CLEBC - Courses On Demand

Children and Youth Interview Skills Workshop 2026

Course Date: March 31, 2026

Full Course Materials

Total: 3h 16min

Total Ethics: 1h 11min

Course Introduction and Land Acknowledgement (9:00 – 9:15)

Teresa Sheward — Program Lawyer, CLEBC, Vancouver

Dr. Brandys Evans — Clinical Counsellor, Boomerang Counselling and Psychotherapy Centre, North Vancouver
Suzette Narbonne, KC — Managing Lawyer, Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Michael Zimmerman — Managing Lawyer (Roster), Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC; Lindsay Kenney LLP, Vancouver

Child Representation from a Family Perspective (9:15 – 10:00)

a family speaks about their lived experience
what it means in practice to hear the child's voice in legal processes
providing meaningful participation to young people involved in the legal system

Estella Swann — North Vancouver
Ashli Swann — North Vancouver

Cultural Awareness and Creating a Welcoming Space (10:00 – 11:00)

a child's perspective
cultivating openness, curiosity, and acceptance
creating a safe, trauma-informed, culturally aware space for an interview
self-awareness: conscientiousness around one's own biases
working with marginalized communities
neurodivergent clients

Ayesha Azfar, MC, RCC — Strive2Thrive Counselling Services, Coquitlam

BREAK (11:00 – 11:15)

Interviewing Children and Youth Effectively: Practical Skills (11:15 – 12:00)

Examples of interview skills in action: how to do it better

practical considerations when conversing with and gathering information from young people involved as clients or witnesses in legal processes
how to collect and use information from young people while honouring and respecting their rights
how to adapt your practice to ensure that you are creating a safe space, respecting boundaries, and providing meaningful participation when working with and interviewing young people
tools to help you honour the rights of young people in your daily practice, and when representing young people in family processes
ethical issues and best practices for working with young people

LUNCH (12:00 – 12:45)

Interviewing Children and Youth Effectively: Practical Skills, continued (12:45 – 1:00)

Interviewing Children and Youth: Skills Practice, Part One (1:00 – 2:00)

Workshop groups with coaches will practice interviewing young people to gather required information. You will practice skills to:

create a safe, trauma-informed, culturally-aware space for an interview
build rapport with young people
invite and encourage young people to share their views
ensure young people understand how and why their views are being shared and how they will be used
assess capacity and ability of each child or youth
access the Child Rights Toolkit and other resources you can start using right away

Coaches:

Letitia Chu — Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Daniela Davies — Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Adrienne Edmunds — Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Zahra Jenab — Jenab & Company, West Vancouver

Suzette Narbonne, KC — Managing Lawyer, Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC, Vancouver
Michael Zimmerman — Managing Lawyer (Roster), Child and Youth Legal Centre, Society for Children and Youth of BC; Lindsay Kenney LLP, Vancouver

BREAK (2:00 – 2:15)

Interviewing Children and Youth Effectively: Practical Skills, continued (2:15 – 3:00)

Interviewing Children and Youth: Skills Practice, Part Two (3:00 – 4:00)