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Alberta Law Information Centres (LInCs)

DescriptionAlberta Justice's courthouse centres providing information, education and referrals to self-represented litigants.
StatusOperating in Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, and Grande Prairie
JurisdictionAlberta
Court
  • Provincial Court
  • Court of Queen's Bench
  • Court of Appeal
Body responsibleAlberta Justice
Subjects
  • Alberta Justice
  • courthouse resources
  • legal information centres
  • public legal education and information
  • referrals
  • self-represented litigants
Timeline 
March 2006Alberta Justice facilitates collaborative discussions about the needs of SRLs
July - Nov. 2006Alberta Self Represented Litigants Mapping Project undertaken
January 2007Project report released
April 2007Edmonton and Red Deer locations opened
June 2007Grande Prairie location opened
June 2008Final Evaluation Report released
January 2009Calgary location opened
Publications
Development
In 2005, Alberta Justice formed the SRL Advisory Committee to make recommendations to enhance access to justice for SRLs in Alberta. As part of the process of deciding on a course of action to address the needs of SRLs, a delegation from Alberta Justice visited the recently established British Columbia Supreme Court Self-Help Information Centre (BCSHIC), located in the Vancouver Law Courts. This project is considered an innovative model of collaboration to identify and address the needs of SRLs.

Alberta Justice also consulted with non-government organizations (NGOs) in Edmonton, Red Deer and Calgary about the possibility of conducting a mapping process to document current SRL services and to better understand how to address gaps and shortcomings in those services. As a result of these consultations, the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice, acting on behalf of the NGOs, successfully applied to the Alberta Law Foundation for $82,875 to conduct the Mapping Project, which was matched by funding from Alberta Justice.
SRL Mapping Project Report at V.
The Mapping Project was "designed to document the range of government and nongovernment services and supports currently available to self-represented litigants in Alberta." (SRL Mapping Project Report at V) This was carried out in three centres: Edmonton and area, Red Deer and area, and Grande Prairie and area. It found strong support for the potential of a self-help centre to meet the needs of self-represented litigants through "its potential as a centralized place for information that can coordinate referrals to existing services which are currently 'disconnected and fragmented.'" (SRL Mapping Project Report at 46)
Purpose
"We have seen an increase in number of individuals choosing to represent themselves in court in the last few years. Unfortunately, Albertans who do not have a legal background often find the court system difficult to navigate on their own and this can lead to delays. Our goal is to provide access to legal information and reduce the frustration and the amount of time needed to deal with court cases involving self-represented litigants."
Ron Stevens, Alberta Minister of Justice, Press release.
The objectives of the Law Information Centres are to:
  • Improve access to justice for individuals acting on their own behalf.
  • Increase SRL's access to appropriate information that will assist them prior to, during and after their day in court.
  • Reduce the amount of time needed to deal with SRL cases in court. (By helping to reduce sitting times for court cases this initiative should reduce lead times and increase the number of overall cases heard in a given period).
  • Encourage ongoing, collaborative, and consultative relationships to form among justice service providers/resources.
Service Vision and Program Design Report.
The Service Vision and Program Design Report goes on to state that the Alberta LInCs are meant to work in collaboration with other organizations by referring individuals to other services that may more adequately address their needs.
Description of reforms
The Service Vision of the LInCs has been stated as follows:
  • Be client-focused
  • Have the capacity to determine what a SRL currently neds and what next step is required.
  • Offer objective services by knowledgeable and respectful staff.
  • Facilitate networks with the justice community and associated service providers for the purpose of sharing legal information and practice knowledge.
  • Be based on collaboration of stakeholders and service providers to ensure greater continuity of service to SRLs with less risk of duplication.
Service Vision and Program Design Report.
The LInCs are located in the Calgary, Edmonton, Red Deer, and Grande Prairie courthouses. Each LInC employs one or two coordinators experienced with the court system who are able to provide self-represented litigants with a variety of services, but do not provide legal advice. Their services include:
  • refering SRLs to legal and other resources in the community
  • providing information about legal advice options
  • providing information about alternatives to court
  • providing legal information
  • explaining court procedures
  • explaining the steps to take in making legal applications
  • helping litigants locate and fill out court forms
The annual cost of the LInC program is $700 000, with the Edmonton location serving an estimated 130 people per day. (Edmonton Journal)

The Calgary LInC opened in January 2009 and, since opening, has nearly tripled the number of clients it serves on a monthly basis, from 1,062 in January to 2,656 in March, 2009.
Criteria and methods of evaluation
The Service Vision and Program Design Report highlights the necessity of including an evaluation plan for the LInCs. Therefore, an Evaluation Charter is to be prepared by the opening date of each LInCs to ensure the service model and approach met the needs of SRLs in that particular location. The Evaluation Charter is also meant to ensure proper project management and accountability.

