Voice of the Child Report

Eric Vallillee is a certified Voice of the Child Report Practitioner in London, Ontario, and is an experienced children's lawyer working on domestic, child protection and adoption matters. If you'd like to give your children a voice in your family court or mediation proceedings, or if you need clarity on your children's views and preferences, a Voice of the Child Report might be right for you.

A Voice of the Child Report might be right for your case if:

You and your partner or ex-partner don't agree on parenting arrangements
Your child is 7-15 years old, or is older and has special needs
Your child or teenager would like to have a voice in the parenting dispute
You would like a neutral third party professional to report on your child/children's views and preferences without judgment, bias, or pressure
Either both parents agree or the court has ordered that a Voice of the Child Report be completed
There are no active investigations or ongoing involvement with a children's aid society at the time the Voice of the Child Report is being completed

Our office

For some kids, getting a little preview of the office they'll be coming to can help make them more comfortable. If there's anything else we can do to make your kids more comfortable when they come in for their interview, please let us know.

What is a Voice of the Child Report?

A Voice of the Child Report can be completed for Ontario family court matters or for parenting disputes that are going through the process of mediation or alternative dispute resolution. These are non-evaluative reports - meaning that they don't contain any recommendations, diagnoses, or assessments. Instead the focus is on providing the child or youth caught in the middle of parenting disputes with a voice in the process.

What does a Voice of the Child Report address?

VOCRs address the child's views and preferences on issues affecting them and arising out their parents' separation. Issues raised can include:

Preferred parenting time schedule
Preferred place of residence or primary residence
Visits or contact with other extended family
Sibling access issues
School and educational issues
Other issues that are in dispute as a result of separation or divorce

A Voice of the Child Report will either be something that the parties have decided to pursue together, or may be court-ordered.

While the Office of the Children's Lawyer sometimes provides clinicians to prepare VOC Reports, they have limited resources and cannot accept every request that they receive. So if you're looking for a private practitioner to provide the report, Eric would be happy to work with you and your children to move the process forward. While Eric is an OCL panel lawyer who routinely represents children and teenagers in family and CAS court, please understand that retaining Eric to provide these reports privately is completely separate from his work as an agent for the Office of the Children's Lawyer.

Who can prepare Voice of the Child Reports in Ontario?

It's extremely important that if you're requesting a private Voice of the Child Report, the author is a neutral and non-biased third party professional. Courts in Ontario have refused to accept the parents’ chosen VOCR authors when they had a pre-existing relationship with the child or youth, or had a professional relationship with either one of the parties beforehand, or had previously given opinions or made recommendations in the proceedings (see Svirsky v Svirsky, 2013 ONSC 5564 at para 27 and Religa v Nesrallah, 2017 ONSC 1491 at paras 15-19).

If the author is not a clinician, then they should ideally be a children’s lawyer who is a member of the Personal Rights Panel for the OCL (which Eric is).

In another case called Stefanska v Chyzynski, the OCL did not accept the case for its VOCR program, so the child's mother hired a lawyer to write the report instead. The lawyer chosen by the mother only practiced family law in a "limited capacity" and had never prepared a VOCR before. She had no apparent experience in working with or representing children in family court matters or parenting disputes. The court wrote that "Obviously, it is best that trained professionals prepare Voice of the Child reports" as far as the court is concerned. The court will be more reluctant to admit reports prepared by less-experienced professionals, and especially by non-professionals.

Why Eric?

Eric is not only highly experienced in interviewing and getting to know children (ranging in age from three years old through to seventeen years old over the years) in the forensic and family law setting as an OCL panel lawyer and previously as a criminal defence lawyer working with youth on YCJA matters, he has also received specific training and is certified as a Voice of the Child Report Practitioner through a program designed and administered by Navigating Onward, a specialized clinic associated with the London Family Court Clinic.

Eric has taken and participated in many training sessions and seminars offered by the Office of the Children's Lawyer, is a member of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts, and is well-known in family court in London and across Southwestern Ontario. He's also an experienced Big Brother through Big Brothers and Big Sisters of London and Area.

Note from Eric:

I got started in this area of the law because I truly believe that helping give kids a voice in proceedings that affect them, and helping families work through challenges today, sets them up for a much better future. Our whole community benefits when kids do well.

