Our court programs rely on volunteers to help us manage the needs of youth and adults appearing in court. This is a highly specialized opportunity and we seek individuals who are capable of committing once weekly for a minimum of one year. Anyone applying to be a court program volunteer must be able to meet the minimum one-year commitment requirement.
Adult Court: Assist individuals at the Case Management Office with legal information, plea options, and resources on criminal matters.
Traffic/Bylaw Court: Assist individuals on the traffic and bylaw floor with addressing their legal matters by providing information on processes and guidelines, as well as clarification of orders and expectations.
Youth Court: Assist youth on the court floor with legal information on processes and protocol, and with access to legal counsel and other resources.
Domestic Violence Court: Triages the accused through their legal processes by providing appropriate information on court processes and procedures, and connecting to appropriate partners for legal support.
Court Program Volunteer Application Process
Interested court volunteers must follow our application process:
- Complete the pre-screening application
- Upon approval of the pre-screening application our volunteer application will be sent out to the applicant.
- Applicant to return completed application, along with a recent resume, formal cover letter, and three references. Please note that two references provided must be professional and must be direct supervisors. A third reference may be a character reference. References will be checked prior to Elizabeth Fry requesting an interview.
- Approved applicants will be invited into an interview process.
- Successful applicants will be requested to provide criminal record checks in accordance with the vulnerable persons stream.
- Successful candidates will be given mandatory module training dates should they continue to be interested, and remain capable of the commitment requirement. Candidates must complete module training within the first three months of accepting a volunteer position; otherwise, they will be withdrawn as a volunteer until they complete this training. Candidates are expected to provide their employers advance notification of the module training dates, and ensure that other plans, responsibilities, obligations, etc. are addressed prior to the dates in order to assure their attendance. It is recommended that a volunteer who is aware they have a preexisting conflict related to the module training period of their recruitment wait to commence their role in the following quarter to avoid being withdrawn from their position.
- Once module training has been completed, candidates will attend three observation and three shadow shifts before being contracted.
- Upon completion of training and a signed contract, the volunteer is expected to provide a minimum of one shift per week for one complete year. Reliability and punctuality are expected throughout. For those interested in less of a commitment please check with our Volunteer Coordinator for other opportunities.
Please do not apply to court programs if you are unable to commit to a minimum of one year.
Training Modules
Training modules will occur every year on the first weekend of each month stated below, unless noted:
- February
- May
- August (2nd weekend of the month)
- November