VFCYJC regular meetings 2026

Thursdays, Jan. 22 (AGM), Feb. 26, April 23, June 25, Sept. 24 and Nov. 26. All to be held from 11:30 to 1:30 PM in the Capital Regional District boardroom, 625 Fisgard St. with virtual attendance option. Resource agencies are welcome to provide short updates in each meeting’s opening minutes; longer formal presentations can be booked into our future schedule.  Please see our Terms of Reference. Agendas are available at the CRD website. General inquiries welcome via email.

2026 Annual General Meeting Notice

New and returning Committee members and representatives from front-line service agencies are invited to our 2026 AGM on Thurs. Jan. 22 at 11:30 AM in the CRD boardroom at 625 Fisgard Street. An election for executive members will be held and we’re honoured to be joined by  keynote speaker Dr. Jennifer Charlesworth, British Columbia’s Representative for Children and Youth.  Please RSVP our Marnie Essery if you plan to attend. Virtual attendance on  Zoom is available for those who can’t join us in person. (Meeting ID: 846 8038 0192; Passcode: 190753)

Year In Review – 2025 

A reduced schedule of four meetings, but still a productive enough 12 months (see Year In Review 2025) that a six-meeting schedule has been adopted for 2026. Our advocacy focused on the Roads To Revival review of BC legal aid service as well as recommendations arising from the BeAmazing campaign. Guests included Royal Roads University’s Dr. Rebeccah Nelems (addressing her report on the Mobile Youth Services Team) and a seven-speaker panel discussion on the future of three critical Greater Victoria Integrated Police Units. Grants were awarded to the Victoria Youth Empowerment Society and the Human Nature Counselling Society. As the year ended, Chair Little extended sincere appreciation on behalf of the committee to Oak Bay’s Esther Paterson and the Capital Region Action Team’s Bill McElroy, two exceptional VFCYJC stalwarts stepping down after long years of valued service. Kudos to them for their work and dedication.

Year In Review – 2024

A busy 12 months as captured in this file of  meeting summaries.  In support of the Mobile Youth Services Team, we called for renewed CRD Board advocacy while continuing our own, funded a MYST business case study and submitted a Times Colonist Op Ed. In the fall, we hosted a panel discussion centred on gang recruitment, sexual exploitation and the School Police Liaison Officer Program.  Grants in 2024 were awarded to the Human-Nature Counselling Society, the  Youth Empowerment Society and the Umbrella Society. Our second annual open house in June provided a meet-and-greet opportunity for members and resource agency reps. Regular meeting presentations over the year featured the Hon. Grace Lore speaking on youth justice services, Cathy Peters re: her Be Amazing campaign, and representatives from the Moose Hide Campaign and the University of Victoria’s The Law Centre.

Year In Review – 2023

Click this link for a summary of news briefs, including renewed advocacy on behalf of MYST; presentations by SD 61 Chair Nicole Duncan, UBC researcher Bill Warburton, the Hon. Mitzi Dean and The Village Initiative‘s Cindy Andrew;  discussion of Greater Victoria’s School Police Officer Liaison Program; our meet-and-greet Open House at Victoria City Hall; and much more as we navigated our welcome first year as a delegated commission of the Capital Regional District (following 56 years under the same VFCYJC banner). Immense thanks to CRD staff for their vital contributions to this evolving transition.

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(Relatively) New to the website …

– School Police Liaison Officer Backgrounder Ver. 11 – October 2025

– 2024 Annual Report

– VFCYJC 2025 orientation

– Panel Discussion Notes: Greater Victoria Youth Issues and Youth-At-Risk ~ Mia Golden, Youth and Family Counsellor, Mobile Youth Services Team; Constable Gord Magee, MYST/Victoria Police Department; Inspector Damian Kowalewich, Saanich Police Department; Deputy Chief Constable Jamie McRae, Victoria Police Department, Sept. 27, 2024 

– Proposal to Increase Strategic Support and Budget for the Mobile Youth Services Team ~ Dr. Rebeccah Nelems, Sept. 26, 2024 

