From September 2008 to April 2010, I taught two courses annually in the Family and Community Counselling Program at Native Education College, a private Aboriginal college in Vancouver, BC. Each fall semester I taught FCC 230: Legal Advocacy, and each spring semester I taught FCC 240: Child Welfare, both of which I designed.

Roselynn and some of her students in FCC 230: Legal Advocacy, visiting the Provincial Court House in Vancouver, B.C.

The Family and Community Counselling Diploma Program is designed to further increase the skills and knowledge of certificate graduates working in in Aboriginal community agencies or other social service agencies. Special areas of interest are child welfare, recovery from substance abuse and intervening in traumatic situations that affect Aboriginal families. The program offers a transfer option for students interested in furthering their education.

The courses I taught include:

FCC 230: Legal Advocacy (3 credits): This course is designed to provide the student with a basic knowledge base in areas of law relevant to social services. Specific areas of law that affect Aboriginal people will cover primarily family law, civil liberties, the accountability and liabilty of social services staff and legal issues. The family life cycle is used as an organizing principle which connects legal procedures to to the life of the family as it moves through marriage, parenthood, normal events and specific crises along the continuum from birth to old age.

FCC 240: Child Welfare (3 credits): This course explores the changing context of of child and family policies. Students examine federal and provincial jurisdictional issues concerning Aboriginal child and family services, child poverty in Canada, single parenthood, and Aboriginal self-government. The students participate in simulated child welfare scenarios. These case studies will assist the student in understanding the Child, Family, and Community Service Act, rights of children in care, child protection measures, confidentiality, and the disclosure of information.

To view the most recent course syllabus for FCC 230 and FCC 240, please click on: Fcc-230-legal-advocacy-course-syllabus

To view the course evaluations for FCC 230, please click on: FCC 230 Course Student Evaluations December 2008 and FCC 230 Course Student Evaluations December 2009

To view the course evaluations for FCC 240, please click on: FCC 240 Course Student Evaluations April 2009 and FCC 240 Course Student Evaluations April 2010