Annexure B
1.Training for Probation Officers
The Department of Social Development has reported that 30 Probation Officers have been trained in each province, with a total of 270 Probation Officers trained countrywide. Training is ongoing.
2.Training for Legal Aid practitioners by Legal Aid SA:
Legal Aid SA advised that the training of all Legal Aid Practitioners is being rolled out. LASA’s interventions include the following:
(1) Legal Newsletter highlighting the implementation of the Child Justice Act. This has been distributed to all staff members individually;
(2)The Training Manual as prepared by Street Law and mandated by the officials’ ISCCJ, has been made available to all practitioners on the intranet and they have been requested to ensure that they familiarise themselves with the contents;
(3)The Regional Representatives attend the pilot training on the above manual and they will be used as trainers to roll out the training at their respective Justice Centres;
(4)LASA are arranging a train the trainer course for 64 Principal Attorneys and Senior Supervisory Professional Assistants on the Child Justice act, 2008. This training is being presented from 6 to 9 April 2010 by Street Law;
(5)The above trainers will implement the training at their respective Justice Centres and all practitioners will have attended a training course by the end of April 2010;
(6)The training will be supplemented as the final Child Justice Regulations are made available, as well as the gazetted National NPA directives and the SAPS National Instructions;
(7)This training will be supplemented by ongoing training by the Centre for Child Law with whom LASA have had a support agreement relating to children’s matters for the last 2 years and which is being renewed for 2010/11;
(8)All LASA practitioners have access to the Expert Child Law Panel of the Centre for Child Law, should they require assistance and/or guidance in any children’s related matter;
(9)On a quarterly basis, LASA distributes newsletters prepared by the Centre for Child Law. They have to date distributed 28 Child Law updates to their practitioners on various topics relevant to children to date.
3.Training by JusticeCollege
Justice College has arranged 2 Child Law courses for Criminal Court magistrates for 2010; 8 seminars for Presiding Officers in the Children’s Court; 7 training courses on mediation in terms of the new Children’s Act, 2005, for Family Advocates; Family Law Assistants; Family Law Counsellors; Legal Aid SA Attorneys; Traditional Leaders, State Attorneys and Family Law Court Clerks; and 3 training sessions on the Sexual Offences and Child Justice Acts for Clerks of the Criminal Court.
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Annexure B (3 May 2010)