Family Justice Services Division

Family Justice Services Division (FJSD) delivers services that promote the timely and just resolution of family disputes within a comprehensive family justice system.

On this page

• Responsibilities
  • Family Justice Centres
  • Justice Access Centres
  • Dispute resolution
  • Family Justice Counsellors
  • Child Support Officers
  • Parenting After Separation courses
  • Early Resolution Registries
  • Family Justice Registries
  • s.211 Assessments and Reports

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Responsibilities

Family Justice Centres

Family Justice Centres operate across the province. These centres are staffed by Family Justice Counsellors who can assist you with issues related to separation or divorce. They provide services free of charge to parents and other family members. Learn more about Family Justice Centre services or see the Family Justice Centres brochure for more information.

Justice Access Centres

Justice Access Centres help with family justice matters, including separation and divorce. Staff at the Justice Access Centres provide the complete range of family justice services with the addition of staffed Self-Help Resource Rooms where you can access in-person assistance and computers for research, court forms, and printing.

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 courses

Parenting After Separation courses are free online courses for B.C. parents and other family members who are dealing with separation or divorce and facing decisions about guardianship, parenting arrangements, contact, child support and spousal support. They 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.

You can choose to take Parenting After Separation for Indigenous Families or Parenting After Separation (in Punjabi and English). Both 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

The courses also cover how the child support guidelines are applied and what resources are available in your community for parents and children.

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 Langley Family Justice Centre, Surrey Justice Access Centre, or Victoria Justice Access Centre, which all provide Early Resolution Registry services. 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 After Separation course before they can get a court date. For more information, contact the Kelowna Family Justice Centre, Nanaimo Justice Access Centre, Vancouver Family Justice Centre, or Vancouver Justice Access Centre, which all provide Family Justice Registry services.

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.