– Youth Justice Services: Strengthening Abilities and Journeys of Empowerment ~ presentation by the Hon. Grace Lore, Minister of Children and Family Development (June 2024) 

– UBC researcher Bill Warburton’s report on the importance of upstream intervention in keeping youth out of the justice system

– Presentation by the Village Initiative’s Cindy Andrews

– MYST funding update – April 2023 Good one-year news re: Greater Victoria’s Mobile Youth Services Team + our 2022 advocacy + the Crime Reduction and Exploitation Diversion (CRED) program + support from the CRD Board and municipal councils

– 2023-2026 Strategic Plan (approved April 27, 2023)

– Our 2022 Annual Report  + 2023 Annual Report 

– Constitution/Terms of Reference (revised Jan. 2023)

– VFCYJC is a delegated commission of the Capital Regional District

– For more information about the Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee please contact:

Chair:  Marie-Terese Little, email mtlittle@metchosin.ca

Vice Chair: Kimberly Guiry, email kguiry@langford.ca

Secretary:  Marnie Essery, email vfamcourt@gmail.com

Tel 250-474-5939

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Call For Submissions: VFCYJC Grants

Call for Submissions + Application Form (word or .RTF) [VFCYJC considers small grants at scheduled meetings. Applications received after May 15 will not commence processing until Sept. 02. This is due to when the Granting chair of the sub-committee actually receives the application from CRD staff or our secretary, completeness of the application, potential questions to applicants for clarity of information and processing time, and the fact that the the committee does not meet in July and August. As a condition of receiving grants from VFC&YJC, successful applicants are asked to use this form to file a brief written outcomes report within 2 months of completion of any funded program/project.]  

In alignment with its 2023-2026 Strategic Plan, the Victoria Family Court & Youth Justice Committee provides modest funding for community projects educating and assisting youth and families who are at risk or may come into contact with the criminal or family legal systems. Projects should focus on prevention, education and/or diversion.  Email submissions and/or send questions to the VFCYJC or the CRD’s Steven Carey.

If an organization, the Executive Director or Chief Executive Officer (or designated signatory) must sign all submissions.

Grants over the years have been awarded to Greater Victoria organizations for events, workshops, scholarships, and special projects and programs. These include:

Young people and families in the Capital region who become entangled with the justice system for any number of potential reasons are often faced with a daunting journey into the unknown.

Established in 1966, under the BC Provincial Court Act and expanded under the Federal Youth Criminal Justice Act  to also be the Youth Justice Committee in 1987, the Victoria Family Court & Youth Justice Committee is dedicated to educating the public about the juvenile justice system, reviewing family and youth legislation, advocating to legislative bodies, and monitoring court hearings and custody facilities.

The committee directly connects regional and municipal decision-makers with frontline service providers. Its voting members are a mix of school district trustees, local government elected representatives and appointees of the Capital Regional District, which collects and provides annual funding.

Our subcommittees include Court Watch, Restorative Justice, Youth Mental Health, Family Matters, Youth Matters, Communications, Priorities and the Capital Region Action Team (CRAT).

As a result of its broad legislated mandate, the VFCYJC engages with many sectors of our community:  children, parents, caregivers, teachers, youth-serving agencies, social workers, lawyers, judges, police, probation officers and restorative justice and victim services workers, among others.

In February, 2022, following a comprehensive two-year review involving committee members and CRD staff, the VFCYJC became a delegated commission of the Capital Regional District with the adoption of CRD Bylaw No. 4553.

Our committee members are asked to:

  • Be aware of the circumstances for youth in the justice, protection, divorce and custody systems.
  • Review and comment on legislation.
  • Facilitate collaboration between community service providers and governance bodies in the interest of better supporting youth and families.
  • Be involved in maintaining the connections between youth and family serving agencies for each community.
  • Advocate for policies and initiatives that improve outcomes for families and youth who may come in contact with the justice system.
  • Increase awareness of the issues facing families and youth involved in the family or youth justice systems.
  • Pursue and promote meaningful reconciliation with the Indigenous community.
  • Support equity of access to resources across the region.

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