Youth probation officers, who work for the Ministry of Children
and Family Development, take similar training but before being hired will
have passed prerequisite online courses on the youth justice system and
the Youth Criminal Justice Act. The focus in youth probation is to assist
young offenders in dealing with the causes and circumstances of their crim-
inal activities. So the JIBC’s post-hire online courses cover topics such as
substance use, fetal alcohol spectrum disorder, mental health issues, suicide
awareness and Aboriginal youth in the justice system. Training topics are
continually evolving as probation offices throughout the province identify
needs that will help their staff improve outcomes for their clients.

“The expectations and practices of youth probation have changed
since moving to the Ministry of Children and Family Development,’ says
Stiles. “The laws have also changed and youth offenders, of course, attend
youth courts. The training for youth probation officers is becoming more
specialized and more sophisticated.”

Not so long ago, probation officers, particularly those in small towns,
often found themselves dealing not just with adult and youth offenders but
also counselling families in crisis from marriage breakdown and, when
requested, providing information to the court in such matters as child
access and custody. Recognizing that these were civil, not criminal, matters,
in 1997 probation and family services were separated and the Family Justice
Services Division was established. Family court counsellors became family
justice counsellors working in Family Justice Centres with increased roles
and responsibilities and the need for more specialized training.

When families are going through separation and divorce, family
justice counsellors provide counselling and mediation as alternatives to liti-
gation. If a judge so orders, family justice counsellors can also investigate a
family’s circumstances and make recommendations to the court about child
custody, access and guardianship. While not able to give legal advice, they
can explain legal procedures and the options open to separating couples.

“Family justice counsellors are not there to help couples patch things
up.” says Stiles, “although I’m sure that happens from time to time. They are
there to help separating families, particularly those with low and moderate
incomes, deal with their situation, hopefully without the necessity of going to
court. When there are children involved, which is most of the time, the coun-
sellors will help to resolve child access, custody and financial support issues.’

To qualify as family justice counsellors with the Ministry of Attorney
General, interested applicants (who pay for the courses themselves) gener-
ally complete at least eighty hours of conflict resolution courses and further
specialized training leading to certification with Family Mediation Canada.
Courses include Family Violence: Impact on Separation and Divorce,
Substance Abuse Issues in Family Justice, Multicultural Issues in Family
Justice and Child Support Guidelines. Most of the courses are taken online,

Pero er eee CT Teer Ue CC re Se ee eee ee no ee on a ake:

Craig Somerville,
Youth Probation Officer

Over the past twelve years,
as he has moved from one
corrections career to anoth-
er, Craig Somerville has had
three rounds of basic train-
ing courses from the JIBC.
He started his career in
1995 working at the Prince
George Regional Correctional Centre, where In-
stitute instructors came to train new recruits for a
few weeks. Then in 2003, after taking ediicational
leave to earn a bachelor’s degree from the Social
Work Faculty at the University of Victoria, he be-
came an adult probation officer in Prince George.
Always wanting to work with young people, he
transferred to youth probation in 2008.

“I'm really passionate about helping young
people who've found theinselves in trouble with
the justice system. Youth probation is about fos-
tering change in young people aged twelve to
nineteen. It's quite different from adult probation
because the work is more hands-on. | find myself
in court more, advocating what's best for the child.

“I've taken the JIBC courses for youth pro-
bation online with a ‘week here and there in New
Westminster of face-to-face instruction for skills
like interviewing. I've found the online instruc-
tors at New Westminster to always be very ap-
proachable and accessible on the phone or by e-
mail. | was able to set up a course schedule that
coincided with my work schedule. In the Prince
George office, my mentor was always at hand to
help when | had questions.

“| spend quite a bit of my time aut of the
office travelling to remote communities, many of
them First Nations. The JIBC Aboriginal Youth
and Justice System course has helped tamiliarize
me with First Nations issues and different, cultur-
ally sensitive methods of dealing with them “