Family Law Services – GTA Region

Presented to the Family Lawyers Association

January 18, 2014

Legal Aid Ontario has developed a number of service delivery channels to support the Four Pillars of Family Justice Reform initiated by the Ministry of the Attorney General in 2010.

The “Four Pillars” are: ◦ Providing early information for separating

spouses and children

◦ Assessing parties and directing them to appropriate and proportional services using a triage approach

◦ Facilitating greater access to legal information, advice and ADR processes

◦ Developing a streamlined focused family court process

“For the last several years, there has been a growing consensus in the family justice community that it is time for change. The judiciary, members of the bar and mediation and mental health communities from across the province have increasingly voiced concerns about a justice system that many believed to be too confusing and too confrontational.”

Address to Family Law Summit June 17, 2011 of Anne Marie Predko, MAG.

Information and Referral Co-ordinators are now in place in all family courts across the province

IRC’s connect clients to appropriate social service agencies and make referrals to mediation

Mediation now available province-wide

LAO has 3 full time mediators in the GTA in addition to the court connected mediation services available at all GTA Family Courts

Mandatory information Program (MIP’s) available province-wide. In some jurisdictions, Judges will accept the Certificate issued by LAO’s on-line LAO’s Family law Information Program (“FLIP”) which has the same content as the MIP

Four Family Law Service Centres

Duty Counsel and Advice Lawyer Program

Mediation Services Program

Certificate Program (private bar and FLSC staff lawyers – CFSA, DV, high conflict and special needs clients)

Settlement Conference Program (delivered by staff lawyers as an adjunct to the Certificate program)

Dedicated family law Summary Legal Advice team provides assistance through the Client Service Centre (toll free) in 200+ languages

Four Family Law Service Centres located at: ◦ Toronto Central (Atrium) – 20 Dundas St. W.

◦ Toronto North – 45 Sheppard Ave. E.

◦ Brampton – 2 County Court Blvd.

◦ Newmarket – 17070 Yonge Street

FLSC’s provide the following services ◦ help with Court documents (DCFET)

◦ referrals to Advice Counsel or Duty Counsel

◦ full representation in family law cases by a staff lawyer (SFET eligible clients) where appropriate

◦ referral to a private lawyer who does legal aid work, if eligible

◦ Referrals to LAO mediation services and settlement conferences

◦ referrals to other social service agencies

FLSC’s take Certificate applications for serious, urgent domestic violence, child protection, or complex family law cases

FLSC’s are staffed by a Lawyer/Manager, staff lawyers (Toronto Central and Toronto North), and legal workers who are supervised by lawyers to prepare Court documents

Each of the FLSC’s serve clients going to the family courts located in their area

Family Staff Lawyer services also available at several GTA Community “Hubs”:

◦ Rexdale Community Hub

21 Panorama Court, Toronto

◦ Safe Centre of Peel

60 West Drive, Brampton

◦ York Region Centre for Community Safety

16775 Yonge Street, Newmarket

◦ Davenport-Perth Neighbourhood CHC

1900 Davenport Road, Toronto

Family Law services provided at Hub locations include: ◦ Summary advice

◦ Referrals to mediation where appropriate

◦ Court document preparation where appropriate

◦ Limited day-of-court assistance is appropriate cases

◦ Referrals to services provide by other Hub partner agencies (e.g., housing, VWAP, counselling etc.)

◦ Services provided to clients who qualify under LAO’s DCFET

LAO Mediation services are available in each GTA Court or FLSC location ◦ OCJ at 311 Jarvis Street

◦ SCJ at 393 University Avenue (fall 2011)

◦ OCJ at 47 Sheppard Ave. E. (North York)

◦ Unified Family Court in Newmarket (Tuesday only)

◦ OCJ and SCJ in Brampton/Peel (Monday and Wednesday to Friday)

Duty Counsel services are available daily at all GTA courts for matters before the Court that day (DCFET)

Advice Lawyer/ FLIC lawyer services available daily at all GTA Courts for family law advice and referrals to the Certificate Program – (DCFET)

D/C and advice Counsel can refer to: ◦ the FLSC’s for document preparation (DCFET) ◦ the CSC and Certificate program (SFET) ◦ GTA mediation services (DCFET) ◦ FLSC for Certificate Application if urgent DV or CFSA

Family Law Information Program (FLIP) ◦ Same content as the MIP’s

◦ Available in French and English

◦ Additional 10 most popular languages (forthcoming)

◦ Can produce a Certificate of Completion (mandatory scrolling and audio overview)

◦ Some GTA Family Court Judges (OCJ) accept the LAO FLIP certification as equivalent to the MIP certification

◦ Available at www.lao.on.ca

• LAO also provides Summary Legal Advice through our Client Service Centre • 1-800-668-8258 • SLA provided for

• Family • Criminal • Immigration/Refugee

LAO has 2 senior staff lawyers in the GTA who conduct Settlement Conferences and provide Certificate management services

◦ Maximize dollars spent on direct client service

◦ Minimize money spent on administration and overhead

◦ Leverage technology and innovation

◦ Ensure accountability for tax dollars

LAO is the second largest justice agency in the province after the Ministry of the Attorney General (MAG), providing more than one million legal assists to low-income Ontarians each year.

