S

Discovering The Common Core:

Implementing the Rights of the ChildSeptember 10th, 2008

SPEAKING FOR THEMSELVES

Speaking for Themselves is a partnership of services that provide a lawyer and a therapist for children

The target population is children living in families where there is: A known or suspected history of domestic violence,

and A high-conflict custody and access dispute.

PROGRAM GOALS

Increase children’s safety and reduce their risk of victimization in high conflict custody and access (parenting) disputes where domestic violence is known or suspected;

Ensure these children’s needs, experiences and views are heard and considered in custody and access cases; and

Facilitate “best interests” decision being informed by evidence with respect to children’s interpretation of their own experience.

PARTNERSHIP DESCRIPTIONYWCA OF CALGARY

Extensive experience working with all family members involved in situations of domestic violence

Awareness of increased risk to children immediately following separation

Saw children being used as weapons in custody and access disputes

Wide continuum of services for addressing domestic violence

PARTNERSHIP DESCRIPTIONCLERC

Experience providing legal support and services to children and youth, including family issues such as visitation and residency

Awareness of the positive impact of assisting children and youth to participate in decisions that concern them

Saw the need for greater information to be brought before the court to facilitate best interest decisions for children, where there was a history of domestic violence

ROLE OF THE THERAPIST

Completes an assessment of trauma, the child’s functioning and needs, and the child’s capacity to represent their own interests, views and experiences;

Provides therapeutic intervention to address the child’s trauma and needs, and to facilitate the development of resiliency;

Completes thorough assessment and treatment reports; and

Is available to provide court testimony with respect to therapeutic process and reports.

ROLE OF THE LAWYER

Traditional Advocate Amicus Curiae (Friend of the court)

REPRESENTING INTERESTS CAN MEAN A NUMBER OF THINGS

Contact with siblings and extended family School Friends What troubles them? What are they afraid of? Maintaining relationships Safety An end to the conflict Contact with Mom and Dad Timely Decisions

PROJECT BENEFITS

Targeting a highly vulnerable and underserved population of children and youth;

Increasing children’s safety; Providing a powerful catalyst for settlement of legal

cases and avoiding court appearances; Decreasing parents’ inclination to use children as

weapons; Providing opportunity for the child’s input to

contribute to best interests decisions; and Increasing credibility of the evidence provided to the

court.

PROGRAM EVALUATION

AND EARLY EVIDENCE

FROM THE INTERIM REPORT

CONTEXT Independent evaluators were hired to design and

implement the evaluation; Evaluators ensured that program materials provided

comprehensive information on the variables of interest; Variables included client outcome indicators as well as

the dynamics arising from a unique inter-disciplinary collaboration;

Data we are reporting comes from the interim report and represent both the process and program outcomes, as well as interim recommendations;

The final report will be completed in September, 2008.

KEY DATA POINTS

65 individuals from 17 families were served Case complexity and the severity of children’s trauma

reflect the intensity of these disputes as does parental manipulation, delaying tactics, difficulty in acquiring consents, and involvement in litigation

In all but two cases the mother of the child was the referring parent

KEY DATA POINTS (Continued)

The average length of service was about 10 months On average, children in the project were six years of

age when their parents first separated, and between nine and ten years of age when they entered SFT

Most referrals to the program were made by lawyers or counselors

COST EFFECTIVENESS

The cost to serve each family is, on average, $38,542.

The cost to serve each child client is, on average, $22,561.

Given each child received 10 months of counseling, this would equate to $2,256. per month

LEARNING FROM INTERVIEWS:RESIDENTIAL PARENT’S

COMMENTS

“As a result of meeting with (the counselor) his confidence went up from 0 – 8, all of a sudden he started to be able to say “no” to his dad, because he felt protected, started sleeping better…he is also much happier, even his teacher told (the counselor) that his behavior changed…now he has lots of friends.”

LEARNING FROM INTERVIEWS: NON-RESIDENTIAL PARENT’S

COMMENTS Non-residential parents indicated:

Reluctance to become involved;Interference in their private lives;Fear of losing their children;Thought they did not have a voice;Lawyer and counselor should consult with

them and check their facts; andCounselor should provide weekly updates.

LEARNING FROM INTERVIEWS:CHILDREN’S COMMENTS

“The lawyers changed the custody around…when my dad heard I had a lawyer he just gave up custody; they made me feel safer, that if I wanted something I could talk to one of them and they’d try and change that.”

“(The Program) helped me get my life back, so I could go (see my dad) when I want to instead of being made to go.”

CHILDREN’S COMMENTS continued……

“(The Program helped me) get a voice to help me talk to my dad about how I feel…to talk to him about things I don’t talk about …Sometimes he used to blame us for everything, now I can tell him what actually happened, instead of staying in the corner and taking all the blame.”

CHILDREN’S COMMENTS (continued)……

“(We would like to have changed) that people weren’t believing us…thought that we might be making all this up…they should have understood faster, because we have an opinion too.”

“We (two children in the same family) came up with a lot of ideas together, we knew something needed to be done, if nobody would do it then we’d do it ourselves.”

LEARNING FROM INTERDISCIPLINARY

COLLABORATION

Different world views Ethical commitments are rigorous Styles of communication

LEARNING FROM COMPARISON WITH PATHS OF CHANGE

SFT parents: More likely to have had joint custody arrangements; Slightly older and more educated; Higher proportion of visible minority clients; and More likely to experience mental health and/or

addictions issues.

SFT Children the SFT children were more traumatized than the

Paths of Change children.”

RECOMMENDATIONS PARTNERSHIP

Tracking of protocol and procedure discussion and decisions;

Mutual education and understanding of the unique legal and counseling disciplines;

RECOMMENDATIONS PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

Increased standardization of reporting formats that effectively address the relevant audiences;

Accessing court orders in all cases; Increase the number of therapists; and Sustain several therapists at all times.

SUMMARY

Counseling + Legal services allow children to express their perspectives freely in a manner that is also accessible to decision-makers;

Program success requires that partners trust, cooperate, communicate and respect each other and share a common vision;

A significant # of successful cases don’t go to court; and

Children’s safety and well-being are ensured.