Programs that provide assistance for people who want to independently adopt a child, legally relinquish a child for adoption or initiate or respond to litigation which involves the placement or removal of a child.

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Programs that operate centres which facilitate a multidisciplinary approach to the investigation and treatment of child abuse cases. Services generally include videotaped interviews of child abuse victims in safe, child-friendly surroundings to avoid multiple interviews, reduce the trauma of disclosure and preserve statements for court purposes; crisis intervention and emotional support for victims and non-offending family members; forensic medical examinations; psychotherapy services including play therapy, family therapy and individual counselling for parents; support groups; case management; and interdisciplinary review of cases by teams of professionals including law enforcement, children's protective services, prosecution, medical, mental health, victim assistance, and child advocacy personnel.

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Programs that provide assistance which helps to ensure that parents fulfill their mutual obligation to financially support their children. Included are services for people who want to locate an absent parent; establish paternity; establish a child support order; change the amount of a child support award; dispute a child support award; or enforce payment of child support monies in cases where the supporting parent is delinquent in paying or refuses to pay or make arrangements in paying. Child support is money paid by one parent to another for the maintenance, including the education, of their children following the dissolution of their marriage or other relationship. Child support assistance/enforcement may be provided by private lawyers, legal clinics, or provincial/territorial child support enforcement programs (which may be able to draw upon additional sanctions such as the refusal to issue driving licences).

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Programs that provide assistance for people who are initiating or responding to a suit for an annulment of their marriage, which establishes that a marital status never existed; a legal separation, which suspends the marriage so far as concerns the cohabitation of the two parties; or a divorce, which totally dissolves the marriage relationship. These programs may also discuss and represent the individual's interests regarding distribution of property assets and parenting issues regarding any children.

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Programs that provide information and guidance and/or representation in court proceedings for individuals who have been abused in an intimate relationship and/or for people who are facing a misdemeanour or criminal charge for perpetrating abuse. Included are domestic violence law clinics and other legal assistance programs that represent victims of domestic abuse at restraining order hearings or in other civil or criminal actions involving charges against an abuser. Most also represent the person's interests in complexities that arise as part of the legal process such as restitution, payment of debts or child support, custody and visitation and property control. Some programs may also represent victims of domestic abuse who have been charged with a crime and/or handle cases involving accusations of child abuse filed by one parent against the other, abuse of an elderly person by an adult child or abuse of an adult child by a parent.

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