Bilingual Family Court Conciliation Clinician - Department of Justice and Public Safety

The Department of Justice and Public Safety is committed to Equity, Diversity, Inclusion and Accessibility. Our goal is to build a public sector workforce that reflects the diverse communities we serve and to promote welcoming, diverse, inclusive, respectful workplaces that are accessible to all. We welcome all interested individuals including Indigenous People, persons with disabilities, Black, racialized, ethnic and culturally diverse groups, as well as people regardless of their sexual orientation, gender identities, and gender expressions.

Those looking for more information are invited to visit our Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion Policy.

The Incumbent acts as an independent expert to conduct Parenting Arrangement Assessments (PAA) and Views of the Child reports in complex parenting time and decision- making matters. The incumbent is responsible for providing recommendations and direction in complex family law matters and interpreting evidence collected during the assessment to make recommendations in the best interests of children. This position reports to the Manager of Family Justice Programs.

The clinicians are part of a small team of experts providing specialized province-wide services which also may include parenting plan mediation. The incumbent must work independently and clinically assess and interpret the risk and resiliency factors for the children involved, along with the strengths and challenges for parents, to make recommendations and assist parties in acting in the best interests of the children.

Duties will include but are not limited to:

• The incumbent is assigned to act on court files where the Court has ordered or the Office of the Children’s Lawyer has requested an independent Parenting Arrangement Assessment or a Views of the Child Report;
• Responsible for making independent recommendations to determine what parenting arrangements are in the best interests of the children, taking into consideration the needs and circumstances of the children;
• May involve screening cases for the appropriateness of mediation focusing on issues related to family violence, to ensure that parents can negotiate fairly, competently and safely;
• May involve conducting pre-mediation meetings to inform parents of the role of the mediator and the mediation process, to identify issues and provide support and information to parents on the dynamics of separation/divorce and the impact on children;
• Maintain and protect confidential records and case reporting as part of the case management process and in accordance with court record requirements, the requirements of provincial privacy legislation, and professional practice obligations;
• Working as a collaborative team with members of the Office of the Children’s Lawyer and the Family Conciliation Clinician Office to provide expert guidance and advice during case triage meetings to assist with addressing complex needs assessments for the most complex, high conflict Children’s Law matters in the province;
• Provides guidance and mentorship relating to practice areas in family ADR such as mediation and parenting coordination and collaborates with the Manager of Family Justice Programs relating to needs to ensure ongoing certification of practitioners and new and emerging training opportunities in family dispute resolution; and
• Other related duties as required.

Minimum Qualifications:

• Master’s degree in Social Work, Education, or Psychology with clinical component or a Masters in a related field with Certified Mediation Training; supplemented by extensive experience working with children and families;
• Applicants with a BSW and extensive directly related social work experience will be considered;
• Extensive experience in making, speaking to and defending recommendations and decisions in high conflict scenarios including, for example, court settings, therapeutic settings, meetings with high conflict participants, etc;
• This is a bilingual position. Advanced oral proficiency in English and French is required.
• Knowledge and skills in collection of information from multiple sources to make evidence-based assessments and recommendations in high conflict family law matters;
• Advanced…