Children and Youth Interview Skills Workshop 2026

Product Type: Course

This course has no current sessions.

DescriptionMore DetailAgenda

Providing meaningful participation to children and youth involved in the legal system

Friday, March 6, 2026 (SOLD OUT)
9:00 am – 4:30 pm
CLEBC Office, 500 - 1155 W. Pender St., Vancouver

Limited enrollment. Register early to avoid disappointment!

Please note: This course will not be added to Courses on Demand. Courses involving professional speakers and skills-based workshops generally do not get added to Courses on Demand.

Who should attend: Lawyers practicing in family, criminal, civil, human rights, and all practice areas involving children and youth; judges, family justice counsellors, mediators, arbitrators, parenting coordinators; anyone involved in access to justice; psychologists, psychiatrists, social workers

Learning level: All levels

There are practical considerations that professionals must keep in mind when conversing with and gathering information from children and youth involved as clients or witnesses in legal processes.

How can you collect information from children and youth while honouring and respecting them in the process?

At this interview training workshop, you will learn how to adapt your practice to ensure that you are creating safety, respecting boundaries, and providing meaningful participation when interviewing young people involved in the legal system.

You will receive tools to help you honour the rights of children and youth in your daily practice and when representing young people in family and criminal processes.

You will learn how to:

create a safe, trauma-informed, culturally-aware space for an interview
build rapport with child or youth
invite and encourage young people to share their views
ensure young people understand how and why their views are being used
assess capacity and ability of each child or youth
access the Child Rights Toolkit and other resources you can start using right away

Law Society of BC CPD Hours: 6 hours (this course will contain a minimum of 1 hour pertaining to professional responsibility and ethics, client care and relations, and/or practice management; approved 6 hours for Mediators and Family Justice Professionals)

Workshop Chairs
Dr. Brandys Evans — Clinical Counsellor, Boomerang Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre, North Vancouver
Suzette Narbonne — Managing Lawyer, Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Michael Zimmerman — Managing Lawyer (Roster), Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC; Lindsay Kenney LLP, Vancouver

Pricing	EARLY BIRD Register by Feb. 6/26	Regular Price After Feb. 6/26
In-person	$659	$739
In-person Articled Student	$419	$419

Are you a member of the Indigenous legal community (lawyer/Articled Student/legal support staff/paralegal) or a non-lawyer Indigenous community member?
CLEBC is committed to reducing barriers to legal education. We value your contributions and encourage your participation in all of our programs. To increase accessibility, we offer a 50% discount* to all self-identifying Indigenous lawyers/Articled Students/legal support staff/paralegals and a limited number of free online registrations to non-lawyer Indigenous community members. (*discount applies to Regular prices, not Early Bird prices). Please contact Customer Service to find out more.

Unable to attend a course without financial assistance from CLEBC?
Click here for bursary information.

Want to register for a course now, but prefer a monthly payment plan?
Check out our Easy Pay Plan.

Registration includes an electronic copy of the reference materials and lunch.

CLEBC Program Lawyer*
Teresa Sheward
tsheward@cle.bc.ca
*non-practising

Workshop Chairs
Dr. Brandys Evans — Clinical Counsellor, Boomerang Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre, North Vancouver
Suzette Narbonne, KC — Managing Lawyer, Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Michael Zimmerman — Managing Lawyer (Roster), Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC; Lindsay Kenney LLP, Vancouver

About the Workshop Chairs

Brandys Evans holds a doctorate in counselling and psychotherapy and is a Registered Clinical Counsellor in private practice in North Vancouver, where she works with children, youth, individuals, families, and couples.

Brandys is passionate about understanding the neurobiological implications of our interactions with one another throughout our development and how to optimize these experiences for our growth and well-being. Her research includes the intricate interactions in relationships, especially where high-conflict is present between couples, and resist-refuse in children. Brandys is currently the clinical director at Boomerang Counselling Centre in North Vancouver.

Suzette Narbonne was called to the Manitoba bar in 1989 and began her career in The Pas with Legal Aid Manitoba. As counsel, she travelled to isolated First Nations communities, conducting free legal advice clinics and litigating for her clients in criminal and family law cases—often in makeshift courts convened in band offices, recreation centres, and hydro halls.

Since 1995, she has practiced law in BC. Suzette joined the Child and Youth Legal Centre at its inception in 2017, where she is managing lawyer. She has helped to shape the vision of child representation in BC. She has mentored many lawyers through the CBA, has served as a governor for the Law Foundation of BC, as a bencher of the Law Society of BC, and as the chair of the Legal Services Society. Currently, she serves on the executive of the children's law section of the CBABC.

Michael Zimmerman began his legal career in New Brunswick. In 2014, he moved to Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island, where he oversaw the operations of provincial family justice services and the development and implementation of the Office of the Children's Lawyer Program. Michael also directed the development/amendment of the following statutes: Custody Jurisdiction and Enforcement Act, Judicature Act, Maintenance Enforcement Act, Family Law Act, Adoption Act, Child Protection Act, Child and Youth Advocate Act as well as the corresponding reform of impacted policies and programs.

