Reprinted with permission from Slaw.ca – published May 20, 2026 Much of the work of the BC Family Justice Innovation Lab (FJIL) has focused on our Youth Voices initiative. Coming out of an intensive design process centering the lived experience of young people, the Youth Voices Initiative aims to improve the well-being of children and youth experiencing […]
Read postReposted with permission from Slaw.ca – published July 20, 2026 Rachel Birnbaum and Nicholas Bala’s recent discussion paper, Shaping the Future of Child-Inclusive Mediation in Canada, is an important contribution to the ongoing evolution of family mediation practice in Canada. The paper provides a thoughtful overview of the research supporting child-inclusive mediation and reaffirms the principle […]
Read postOur invitation to young people in BC with lived experience of the family justice system: In British Columbia, the voices of young people have a right to be heard, especially during challenging times for themselves or their families. The Youth Voices Initiative is on a mission to change the conversation around the family justice system, […]
Read postThe Youth Voices Initiative partnered with Adler University to provide a 3-hour online workshop on April 1, 2022. The workshop was generously funded by the Notary Foundation. It focused on providing Adler students (future counsellors and therapists) with insight into the impact of separation and divorce on children and youth and the importance of meaningful […]
Read postThis is Part 2 of a two-part piece focusing on how family lawyers and mediators can participate in and support the Youth Voices Initiative. Originally published on Slaw.ca, Canada’s Online Legal Magazine and republished with permission. In Part 1, I described the foundations of the Youth Voices Initiative, overseen by the BC Family Justice Innovation Lab, which […]
Read postThis is Part 1 of a two-part piece focusing on how family lawyers and mediators can participate in and support the Youth Voices Initiative. It was originally published in September 2020 on Slaw.ca, Canada’s Online Legal Magazine and republished with permission. It has been 10 years since Brené Brown published her book The Gifts of Imperfection. […]
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It has been a few months since our last update on the Youth Voices Initiative (March 7). The world has changed in fundamental ways since then! But we have been continuing our work and we’d like to describe some of the highlights so far and provide a peek into the exciting things coming next!! The […]
Read postOur friends at Access to Justice BC (A2JBC) wrote and published a story about the Lab’s Youth Voices initiative. We are grateful for the shoutout and for the support! Our funding from the Vancouver Foundation and Giving Well has carried the Lab through four wonderful years. We are so grateful for their support! While that funding […]
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I watched “To Kill a Mockingbird” again recently. As most of you know, Harper Lee wrote the novel, and the 1962 Academy Award–winning movie features Gregory Peck as Atticus Finch, a small town lawyer who defends a black man accused of the rape of a white girl. There are so many important themes in this […]
Read postIn our February post we promised to provide more details about some of the insights coming out of the Youth Voices Workshop in January. I believe it is too early for true “insights” – they will come from the next stage of our work (discovery). However, I can report on the actual output from the […]
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