Making the Links in Family Violence Cases: Collaboration among the Family, Child Protection and Criminal Justice Systems

In January 2011, federal-provincial-territorial (FPT) Deputy Ministers responsible for Justice and Public Safety approved the creation of a joint family and criminal Ad Hoc Working Group on Family Violence to examine how the family, child protection, and criminal sectors of the justice system interact in relation to family violence. Representatives from all Canadian jurisdictions collaborated in the development of this report which identifies some of the challenges facing litigants grappling with family violence and simultaneously navigating different sectors of the justice system. This report also highlights selected tools, protocols, and practices that have been implemented to address these issues in Canada or elsewhere.

This report is intended for justice system professionals and those working within the criminal justice, family justice and child protection systems. This includes federal-provincial-territorial officials, Crown prosecutors, family and criminal lawyers in the private sector, children’s lawyers, members of the judiciary, court officials, child protection workers, child custody assessors, mediators, parenting coordinators, law enforcement officials, corrections officials, victim service workers and front-line service providers. The annexes to this report (Volume II) also contain a wealth of information about legal, policy, and service frameworks across Canada that have been developed to address family violence. There is no one-size-fits-all approach to these challenges given that each jurisdiction is unique and not all of the promising practices will be applicable in some remote, rural or Aboriginal communities. It is important to note that this report does not provide a thorough assessment of the specific needs and issues of Aboriginal Canadians experiencing family violence and having contact with the different sectors of the justice system. Although this report does not make specific recommendations and the promising practices do not necessarily address all the identified gaps, it is hoped that the findings will serve as a basis for future efforts to enhance collaboration on this important issue.