Maintenance Enforcement Project (FMEP) Outreach Officer.
• In 2003/2004, the mandatory requirement to attend a Parenting After Separation (PAS) session prior to an appearance in court is in effect at ten court locations in the province. In addition, voluntary programs operate in seven other communities throughout BC and "specialised" PAS is offered in Chinese and Punjabi operate in the Greater Vancouver Area.
• British Columbia's website for children and (pre) teenagers (www.familieschange.ca) has received international recognition from the American National Child Support Enforcement Association and the International Heads of Agencies. The website provides children and youth with practical, emotional and legal information on separation and divorce to better enable them to prepare for and cope with the conflict and changes their families are experiencing.
• The toll-free public enquiry line continues to provide basic information about a wider range of family justice topics and provide a comprehensive list of services available for further assistance. The enquiry line received an average of 575 calls per month in 2003/04.
• British Columbia worked to improve their enforcement measures. To increase the effectiveness of family search efforts, changes to the computer system were made and a business process review was undertaken. Enhancements to the Family Maintenance Enforcement Program website included a Notice of Attachment calculator to assist employers in determining the amount to submit when a payor's wages have been attached.
• BC continues to be active in the area of research and evaluation, including the ongoing participation in the federal Department of Justice's Survey of Selected Family Courts project. Some examples of work in addition to this are an evaluation of the Family Justice Registry (Rule 5) and CCSS pilot projects and the preliminary work completed to support a longitudinal study of the impacts of dispute resolution services.

Yukon

• The Yukon parent education curriculum has been modelled on Manitoba's For the Sake of the Children program which is a natural fit with the existing counselling and parent education programming. The post-separation workshops are currently voluntary for parents, although some parents have been directed by the court to attend.
• Collaborative law enables parties to sit down with their lawyers in a series of four-way meetings to deal with some or all of the matters arising from their separation. An essential component of collaborative law is a commitment by the spouses and their lawyers that they will not go to court during the time they are in the collaborative law process. Should the process fail, the collaborative lawyers cannot act for their client in court proceedings. While Yukon Justice does not directly fund collaborative law, they do provide funding for training in collaborative law while informing people about and encouraging collaborative law. However, non-government lawyers deliver this service in the territory.
• A major information campaign initiative was launched by the Government of Yukon to reach First Nations and rural Yukoners who could benefit from the programs and services offered but who may not have done so in the past. This campaign includes a series of innovative radio ads on child support and parent education aimed at a First Nations and rural audience.
• One of the best-received projects of the Government of Yukon was the publication of French and English versions of a Yukon Guide to Family Law. It is a user-friendly, Yukon-relevant, "one-stop shopping" booklet that explains child support procedures and available local resources.
• The first seven booklets in a series of Family Law Court Procedure Booklets to assist self-represented parents to deal with family law issues in the courts were produced in 2005. These booklets address issues related tot child support.
• The mandate of the Yukon Maintenance Enforcement Program (MEP) is to assist parents registered with the program to collect or pay their child support and spousal support. The MEP revised, updated and distributed program materials such as forms, information sheets and related registration documents. The territory undertook a feasibility analysis for an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) system specifically designed to interface with the current MEP computer system. The study indicated that an IVR system would have an overall positive impact on the MEP office as it could provide access to claimants, respondents and other jurisdictions for inquiries when the MEP office is closed and could reduce the number of routine phone calls that staff must handle.
• Over the past few years, the Yukon MEP has also investigated the possibility of setting up a direct deposit service that would allow the program to deposit support payments directly into client accounts. The recent completion of the new MEP computer system and advances in computer banking technology may now make a direct deposit service for Yukon MEP clients more feasible. An initial design document has been completed and the MEP is planning to move forward to the installation/implementation stage in 2004.

Northwest Territories

• The Parent Education Program has been gradually expanding to serve the communities outside of the central capital. Attendance is voluntary and extended family and community support workers are welcome. In addition to the workshops, the staff have been offering the community social service professionals a professional development workshop to encourage referrals and promote public awareness of the program.
• The Maintenance Enforcement Program has made improvements to the Child Support Management system enabling the program to improve client services, reporting and auditing functions. This also allowed for further staff time to be dedicated to client services including the toll-free information line.
• NWT will continue to promote public awareness and understanding in relation to child support guidelines in a number of ways including distributing information materials on both the federal and territorial guidelines and other general information. Such information is also made available through offering and promoting programs such as the Parenting After Separation and/or Divorce Sessions.
• Northwest Territories continues to be an ongoing participant in the federal Department of Justice's Survey of Selected Family Courts project.

Nunavut

• The Nunavut Department of Justice's Inuusirmut Aqqusiuqtiit (IA) program is being designed to increase access to family justice services in the territory by providing community-based family law information and dispute resolution services to assist parties in settling family matters (such as custody, access and support) arising from relationship breakdown. The program will be an innovative dispute resolution, counselling and information program that combines southern-based mediation techniques with traditional Inuit approaches to problem solving in order to deliver culturally relevant dispute resolution services to Inuit people.
• The Family Support Office has commenced development of a Nunavut-based Parent Education Program. To ensure community participation in the program's development, the Nunavut Department of Justice has established a working group to review parent education programs in other jurisdictions and to make recommendations for the creation of a Nunavut parenting program.

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