Donald Robertshaw,
Child Protection Worker

In 1986, armed with a bach-
elor’s degree in criminology
and politica! science, Don-
ald Robertshaw started his
career in child protection
with a week's training in
Vancouver “We learned
what was in the legislation
and policy manuals and then went out to work,”
he remembers. In 1992, he took his experience
overseas and. after going back and forth on vari-
ous assigninents for several years. settled down
in post-civil-war Sierra Leone working for UNICEF
and CAUSE Canada until 2007 when he went to
Darfur before returning to British Columbia in ‘O08.

Now working as the Associate Child Pro-
tection Manager for the Vancouver Aboriginal
Children and Family Services Society, he trained
at the JIBC for three months to learn the new
methods and practices that govern child welfare
and protection in the province.

“There's really no comparison between
the training that the JIBC provides now and whiat
little | had in 1986. And it's all for the better. I've
been really impressed with the quality of instruc-
tion There's a great group of instructors with ex-
ceptional knowledge and skills. Compared to the
situations | faced twenty years ago, there are now
many more less-intrusive measures to provide
children with safety, while building the parents’
capacity to better care for and protect their chil-
dren. The process cuts down on the potential for
adversatial problems for the children’s develop-
ment and well-being. It provides more oppor-
tunities for mediated settlements and better
solutions for al! family members including, most
importantly, the children.”

opment and adult probation officer duties remained with the Ministry of
Public Safety and Solicitor General. Just prior to that separation, family
court counsellor duties and some officers moved to the Ministry of Attorney
General. Accordingly, the JIBC training program for these sectors was
separated and enhanced to meet the challenges of each of these jobs, which
require maintaining emotional equilibrium and an optimistic demeanor
(necessary qualifications for professions that may be entirely stressful at one
moment and extraordinarily rewarding the next).

While the training content is different for the various roles, the
training methodology for youth probation, adult probation and family
justice counsellors is very similar: blended online and in the classroom and
on the job. This direction was initiated in 1999 by Rob Watts of the B.C.
Corrections Branch. The JIBC’s implementation has resulted in one of the
most sophisticated, leading-edge training programs in Canada.

After completing prerequisite courses, newly hired officers or coun-
sellors will complete other JIBC coursework through distance education
in their assigned offices throughout the province. Although eighty percent
of the courses they take are online, during their first year they come to
the New Westminster campus for intensive classroom instruction. While
learning their duties, beginners work alongside an experienced officer
who is a mentor and is supervised in the office by the local team leader or
manager. Distance courses are provided to new officers as a group so that
they can communicate to faculty and each other by audio conferencing in
order to ask questions and have class discussions. Topics include Aboriginal
justice, supervising domestic offenders, personal safety, restorative justice
and discrimination prevention. Other courses are presented in sequence to
make sure that the training is timely with the hiring of new staff. All of this
shows how the JIBC constantly adapts its instruction to match social trends
and demands, as well as the operational requirements of various govern-
ment field offices.

In the classroom, probation officers learn techniques that are not
readily demonstrated online. In simulation sessions they learn how to give
evidence in court and practise different types of interviewing techniques,
learning the differences between the interrogative investigation and the
motivating conversation.

“We hire actors to play the roles of the offenders,” says Tim Stiles,
Director of the Corrections and Community Justice Division, “and what's
interesting is how much further they will push uncooperative behaviour in
an interview than is likely to happen in a real situation. They will be surly,
refuse to answer questions and show all kinds of crude behaviour. In reality,
it's unlikely an offender will behave that way for long. I’ve always found that
unless an offender is under the influence of a drug or alcohol, or is mentally
ill, when treated professionally and skilfully, they will respond appropriately.”