E9: Supporting Clients with Family Law Issues
Access to legal information, while not a substitute for legal representation, is a crucial first step in the process of asserting rights. This workshop will provide settlement counsellors and front-line workers with an introduction and overview of common family law legal issues and terminology. This understanding will assist workers in supporting their clients experiencing family breakdown. Following a general introduction, we will examine the resources developed by the FLEW project – Family Law Education for Women (FLEW) – to assist women in understanding their rights and responsibilities under Canadian public family law. There will be an interactive component which will allow participants to engage with the information in a fun and creative way. Participants will gain a general understanding of key legal concepts and terminology in family law, including recent changes in family law. They will learn about the extensive library of public legal education materials produced by FLEW, as well as other legal resources that are available to assist their clients. Multilingual copies of materials will be available for distribution.
Ginny Santos is currently the project manager for FLEW (Family Law Education for Women). She brings expertise in public legal education with a special interest in forms of popular education. Ginny knows how to create a learning experience that fits with diverse learning preferences and that is fun and creative. In the past, Ginny has worked as a settlement counsellor and has also coordinated a team of settlement counsellors at a major organization in Toronto. She is very familiar with the settlement sector and has a deep respect for the work of settlement counsellors.
