Learning Together: Three Years of the Transform the Family Justice System Collaborative

The fall season invites reflection and renewal. For many young people, it marks a time of learning, growth, and connection—a reminder that development, both individual and collective, is a lifelong process. Experiences in childhood and adolescence shape the architecture of the brain, influencing health and well-being across the lifespan. The work of the Transform the Family Justice System (TFJS) Collaborative is tied to human development and learning—both for families navigating conflict and for those of us striving to transform the systems that serve them.

The TFJS Collaborative was launched in June 2022 and has reached its third year—a time often described in a human lifespan as the “toddler years.” Like a young child learning to walk and talk, the Collaborative is finding its rhythm, deepening its relationships, and discovering its voice.

This post offers reflections on that journey and highlights two recent milestones in the work led by the Child and Youth Meaningful Participation Community of Action (CoA) and the Health and Justice Alliance (HJA).

A Moment to Celebrate and Reflect

On June 12, the Collaborative gathered virtually to celebrate its third anniversary. The event opened with words of welcome and wisdom from Elder Maria Reed. Participants shared stories and insights from the past year that reflected how far the Collaborative has come in a short time and what still lies ahead. After we had heard from many of those involved, I also provided some reflections on my own journey with the Collaborative.

The Power of Listening Deeply

I often describe myself as a realistic optimist. In our work towards system transformation, this doesn’t mean ignoring challenges:  It means holding faith in the possibility of change because we’ve seen it happen. Being part of the TFJS Collaborative is a daily reminder of that possibility.

Listening has been one of our most powerful tools. The early conversations about Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) that led to the TFJS Collaborative helped me understand trauma in a new way. It was through these same dialogues that I came to appreciate Positive Childhood Experiences (PCEs). PCEs are the relationships and routines that foster a sense of safety, socio-emotional support and belonging that enable each human to thrive. These well-researched ideas and associated approaches remind us that our interactions and environments shape not only individual lives, but also entire systems.

The Collaborative’s culture – of storytelling, deep listening, and mutual respect – continues to grow. Each story strengthens our collective “muscles” for empathy and understanding. Each connection made reinforces the web of relationships that supports system change.

Access to Justice through Meaningful Participation

One of the summer’s milestones was the Child and Youth Meaningful Participation CoA and the Family Justice Innovation Lab’s joint submission to the UN Committee on the Rights of the Child. This submission responded to the Committee’s draft General Comment No. 27, focused on children’s right to access justice and effective remedies. This effort deepened our shared understanding of child rights, a cornerstone of the TFJS vision, and demonstrated how local action can have a global impact.

For input on the submission, the CoA hosted a rich dialogue exploring “everyday justice”: How children engage in decisions that shape their daily lives at home, in school, and in their communities. It was both reflective and forward-looking, emphasizing that children’s voices not only deserve to be heard when disagreements or problems arise, but also deserve to shape the systems that affect them, when they are designed or re-designed.

An Early Opportunity to Amplify Agency and Choice

On October 8, 2025, building on the calls for more inclusive family and community processes at its June meeting, the Child and Youth Meaningful Participation CoA celebrated and discussed the recently launched Early Intervention Program. The Early Intervention Program allows young people to engage with a lawyer to figure out how they would like to participate in decision-making that affects them, upon parental separation or divorce. The young person’s confidential meeting with a lawyer is initiated by mutual parental agreement, a parent’s application to the court, or a judicial direction. Then, the young person gets to speak to a lawyer with the Child and Youth Legal Centre, who will:

• Act as a neutral information provider.
• Prioritize the child’s comfort and agency.
• Explain legal concepts in a child-friendly way.
• Maintain confidentiality.

Learn more about the program here: Early Intervention Program – Society for Children and Youth of BC.

This is an exciting development and CoA participant queries included whether the Program would expand to support children and youth who are the subjects of child welfare or protection related interventions. Indeed, research aligns with and supports the views and experiences that our youth participants have shared for many years: Including children’s voices in decision making contributes directly to their well-being and adjustment and can help them cope more effectively with the transitions related to separation and divorce as well as child welfare involvement.[1] Learning about this new service was encouraging, as we continue to seek to have more youth voices heard and engaged, including through supporting a Shaking the Movers event in partnership with Equitas and the SFU Centre for Restorative Justice, in the new year.

From Seed to Sprout: Emerging Branches of Intersectoral Partnership

Moving from expanding child and youth involvement to expanding early and effective triage, about a year ago, on October 25, 2024, the Health and Justice Alliance organized a Family Experience Mapping event with participants that included parents, youth, health practitioners, and justice service providers. This event resulted in a report with six recommendations for cross-sectoral support, including to develop “a decision tree model to help guide families through parental separation and refer them to legal and medical resources in a timely manner.” This fall, a group of BC legal and medical professionals started work on a joint decision tree with the goal of creating a helpful user-centred tool. We hope that the decision tree will:

• Promote early intervention to prevent and lower toxic stress for children and families (in line with resilience scale framework) upon family break-down;
• Map the types of supports available (mental health, social, financial, legal) and help professionals provide improved information and referrals to service users;
• Improve systems-level coordination, so that the negative health impacts associated with unresolved family law issues, which may involve acrimonious or protracted interactions, negotiations and litigation, can be better understood and reduced.

The structure of a decision tree usually assumes an initial entry point. In this case, it could be when a family, parent, or child recognizes that family breakdown is occurring or imminent. At the entry point, a professional who is equipped with the decision-tree will easily be able to engage in a needs-assessment. This includes consideration of family violence and whether there are Indigenous, culture-specific or trauma-related needs. This initial assessment may result in referral paths to medical specialists, mental health or pediatric supports, specialized legal supports, family justice counsellors, non-profit or private sector legal coaching, mediation or representation, Indigenous Nation-led services, culturally grounded programs and supports, and local organizations that can support safety planning. The visual organization of a decision tree supports the synthesis of a wide array of information on a specific issue to best serve a specific family or family member.

Closing Reflections: Seasons of System Change

Systems change takes time. The seeds planted through the Collaborative will continue to grow and bear fruit in the years ahead. This fall, as trees shed their leaves, I am reminded that transformation is a cyclical process. It requires patience, humility, and hope.

To everyone contributing their time, wisdom, and heart to this work:  Thank you. Together, we are developing and shaping a more participatory, relational and holistic family justice system for generations to come.

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[1] Kelly J. (2002). “Psychological and Legal Interventions for Parents and Children in Custody and Access Disputes: Current Research and Practice.” Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law, 10, 129-163; Damiani-Taraba G., et al. (2017). “The evolving relationship between casework skills, engagement and positive case outcomes in child protection: A structural equation model.” Children & Youth Services Review, 79, 456–462.