a6 supporting clients dealing with family law issues

SUPPORTING CLIENTS DEALING WITH FAMILY LAW ISSUES

OCASI SPRING 2010:

PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT CONFERENCE

WORKSHOP PRESENTED BY:Shankari Balendra, Settlement

CounselorAccess Alliance Multicultural Health &

Community ServicesT: 416 693 8677 ext 401E: sbalendra@accessalliance.ca

Lisa Cirillo, Legal & Project Coordinator

FLEW (Family Law Education for Women)T 416 961 8101 x 302  E: lcirillo@onefamilylaw.ca

WORKSHOP OUTLINE: Welcome and Introductions Goals and objectives Format / Q & As What is “family law”? Introduction to FLEW and FLEW library How these materials can help you

support your clients

WHO’S IN THE ROOM?

WHAT ARE YOUR GOALS FOR TODAY’S SESSION?

WORKSHOP FORMAT Presentation, short small group

discussion and report back Guidelines for discussion Please share your expertise! Questions and input welcome!

FAMILY LAW:What issues are included under the umbrella of family law?

COMMON FAMILY LAW ISSUES:

ChildrenSupportProtectionHousingProperty

ALL WOMEN. ONE FAMILY LAW.

KNOW YOUR RIGHTS.www.onefamilylaw.ca

FLEW: Family Law Education for Women

WHAT IS FLEW? Provincial public legal education

(“PLE”) project Funded by the government of Ontario

through office of OWDGOAL: to provide accessible

information to women in Ontario to assist them in understanding their family law rights and how they can exercise them

emphasis on reaching women who are vulnerable and isolated

WHY WOMEN? Anyone is welcome to refer to and use our

materials Women continue to be disproportionately

impacted by family breakdown: More women-led single parent families Women more likely to have significant

decline in std of living on separation Women more likely to experience

violence at the hands of their intimate partner

Materials are attempt to recognize this increased vulnerability and need

WHAT FLEW IS NOT FLEW is not a direct service agency

and cannot provide individual legal advice or representation

Materials are a starting place for women

They are not a substitute for individual legal advice and representation

They are not self-help tools

WHO IS FLEW? managed by a consortium of women’s

and community agencies Number of agencies involved, and

level of involvement ,has changed over time

Have recently moved into second stage of project, focused on outreach and distribution

Project currently directed by an Advisory Council of 5 community agencies

FLEW ADVISORY COUNCIL Canadian Council of Muslim Women

(CCMW) Community Legal Education Ontario

(CLEO) Metropolitan Action Committee on

Violence Against Women and Children (METRAC)

Springtide Resources YWCA Toronto

HOW CAN FLEW HELP?FLEW has developed a large library of public legal education materials for women, to assist them in understanding their rights under Ontario family law.

Two “streams” of materials:1. Core materials – a series of plain

language booklets dealing with 12 key areas under family law:

2. Specialized materials – materials for specific communities of women

CORE FLEW MATERIALS1. Alternative Dispute

Resolution & Family Law

2. Child Protection &

Family Law

3. Child Support

4. Criminal and Family Law

5. Custody and Access

6. Family Law for

Immigrant, Refugee and

Non-Status Women

7. Domestic Contracts

8. Family Law Arbitration

9. Finding Help with your

Family Law Problem

10. How Property is

Divided in Family Law

11. Marriage and Divorce

12. Spousal Support

FLEW CORE MATERIALS, CONT’D.

Materials are available in 13

languages: English, French, Arabic,

Chinese (Simplified and Traditional),

Farsi, Somali, Spanish, Punjabi, Urdu

and Tamil.

BRAND NEW: Russian and Korean

SPECIALIZED MATERIALS Funded partnerships with community

agencies to adapt core materials for specific communities of women

Target audiences for these materials: Aboriginal women Jewish women* Muslim women* Christian women* Immigrant domestic caregivers Francophone women

ALTERNATIVE FORMATSFLEW materials are available in multiple alternative formats to increase their accessibility for women with disabilities and Deaf women:

Large printBrailleAudio CDs – with text and audio filesDVDs of materials in ASL

HOW TO ORDER MATERIALS All of the FLEW materials can be viewed and

downloaded from our website at www.onefamilylaw.ca

Can order hard copies free of charge

Order on-line or via telephone            416 326 5300   (Toronto)              1 800 668 9938  (free across

Canada)              416 325 3408 (TTY)              1 800 268 7095 (TTY)       

www.onefamilylaw.ca

HOW TO USE FLEW MATERIALS• Settlement workers• Outreach workers• Community engagement workers

FLEW MATERIALS

Booklets Audio & video (ASL) Leaflets Posters Postcards

USE OF MATERIALS

In your session with client

USE OF MATERIALS

In your session with client – view / listen online

COMMUNITY INFORMATION SESSIONS

WORK SHOPS

RESOURCE CENTER

INFORMATION SHARING

Community programs

SMALL GROUP WORKThink about how you might use these materials in your work.

Share ideas within your small group and appoint someone to report back to the larger group.

REPORT BACK & IDEA SHARING

WHERE TO GO FOR LEGAL INFORMATION? FLEW: www.onefamilylaw.ca

CLEO: www.cleo.on.ca

NFF: www.neighboursfriendsandfamilies.ca

Ministry of Attorney General (www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca)

Ontario Women’s Justice Network (http://www.owjn.org/)

Department of Justice (http://www.justice.gc.ca)

WHERE TO GO FOR LEGAL ASSISTANCE?

1. Legal Aid Ontario Certificate to retain private bar lawyer 2 hour DV consultation Duty counsel in courts Family Law Information Centres (FLIC)

2. LSUC’s Lawyer Referral Service regular line: 1-900-565-4577 emergency line: 1 (800) 268-8326

THANK YOU!