In 2020, Michael moved from Prince Edward Island to Bowen Island. He is a family law lawyer and works as the managing lawyer (Roster) with the Child and Youth Legal Centre. Michael is currently the Communications Officer for the CBA Child and Youth Law Section and co-chair of the CBABC Children's Law Section.

Coaches
Ayesha Azfar, MC, RCC — Strive2Thrive Counselling Services, Coquitlam
Letitia Chu — Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Daniela Davies — Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Adrienne Edmunds — Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Zahra Jenab — Jenab & Company, West Vancouver
Estella Swann — North Vancouver
Ashli Swann — North Vancouver

Click here for full bios

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Please Contact Customer Service to order.

Child and Family Services Law and Practice

Get the guidance you need to effectively practice child and family services law

This publication is essential for: practitioners who need guidance on the substantive law and procedure for child and family services matters and the contextual issues underlying this practice area

Current to: May 15, 2024

Child and family services law poses unique challenges. Need to understand how to practice effectively in this area? Let Child and Family Services Law and Practice support you with valuable guidance on all aspects of your practice. In addition to analysis and direction on substantive law and procedure, this manual provides you with important context on the continuing impacts of Canada's colonial history, as well as children's rights, and insights on taking an informed approach to the issues that may arise in child and family services law.

With this resource, you will be able to:

easily access the current legislation governing child and family services matters, and quickly identify the leading case law and key principles and practice points
understand the relationship between Canada's colonial history of intervention with Indigenous children and families and the current child and family services system
improve your practice by incorporating principles of trauma-informed practice and cultural humility

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Highlights of the first release of this publication include:

chapters exploring governing laws and principles in child and family services law and highlighting Indigenous approaches and perspectives and the rights of children
chapters addressing contextual matters and practice in child and family services law, including cultural humility, trauma-informed practice, Charter challenges and class actions as remedies, and guidance on working for and with people with Fetal Alcohol Spectrum Disorder
chapters explaining substantive law and procedure and guiding readers through the mechanics of a child and family services file, including both the processes under of the Child, Family and Community Service Act and suggestions for collaborative and creative alternatives
the complete text of An Act respecting First Nations, Inuit and Métis children, youth and families, the Child, Family and Community Service Act, the Child, Family and Community Service Regulation, and the Provincial Court (Child, Family and Community Service Act) Rules, all annotated with cases under the specific sections of the legislation
checklists and forms and precedents to support child and family services lawyers in their practice

Course Introduction and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:15)

Teresa Sheward — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver

Dr. Brandys Evans — Clinical Counsellor, Boomerang Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre, North Vancouver
Suzette Narbonne, KC — Managing Lawyer, Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Michael Zimmerman — Managing Lawyer (Roster), Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC; Lindsay Kenney LLP, Vancouver

Child Representation from a Family Perspective (9:15 – 10:00)

a family speaks about their lived experience
what it means in practice to hear the child's voice in legal processes
providing meaningful participation to young people involved in the legal system

Estella Swann — North Vancouver
Ashli Swann — North Vancouver

Cultural Awareness and Creating a Welcoming Space (10:00 – 11:00)

a child's perspective
cultivating openness, curiosity, and acceptance
creating a safe, trauma-informed, culturally aware space for an interview
self-awareness: conscientiousness around one's own biases
working with marginalized communities
neurodivergent clients

Ayesha Azfar, MC, RCC — Strive2Thrive Counselling Services, Coquitlam

BREAK (11:00 – 11:15)

Interviewing Children and Youth Effectively: Practical Skills (11:15 – 12:00)

Examples of interview skills in action: how to do it better

practical considerations when conversing with and gathering information from young people involved as clients or witnesses in legal processes
how to collect and use information from young people while honouring and respecting their rights
how to adapt your practice to ensure that you are creating a safe space, respecting boundaries, and providing meaningful participation when working with and interviewing young people
tools to help you honour the rights of young people in your daily practice, and when representing young people in family processes
ethical issues and best practices for working with young people

LUNCH (12:00 – 12:45)

Interviewing Children and Youth Effectively: Practical Skills, continued (12:45 – 1:00)

Interviewing Children and Youth: Skills Practice, Part One (1:00 – 2:00)

Workshop groups with coaches will practice interviewing young people to gather required information. You will practice skills to:

create a safe, trauma-informed, culturally-aware space for an interview
build rapport with young people
invite and encourage young people to share their views
ensure young people understand how and why their views are being shared and how they will be used
assess capacity and ability of each child or youth
access the Child Rights Toolkit and other resources you can start using right away

Coaches:

Letitia Chu — Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Daniela Davies — Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Adrienne Edmunds — Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Zahra Jenab — Jenab & Company, West Vancouver

Suzette Narbonne, KC — Managing Lawyer, Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Michael Zimmerman — Managing Lawyer (Roster), Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC; Lindsay Kenney LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (2:00 – 2:15)

Interviewing Children and Youth Effectively: Practical Skills, continued (2:15 – 3:00)

Interviewing Children and Youth: Skills Practice, Part Two (3:00 – 4:00)

continuation of interview skills practice in breakout groups

Coaches:

Debrief and Closing Comments (4:00 – 4:30)

Feedback from each group: registrants, coaches, and actors

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Children and Youth Interview Skills Workshop 2026

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