Visitation Monitor

Volunteer Description

We invite individuals who enjoy working with children and are interested in supporting families to apply to the Winnipeg Children's Access Agency! Volunteering at WCAA provides a person with the opportunity to supervise and record family visits to ensure that families can have a safe, neutral, and child focused visit together. Following a family visit, a volunteer will also write a summery of the visit.

Volunteers must adhere to the Winnipeg Children’s Access Agency’s policies and procedures, including record-keeping requirements, confidentiality of agency and client information, and ethics.

We also expect volunteers to demonstrate professionalism by being prompt and on time and to advise of their availability on a regular.

As WCAA is a place that is free of judgment, volunteers need to be able to work objectively.

A variety of training sessions will be provided before supervising a family on their own.

Skills Required

• Must be 18 years of age or older.
• Mature, reliable, responsible.
• Strong typing skills and ability to record in a chrome book provided by the WCAA.
• Strong interpersonal and communication skills, both verbal and written in English. Other languages are also an asset.
• Must be able to be objective and factual during visits and while writing notes.
• Subject to an interview and reference checks. Criminal record check, child abuse check, and adult abuse check is required. Criminal record check will be reimbursed after 50 hours of successful independent shifts.

Time Commitment

Monitors are required to attend three (3 hour training sessions on site) as well as shadowing existing monitors.
After completing training, volunteers must advise of their availability and maintain contact with the WCAA.
A shift is 3 hours in length and may be scheduled on a weeknight (Wednesday to Friday from 6:00pm-9:00pm) or during the day on weekends (Saturday and Sundy from 9:00-5:00pm). The Volunteer schedule is set well in advance of each month.

Skills Gained From This Opportunity

• Development of highly employable and transferable observation and documentation skills.
• Hands-on work experience for mature person with interest in families and children of all ages, backgrounds, and abilities.
• Experience in working with families who have experienced interpersonal violence.
• Experience in dealing with challenging situations and resolving conflict.
• Highly satisfying experience for individuals interested in making an impact on their community and in helping to keep children and their families connected.
• Maintaining professional relationships.
• Recognizing and respecting diversity.
• Mentoring and peer learning.
• Casual employment is possible after approximately 50 hours of volunteering when positions become available.
• This can be a great opportunity for students studying social work, criminology, law, psychology, and social family sciences.
• This is also a great opportunity for individuals who have a variety of lived experience and are interested in continuing to work with families and children of all ages and abilities.