Office of the Children's Lawyer

[mominont]

Good News - The office of the Children's Lawyer has agreed to prepare a social worker report for my custody/access issues.

Just wondering about what to expect if others have been through this process. Types of questions they ask, etc.

Thanks
mominont

[logicalvelocity]

mominont,

Perhaps this non existent procedural guide of the OCL located at the Canada Court Watch Site may be of assistance.


http://www.canadacourtwatch.com/lega...ssessments.pdf


lv

[macdonaldgal]

Originally Posted by logicalvelocity

mominont,

Perhaps this non existent procedural guide of the OCL located at the Canada Court Watch Site may be of assistance.


http://www.canadacourtwatch.com/lega...ssessments.pdf


lv

NICE! i am a member of that site but I have no idea where to find those documents without this link

[Access Dad]

I am currently going through an investigation by a social worker from the OCL. My case is strictly about access. I currently have supervised but I have now taken care of the issue that caused my access to be supervised.

The SW was assigned to us in at the end of February. Since then, I have had one short interview with him, he has interviewed my daughter, he's had a short interview with my ex, he's observed me with my daughter at the Access Center once, and he will be coming to my home next week to make sure it's safe for a child to be there.

So far, I find him to be a little young and I sense he's inexperienced as far as conducting custody/access investigations. But I'll just wait and see if I'm wrong about that.

The first time you meet you will have to give him what is called "collateral contacts." These are third parties who are or have been involved with you and/or the child. They are people such as doctors, schools, therapists, counsellors, family members, friends etc. He/she will also ask you to sign Authorization forms for the release of information by the police and the CAS.

Thye have 90 days to complete the investigation (although it's not uncommon that they take much longer depending on the complexity of the case). When the investigation is complete, the investigator will arrange what is called a "disclosure meeting" with you, your ex and your lawyers if any.

At the disclosure meeting the investigator will reveal to you the results of the investigation and what his/her recommendations will be (ie who gets custody, access etc.).

Based on the results, you and your ex will have a chance to settle the matter as your lawyer will tell you that the court follows the recommendations of the OCL about 80%-90% of the time.

If you do not agree with the results of the investigation, the recommendations will be drafted into a report and filed with the court, and you may file a dispute with the court and a judge will decide.

The social worker has one, and only one, objective - what is in the child's best interests. They generally do not look at or consider affidavits that are before the court that contain allegations that are not yet proven. They are trained to cut through all the back and forth between ex's and get straight to what is in the child's best interests.

It's not uncommon for the party that wants the OCL involved (assuming the other party doesn't want it or doesn't care) to get a report that is not in their favour or not what they envisioned the results to be.

Good luck! Tell us how it goes

[mattine]

Old post I see...but how did this go? My partners lawyer is considering having him apply for OCL. Worth it? I guess my biggest fear is that his ex wife has brainwashed his daughter with BS about us and has created this status quo of limited access for almost 2 yrs now (despite his pleas otherwise...offers to settle, requests for more time)...and how will that influence the OCL investigation? Are they able to see through her manipulation or are we setting ourselves up??

[macdonaldgal]

We have the disclosure meeting tomorrow actually, OCL processes can be "old" and long so I will have an answer soon..

[macdonaldgal]

yes research "parental alienation" that is mental child abuse. that is the only thing that could be warrant besides problems with her own parenting to change custody/status quo to stop more emotional harm to the child.