Family Justice Services Division
Last updated on December 21, 2023Last updated: December 21, 2023
Family Justice Services Division (FJSD) delivers services that promote the timely and just resolution of family disputes within a comprehensive family justice system.
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Responsibilities
Justice Access Centres
Justice Access Centres help with family law issues and some other Supreme Court civil law issues such as simple probate, requesting a review of decisions of the Residential Tenancy Branch and various tribunals, appeals to Supreme Court and general Supreme Court information.
Dispute resolution
Division staff provide information on the rights and responsibilities of people who are separating or divorcing about:
- Guardianship
- Family maintenance
- Alternatives for resolving disputes
- Parenting arrangements and contact with a child/youth
Family Justice Counsellors
Family Justice Counsellors are accredited family mediators who provide mediation and conciliation services primarily to people of modest means. Family Justice Counsellors also help their clients to prepare provincial court documents.
Child Support Officers
Child Support Officers work in Family Justice Centres and Justice Access Centres and offer specialized assistance in child support and spousal support matters, and help parents to navigate the procedures involved to get and change child support and spousal support orders and agreements.
Parenting After Separation for Indigenous Families and Parenting After Separation (in Punjabi and English)
Parenting After Separation for Indigenous Families and Parenting After Separation (in Punjabi and English) are free online courses that take about three (3) hours to complete. Parents must complete a Parenting After Separation course before they can move forward with an application about a family law matter in Provincial Court. These courses provide information that helps parents make careful and informed decisions about their separation and to ensure decisions are based on the best interest of the child/youth, including:
- The impact of separation on you and your child/youth
- Strategies to help your family adjust to change
- Effective ways you and your child/youth’s other parent can communicate
- How to keep your child/youth out of the middle of conflict
- Options for resolving family disputes, including mediation, counselling and the court process
Early Resolution Registries
In Surrey and Victoria, the Provincial Family Court is an early resolution registry. The early resolution process applies to issues under the Family Law Act. It introduces early resolution requirements for family law matters in provincial court in those designated registries. The process aims to build knowledge, support problem solving and help parties prepare for next steps. For more information contact the Surrey or Victoria Justice Access Centre and if possible, also talk to a lawyer, who can help you understand the best process for a particular dispute.
Family Justice Registries
In Kelowna, Nanaimo, and Vancouver, the Provincial Family Court is a family justice registry. In these registries, parties who have filed (or replied to) a court application about a family law matter, are required to go through a family needs assessment with a family justice counsellor and take a parenting course before they can get a court date. For more information contact the Family Justice Centre location nearest you.
s.211 Assessments and Reports
A limited number of assessments of parental capacity are prepared upon order of the court to assist the court in determining parenting arrangements, contact with a child/youth, and views of the child/youth. For more information contact the Family Justice Centre location nearest you.