Family Court Support Worker

**Job Posting**

**Internal /External**

**FAMILY COURT SUPPORT WORKER**

**1-year part-time contract position**

(17.5 hours/week)

Barbra Schlifer Commemorative Clinic offers legal services and representation, trauma-informed counselling and multilingual interpretation to diverse women (self-identified), non-binary, intersex, and Two-Spirit people who have experienced violence. We cultivate skills and resilience by fostering safety, dignity and equality and we amplify voices to create individual and collective change. Together with our donors and volunteers, we are active in changing the conditions that create environments of violence and oppression.

We are seeking an exceptional staff to join our FAMILY COURT SUPPORT PROGRAM to assist survivors of domestic violence to navigate the family law system and more effectively participate in family court processes. Family Court Support Workers assist clients who are survivors of family violence and advocate with community and court representatives to best support clients. This is a part-time position.
DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES
All duties and responsibilities will be carried out in accordance with Barbra Schlifer Clinic's Mandate, Mission and Values Statements.
CLIENT SERVICES AND SUPPORT
- Participate in FCSW rotations through the courts
- Intake and screening of clients for internal and external referral
- Provide up-to-date information on family law processes and court-based services
- Assess client's legal and non-legal needs for appropriate response and/or effective referral to legal and community-based services
- Conduct risk assessments and safety planning
- Record domestic violence history, as appropriate
- Support transitional planning, as appropriate
- Liaise on clients’ behalf with justice system professionals within the family court and within the legal community at large
- Refer clients to lawyers for summary legal advice on legal rights and remedies
- Facilitate the provision of language interpreters for the delivery of Family Court Support services or other court-based legal services
- Assist clients to prepare for family court proceedings and provide court support and accompaniment, as appropriate (remotely and in-person)
- Effective referral of French-speaking clients to the Francophone FCSW Program and other Francophone legal/non-legal service providers
- Attend team, all-staff and other meetings as required
NETWORKING AND OUTREACH
- Disseminate information about the CSW Program to community-based agencies
- Represent the interests of our target client group at meetings of family court service providers and administrators
- Engage in outreach activities to communities at large
- Develop positive and collaborative relationships with all court personnel
- Establish and maintain effective working relationships with court staff, lawyers, police and victim/witness programs for advocacy purposes
KEY RELATIONSHIPS
- The Family Court Support Worker is a member of the Legal Department and will work collaboratively with other Legal and Clinic staff
- The Family Court Support Worker is a member of the Clinic’s FCSW team and will work collaboratively with other Court Support Workers and the Family Court Support Program Coordinator, and will report to and be supervised by the Director of Legal Services
MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS
- Post-secondary degree/diploma in a related field (law, social work, social services or other equivalent education)
- Minimum 2 years’ experience in direct service to survivors of domestic violence
- Familiarity with Ontario family law processes/systems generally and the experiences of survivors of domestic violence involved in the family courts specifically
- Knowledge to assist clients with completing and filing family court forms an asset
- Extensive working knowledge of community-based and culturally appropriate resources and services that relate to domestic violence, including French Language/Francophone services in the community
- Demonstrated advocacy skills
- Awareness of intersecting conditions that affect the experience of violence and trauma among a diverse clientele
- Understanding of the impacts of trauma; commitment to providing services informed by an understanding of trauma
- Familiarity with the exercise of self-care and practices to manage the effects of vicarious trauma
- Demonstrated exceptional interpersonal skills and ability to interface in a purposeful, positive and productive manner with diverse justice system professionals, service providers and administrators in the courts and in the broader legal systems and with diverse stakeholders in the community at large
- Excellent oral and written communication skills
- Ability to interview and communicate effectively with clients
- Excellent organizational, time management, file management and other related administrative skills
- Ability to exercise sound judgment when encountering difficult situations and performing job

responsibilities
- Demonstrated unde