Name of Organization: Encircle Defence
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: Child Welfare Resources Creation
Project Type: Public Legal Education (presentations, workshops, podcasts, brochures, blogs, etc.)
Project Delivery: Virtual
Description of Project: Encircle is committed to supporting parents involved in the child welfare system, many of whom face additional challenges such as housing precarity, job insecurity, and the trauma of domestic abuse. To provide comprehensive assistance, Encircle is developing a clear and up-to-date resource list that will serve as a holistic information packet. This resource list aims to supplement the information sessions provided to parents. Encircle is also working on developing its website to include public legal education tools related to the resource list and the child welfare system.
Role of Student Volunteers: The student will build on research that began in 2024-2025 for the resource list. They will research and add resources related to parent education, medical care availability, drug and alcohol rehabilitation service, childcare services, financial literacy, lawyers with experience in child protection law and whether they take on legal aid. The student will also research, recommend, and create public legal education tools that will help parents navigate the complexities of the child welfare system and connect with the services they need (i.e. FAQs, info sheets, other mediums as identified by the student and organization collaboratively etc.).
Role of Supervising Lawyer(s): Provide guidance and mentorship to the students in addition to reviewing the student’s work and giving timely feedback.
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: N/A
Other Requirements or Expectations: N/A