The Family Advocacy Support Centre (FASC) reduces barriers faced by parents/families dealing with welfare services by increasing access to resources and supports for families with the goal of minimizing intrusive interventions and family separation.

Student volunteers will conduct research while also creating infographics/brochures catered towards parents and families navigating Child and Family Services (CFS) and those who have been served a Permanent Guardianship Order (PGO) and risk having their parental rights terminated. Students will engage the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms, Alberta’s Child, Youth and Family Enhancement Act, Enhancement Policy Manual and any other relevant, Alberta-specific legislation and case law. The research portion of the project will focus on the rights of parents/families pre-apprehension of their child(ren). When child welfare becomes involved with a family, that family often has very little understanding of their rights and/or the legal implications of their actions and decisions. Recently, lawmakers and activists in the United States have been pushing for the implementation of “Miranda Rights” in the context of child welfare, as it is crucial that families be made aware of their rights at the earliest stages of this process.

The research conducted for this project may help inform FASC’s potential push for implementation of similar s. 10 Charter rights in the context of Child and Family Services in Alberta. The infographic/brochure portion of the project will focus on the creation of PGO toolkits for parents who risk having their parental rights terminated and in cases where the PGO has been granted. There is a lack of plain language information and advocacy supports for this population.

Law student volunteers on this project are expected to volunteer from October to March (excluding December). It is anticipated that students will volunteer approximately 3-5 hours per week. Additional hours are at the student’s discretion. Overall, all PBSC projects are easily manageable alongside academic demands.

Family Advocacy Support Centre will provide an introductory meeting to law students on how the project will function and with organization-specific training on working with families dealing with welfare services. This training will take place in October. In addition to these training sessions, students must also participate in all mandatory PBSC General Training Sessions in September and October, which includes a mandatory Anti-Oppression Training Session in September, as well as the WestLaw Research Training that will take place in October.

Law student volunteers must attend scheduled work-review times with Family Advocacy Support Centre and the Lawyer Supervisor, and make themselves available for all organization and PBSC-specific training, meetings, presentations, and Lawyer Supervisor/organization check-ins.

– Family Law
– Criminal Law

– 3 student volunteers
– There are no prerequisite requirements for this project
– All years are encouraged to apply

Public Legal Information

Applications for the 2023/2024 are currently open! Please fill out the Google Form linked below.