This is a joint project between the University of Toronto Faculty of Law, Osgoode Hall & Lincoln Alexander School of Law.
Name of Organization: Encircle
Website of Organization: TBA – Under Construction
Organization’s Mandate: Parents who are caught in the child welfare system lack integrated, holistic support to help them address the issues that led to child welfare involvement and to position them to parent their children without state intervention. Encircle aims to provide child welfare involved parents with legal representation, support navigating social services, and peer support from parents who have gone through the system.
Project Name: Peer Support Models Research
Project Type: Research (memoranda used for internal purposes only)
Project Delivery: Remote
Description of Project: This project involves a comprehensive exploration of peer support models for parents involved in the child welfare system, focusing on the legal issues surrounding their implementation. The objective is to conduct a review of existing peer support models, analyze their structure, effectiveness, and applicability in various contexts.
Role of Student Volunteers: Student volunteers will help gather and analyze data on peer support models and examine the legal questions related to the implementation of these models (i.e., what are the legal obligations related to maintaining confidentiality in peer support programs, what are the legal responsibilities of the peer supporters, are there specific regulations that govern the operation of peer support programs in educational/child welfare settings, etc.). Their work will support the project’s aim of identifying the most effective and legally sound peer support models, ultimately helping to inform policy and practice in this field. This will include reviewing academic literature, compiling data on current practices, and identifying key trends and gaps in the research. The output of the research will be a research memo to be used by the organization to identify the viability of implementing peer support models in their work.
The final deliverable will include PBSC’s disclaimer about students not providing legal advice.
Role of Supervising Lawyer(s): Provide guidance and mentorship to the students in addition to reviewing the student’s work and giving timely feedback. Review the students final deliverables before use by the organization.
Type of Law: Family law, child welfare law.
Main Project Deliverable: Creating produced content (e.g. research memos, brochures, podcasts, etc.)
Number of Student Placements: 1 student
Hours per week the student volunteer(s) will be expected to work: 3-5 hours/week
Regular shifts or a flexible schedule: Flexible
Is there a workspace provided for the student at the Organization: No
Devices and technologies the students will be required to have: Computer, Internet access, telephone, Zoom.
Is there an expectation for the student(s) to be bilingual: No
Law School Pre-Requisites: Upper year students with a background in family law is an asset.
Other Requirements or Expectations: N/A