Aboriginal Combined Courtwork Programme

Goals & Objectives

The goals of the ACCWP is to assist Aboriginal people involved in the Canadian justice system to better understand their rights, options and responsibilities when appearing before the courts, this would include the following, Aboriginal Adults charged under Criminal Code of Canada, Youth Court 12-17 yrs., (date of the offence), Child Protection and Family Court Matters (Youth where directed by programme supervisor).

The objectives of the ACCWP are;

Assist Aboriginal people to understand their right to speak on their own behalf or to request legal counsel, to better understand the nature of the charges against them and the philosophy and functioning of the criminal justice system.
Assist in enhancing the awareness and appreciation of the values, customs, languages and socio-economic conditions of Aboriginal people on the part of those involved in the administration of the criminal justice system.
Respond the problems and special needs caused by communication barriers which exist between Aboriginal and those who are involved in the administration of the criminal justice system.

Programme Summary

The ACCW is also a unique programme because it provides both Criminal and Family service as described. There are Aboriginal Adults charged under Criminal Code of Canada, Youth Court 12-17 yrs., (date of the offence), Child Protection and Family Court Matters (Youth where directed by programme supervisor).

Focus on Success

Some of the success of the ACCW can be attributed to the Justice Information System (JIS); this system has allowed the ACCW to easily maintain daily statistics which thus allows the ACCW to concentrate on developing plan for the client’s to succeed in obtaining goals from plans of action.

Development

There were a development of issues and concerns brought to the attention of the Justice Working Group, this was dealing with File Maintenance, Case Management and Time Management, theses situations were addressed at the recent Provincial Training and a resolution was initiated and completed. The Justice Working Group is continually evaluating and identifying new and existing strategies to address the Courtwork Programme.