We know that stressful situations, family trauma, and difficulties during childhood make growing up and becoming healthy adults that much harder. Separation, divorce, and family court is stressful for everyone involved - including the kids no matter how hard you may try to insulate them from the experience.

I take a friendly approach to this work and do my best to put families at ease, and to get you through the process as quickly and painlessly as possible so that you can really move forward toward a resolution of the parenting disputes you may be dealing with. If you're looking for someone who will be genuinely neutral, and focus only on your child or teenager's voice, then I'd be more than happy to work with you.

Questions about Voice of the Child Reports

1What is the process for a VOC Report with your office?

The first step is to get in touch with us and have a quick intake call! Either Kirsten or Eric will have a short initial call with you to answer first questions about the process and arrange for the order form and intakes to be completed.

From there both parents are asked to complete intake forms that give Eric some background information about you and your family, and of course, your kids.

There are two interviews with the child (or children). Each parent brings the child to one interview. Everything is kept completely neutral.

Your child will meet privately with Eric to talk about themselves, their thoughts and feelings, and provide their views and preferences. Eric will draft a complete report on their views and preferences. He does not make any evaluations, judgments, or recommendations. He simply helps your child put their own feelings on to paper. No collateral or third party information is asked for because Eric's only job is to report on your child's perspective, not to make judgments or evaluations of his own.

Once the report has been prepared, Eric will meet with the parents (either separately or together, depending on your preference) to review the report with you. The report is then sent to you, to your lawyers, and if the report was court-ordered to the court.

It's then up to you how you will proceed with your case now that you have your child's views and preferences in black and white, prepared by a neutral third party who is experienced in meeting with and interviewing children of all ages in the family court setting.

2How much does it cost?

A Voice of the Child Report prepared by our office costs $2,250 plus HST for one child. There is a charge of $750 for each additional child (so two children would be $3,000, three would be $3,750, etc.). The parents usually split the cost equally or in proportion to their incomes.

3How long does it take?

The timeline from when you contact us to when your report has been completed can vary depending on everyone's availability, the time of year, and court scheduling, but typically we aim to get you in and out within 4-6 weeks. One advantage to this process is that it's often much faster than going through public options.

Interviews can often be scheduled after school/work, in the evening, and sometimes on weekends if necessary in order to accommodate your and your children's schedules.

4What age range is right for a Voice of the Child Report?

The rule of thumb is that we usually start at about age 7 at the youngest for VOCRs, and we go up to about age 15 or 16. This can vary - for example your younger children may be more capable of effectively communicating their views and preferences. In other cases, youth who are older than 16 but who might have special needs may also be good candidates for a VOCR.

In most cases though, VOCRs are prepared for kids ages 7-15.

5My child has asked to have a say in where they live, is that a good reason to have a VOCR done?

Yes. The more interested your child is in participating in the process, the more likely the information that's disclosed will be useful. Participating in this process can also give kids a sense that they have some say in their own lives, and may help them feel less uncertain about what's happening in their lives and with their families.

6Where do the interviews take place?

Most of the time, interviews occur in our offices in downtown London, Ontario. This ensures that there is no question about whether the child had a confidential space to speak to the interviewer during the reporting process. In some cases, interviews can also be done at parks or other locations if your child is more comfortable in that type of setting - the key is that they need to be comfortable and the space needs to be quiet and private.

7Do you do virtual or Zoom Voice of the Child Reports?

While Voice of the Child Report interviews are best done in person, in some cases Zoom or online interviews can be set up for older children and teenagers if necessary. If you're outside of Southwest Ontario and would like to discuss the possibility of having a Voice of the Child Report completed by Zoom, please contact us. In most cases this option is only suitable if your child is at least twelve years old, and the child must have access to a fully private space where they cannot be overheard.

8Do you offer legal aid billing rates?

Yes, but please note that Legal Aid Ontario requires your lawyer(s) to provide an explanation as to why the OCL did not accept the file, and information supporting how the report will assist in resolving the custody/access dispute before authorizing a private Voice of the Child Report. If LAO provides authorization to you in advance, Eric will bill at his authorized LAO rate so that you can submit the disbursement to legal aid for payment. No retainer payment is required if you provide LAO's written authorization instead.