Family justice for Albertans

Re: “Legal aid gets financial boost, but critics say it’s not enough,” the Journal, March 15. I am pleased the provincial government has shown its support for all Albertans having access to justice by injecting $7 million more into legal aid.

I am also aware of the great programs through a personal experience with the Alberta government’s Family Justice Services that provided my family with the opportunity to develop a plan that moved us out of chaos and focused on the well-being of the children.

Family Justice Services assists everyday Albertans — parents, grandparents or anyone in a parental role — by guiding them through the court system and referring better-educated clients to legal aid if they need a lawyer.

Family Justice Service’s strength is early intervention and prevention. It provides low-income Alberta families with highly skilled mediators, social workers and family court counsellors in a triage approach, directing families to appropriate services in the community or government agencies. It facilitates more co-operative co-parenting while assisting parents in court applications rather than an adversarial approach.

Family Justice Service’s early intervention and prevention is cost effective. Strengthening and empowering families provides positive opportunities for our next generation. We save spiralling costs connected to the courts and judges.

And we allow legal aid to continue providing families with legal representation when they really need help. Emily Hoffman, Edmonton