Justice for Children and Youth: Childhood Arrivals Support and Advocacy (CASA) Program (1 position)

Area of law: Immigration and Refugee Law

Justice for Children and Youth strives to protect and advance the legal rights and dignity of children and youth. Justice for Children and Youth provides legal advice, representation, and assistance to young people under the age of 18 and unstably housed adults up until the age of 25. JFCY's CASA program supports young people in Ontario up to the age of 25 with no or precarious immigration status. CASA provides free, confidential supports, advice, referrals and legal representation, and outreach to enable young people to take agency of their futures and regularize their status. To learn more about JFCY, check out their website here: https://jfcy.org/en/casa

In this project, students will work remotely with the CASA Program Director to assist them with their caseload which may include client directed work and law reform. Typical tasks include:
  • Development of communication and education tools with new and archival footage of CASA stakeholders
  • Client services - Including preparing immigration applications and undertaking research
  • Systemic advocacy research
  • Assistance with CASA communications and outreach
  • Assisting with other matters as they arise (for CASA or JFCY broadly)

Although the student may get the opportunity to sit in on an intake meeting between a client and CASA, they will predominately be engaging in research-based work on a broad range of topics. The CASA student will be closely supervised and are given regular feedback on task performance. They will submit their research directly to the CASA Program Director. Pursuant to organizational and institutional regulations, the CASA student may be able to volunteer in the clinic depending on the current public health guidelines. Students are not permitted to give legal advice. 

Time Commitment

Students will be expected to volunteer 4-5 hours per week. Ideally, the student will be required to commit to a four-hour shift where work will be completed remotely. Ideally shifts will be on a weekday (other than Friday) from 9:30 am - 1:30 pm or 1:00 - 5:00 pm depending on the class schedules of the student volunteers. If work resumes in person, students will have the option to attend in person. 

Required Training

In addition to the PBSC mandatory training, the JFCY staff will provide a 1-hour virtual orientation for the student and provide reading materials which include information on the type of work that JFCY does. Additional training can be requested by the student. The student will be working closely with the supervising lawyer for the duration of the project, so there is plenty of time for ongoing training and mentorship. 

Number of Students and Prerequisites

  • How many students? 
    • One student volunteer
  • Can first year law students volunteer? 
    • No - only upper years can volunteer on this project. 
  • Should you be bilingual?
    • No, but the ability to speak different languages would be an asset. 
  • Any other expectations for this project? 
    • ​​There are no prerequisites but knowledge of immigration law is an asset. Students should have experience training, demonstrated experience with best practices for the delivery of interactive pedagogy with technology, experience working with youth, interest in immigration law/migration rights, legal research and writing interest, and interest in gaining client intake skills. Students are expected to work within a social justice, anti-oppression and children's rights framework. Justice for Children and Youth is an inclusive and safe space.