LAO represents 20 per cent of MAG’s budget.

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LAO receives the majority of its funding from the province of Ontario and the Law Foundation of Ontario. LAO’s approximately $350 million in funding came from:

◦ 76% from the Province of Ontario ◦ 14% from the Federal Government to cover criminal,

youth criminal justice act and refugee cases ◦ 4% from client contributions ◦ 5% from the Law Foundation of Ontario ◦ 1% from judgments, costs, settlements and other

incomes sources

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In 2009, the provincial government announced a four-year $150 million investment in the legal aid system to enhance client services.

In 2013, the provincial government announced an additional three-year $30 million investment dedicated to Family Law Services

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1. Simplified application process: • Simplified Financial Eligibility Test (SFET and simplifies DCFET –

enhanced for DV cases) • Automated verification of client’s OW/ODSP benefits

2. Changes in access to services:

• Toll-free number through Client Service Centre for applications • LAO in the Courthouse—Legal workers and increased Duty

Counsel complement to assist clients and determine appropriate services

• Online information and resources –

3. Improved online tools for lawyers-online billing through the Portal, online issuing, better info re amendments and authorizations of certificates

4. Reduced overhead by moving Provincial Office to smaller premises

A toll-free help line for legal information, referrals to appropriate services, certificate applications and summary legal advice for criminal and family matters

Average of 1300+ calls per day

Average wait time of just over one minute – posted on LAO website

Priority queue for victims of Domestic Violence

Services available in 200+ languages, including 18 aboriginal languages and dialects

Dedicated level 2 family law triage team and family lawyer enhancements to the Summary Legal Advice Program

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Service enhancements: New “call back” feature Wait times are published live on our website Priority queue for victims of domestic

violence and upgraded DV training for all CSC staff

Regional client service representatives to further improve service and referrals

Summary Legal 1Advice available in Family, Criminal and Immigration/Refugee

A new simplified financial eligibility test (SFET) was introduced on February 1, 2011 has greatly expedited the application process for legal aid, providing faster services for low-income Ontarians. Clients in receipt of OW or ODSP automatically qualify financially.

Gross Income Cutoffs:

Family Size Monthly Gross Annual Gross 1 $1,500 $18,000 2 $2,250 $27,000 3 $2,583 $31,000 4 $3,083 $37,000 5 + $3,583 $43,000

Where the total value of liquid assets exceeds the standard exemption level, the

applicant does not qualify for duty counsel assistance. The exemption level for all applicants regardless of family size is $1,500.00 Please note that this test does not apply to the first 20 minutes of summary

legal advice, which is provided without financial testing.

LAO funds the Pro Bono Students Canada Family Law Program

PBSC operates at all Toronto Courts, and in Brampton, Kingston, London Windsor

Plans to expand to Ottawa

Services in the Courthouse for emergency document preparation and other services where client does not qualify for LAO services

Financial test is double that of the LAO Duty Counsel Financial Eligibility Test

Family Size Annual Household Income

1 $18,000

2 $36,000.00

3 $54,000.00

4 $61,992.00

5 $73,992.00

The Goal: To provide a continuum of legal services based on a legal

needs assessment and the co-ordination and improving direct client services through:

◦ Duty Counsel and Advice Counsel, enhanced with legal

worker support in the courts, ◦ Family Law Service Centers, which include staff lawyers,

paralegals and legal workers, ◦ Mediators (OAFM/FMC accredited) providing direct client

service ◦ Settlement conference services through LAO staff lawyers ◦ Certificate services through private bar and the FLSC ◦ Staff Lawyer services at Community Hubs

To assess the client’s needs as early as possible,

through an effective triage process in order to determine the most appropriate and cost-effective service for our clients, including the early identification of our vulnerable clients;

To provide a broader range of services for our clients and to provide more options to our clients to resolve their family law disputes

This objective is aligned with the Attorney General’s four pillars of family law reform: providing early information to family clients up front; conducting an early assessment of clients’ needs using a triage approach; providing greater access to legal information, advice and ADR alternatives; and facilitating a streamlined and focused family court process;

Certificate services through our private bar lawyers for the complex cases, child protection cases, high conflict and domestic violence cases;

Document preparation by our legal workers and referral to duty counsel for less complex cases;

Mediation services by qualified and accredited staff mediators (OAFM/FMC accredited)

Referral to advice counsel, mediation and settlement conferences available through our staff lawyers and a roster of qualified mediators;

Referral services to other appropriate agencies, such as housing, counseling, income support.

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COMMENTS AND QUESTIONS