A formal evaluation of the LInCs was conducted at the request of Alberta Justice, which had the following objectives:
  • to determine the degree to which the LInCs assist users to access information, education, and referrals services
  • to determine the effectiveness of the LInC service delivery model(s) including the collaborative and consultative structure to which government and community partners contribute
  • to identify effective practices and/or any barriers in the implementation of the project that can inform future program implementation
  • to determine the degree to which the LInCs have assisted in enhancing efficiencies in the court system.
    Evaluation at i
In early February 2008, an independent contractor held key informant interviews and exit interviews, reviewed over 2,000 records of intake data, contacted 200 clients by telephone and surveyed community organizations and other government ministries. The evaluation of the centres was completed in June 2008, resulting in 16 recommendations.
Results

Implemented Recommendations

As of June 2009, highlights of the recommendations made in the Evaluation that have been implemented include:
  • The LInCs reviewed their partnership with Alberta Law Line (ALL) to assess the low usage of ALL services. In response, private space has been dedicated to the ALL telephone line in Grande Prairie and Red Deer. Both areas have seen an increase in the ALL usage since the private areas were designated.
  • To continue efforts towards achieving the objective of encouraging ongoing, collaborative and consultative relationships among justice service providers and resources, the LInCs continue to maintain their relationship with three major stakeholders (ALL, Edmonton Community Legal Centre and the Canadian Forum on Civil Justice (CFCJ)). Regular communication between staff and these stakeholders occurs. In Red Deer and Grande Prairie, LInC staff have contacted non-government organizations (NGOs) and have provided information about LInC to them to foster that relationship. In Calgary, meetings have been held with a number of NGOs and the Calgary LInC supervisor is continuing to communicate with NGOs to further develop relationships with them. In addition, further consultative relationships with justice service providers and resources are being developed by: (i) producing a semi-annual newsletter to keep justice service providers apprised of the LInC progress; and (ii) holding SRL Advisory Committee meetings at least once per year.
  • To address the recommendations stakeholders had with respect to integration of the SRL services, Calgary LInC is part of Family Justice Services (FJS) and is managed by the Senior Program Coordinator of FJS. The Family Law Information Centre (FLIC) in Calgary assists clients with all family related matters. The Edmonton LInC supervisor works with the Senior Program Coordinator of FLIC in Edmonton to ensure duplication of services does not occur. In Red Deer and Grande Prairie, the Coordinators assist with family matters while providing outreach services.
  • The LInCs continue to make ongoing professional development available to staff. In the first year of operation, LInC Coordinators spent 92 days training and in the second year spent 46 days training. In addition, a comprehensive training schedule ensures LInC Coordinators in all locations have access to the training they require.
  • To address the recommendation of ensuring LInC services remain available when staff are attending training, back-up Coordinators have been trained in Edmonton and Red Deer who can assist should the Coordinators all be required to attend training at the same time.
  • To expand the services in the northern region of the Province, the Northern District Manager has made arrangements to activate a data and telephone line in the High Prairie base court location to increase access to the LInC and ALL services there. Staff in Peace River utilize a telephone line in their conference room to contact the LInC Coordinator, explain the assistance required and introduce the individual needing assistance. Once the LInC Coordinator has provided assistance to the individual, the clerk that initiated the call will be the contact at that court if any follow-up action is required. Peace River has made good use of this service since the arrangement was made. For example, the court coordinated assistance with LInC (in their capacity as FLIC in Grande Prairie) for a self-represented individual from the Court of Queen's Bench with the drafting of an order. Plans are underway to also add telephone and computer access to both High Level and Fort McMurray.
  • To address the recommendation of reviewing the data collection process and the LInC logic model produced for the evaluation, a Data Collection and Performance Measurement Strategy has been developed to identify indicators and data sources for measuring and assessing outcomes. Benchmarks for the LInCs performance measurement will be collected in the next few months.
  • The recommendations from the evaluation were also considered as the LInC in Calgary was established.
    Alberta Justice and Attorney General, Court Services Division

Summary of the Recommendations

The final results of the evaluation were released on June 30, 2008 and the following recommendations were made:
  • Partnership with the Alberta Law Line should be reviewed to assess the low usage of Alberta Law Line's services.
  • Development and implementation of a comprehensive set of management policies that would provide the LInC manager and courthouse manager with clear guidelines on their individual responsibilities should be considered.
  • Taking steps to ensure that staff are not providing legal advice should be considered.
  • Efforts should be continued towards achieving the objective of encouraging ongoing, collaborative, and consultative relationships among justice service providers/resources.
  • It may be useful to conduct an assessment of the FLIC and the LInC services, determining if duplications exist or if there are ways to integrate the services and/or capture efficiencies for both Alberta Justice as well as for SRLs.
  • Availability of ongoing professional development to staff should be continued.
  • As the demand for LInC services grows, the LInC will have to implement strategies for providing professional development opportunities while keeping services open to clients.
  • The LInC should work with organizations to determine if there are certain populations that are not accessing the LInC and to assess the barriers to access and potential solutions for overcoming these barriers (e.g. satellite or mobile LInCs).
  • There are proactive steps the LInC could take with respect to assisting SRLs with special needs.
  • In current sites, and as expansion occurs, the LInC needs to ensure that the physical space provides appropriate privacy for clients receiving assistance from LInC staff as well as those clients calling the Alberta Law Line.
  • Development and implementation of an ongoing strategy to promote its service to the public should be considered.
  • As part of its promotional efforts, the LInC could look at ways to augment its promotional materials (website, brochures)
  • The LInC's data collection process should be evaluated and refined.
  • A means of obtaining regular follow-up feedback from other Alberta Justice staff over the next few years to assist in assessing the impact of the LInC on the court system may be worthwhile to consider.
  • Alberta Justice should conduct a review of the LInC logic model produced for the evaluation in order to formulate a performance measurement strategy for assessing outcomes, and to identify indicators and data sources for measuring outcomes.
(Evaluation at iii-ix).
Related reforms
Revision History
  • This summary was created on 2007-07-11
  • It was last reviewed to ensure currency on 2009-06-16
  • 2009-04-22 — Description of Calgary LInC added.
  • 2009-05-26 — Updated to reflect the final evaluation report
  • 2009-06-16 — Updated to reflect the implemented recommendations from the evaluation report

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If you have updates, changes, or additional information regarding this reform, please contact our Librarian, Brad Albrecht, at balbrecht@cfcj-fcjc.orgPDF.

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