Court monitoring

MADD Canada Court monitors are volunteers who attend court and keep track of impaired charges and how they are handled. This is done to encourage the justice system to recognize the seriousness of the crime and to sentence offenders accordingly. In many areas, MADD Canada provides court monitoring services.

MADD Canada offers free online training to volunteers who are available to attend court during the day and interested in doing court monitoring. To view the online course click on www.maddcanadatraining.ca and browse the courses.

Victim Services Volunteer (VSV) training

Victim Services Volunteers (VSVs) offer support for victims of impaired driving. To be a VSV, there are 2 levels of training required.

Level I is a free online course available to all MADD Canada members. Although it is not a requirement of membership, we recommend that all members complete the course to increase their sensitivity and knowledge of victims’ issues.

To view the online training visit www.maddcanadatraining.ca. If you are not a member of a Chapter and there is no Chapter in your area but you are interested in supporting victims in your community please contact Gloria Appleby, gappleby@madd.ca, 1-800-665-6233, ext. 222.

Level II is an advanced face-to-face training course. Level I is a prerequisite and the candidate must meet all other screening requirements before being admitted.

Death Notification Training

Statistics show that the majority of deaths in Canada happen in health care institutions. As a result it is usually the staff of those institutions who notifies the next of kin of the deceased person.

However, police officers, clergy, victim support workers and emergency support workers, who are present at the scene or who visit the residence of the next of kin will deliver about a third of the death notifications in our society. Other professionals and volunteers who will be dealing with families in the aftermath of tragedy can also benefit from the training.

MADD Canada recognizes the importance of training professionals and volunteers who are required to provide a death notification to surviving family members. The goals of the training are:

• To teach law enforcement officers, victim support workers, clergy and emergency services workers, how to compassionately notify a loved one that their relative has died.
• To ensure that victims of impaired driving crashes (and all newly bereaved persons) begin their traumatic grief process with the best possible, most compassionate death notification.
• Training can be provided in face-to-face workshops for groups or online for individuals or groups in remote areas.

Participants who have completed the Death Notification Training have raved about the quality and need for this training. They include police, EMS, Fire Services, and Victim Service Personnel.

"Being a police officer for 14 years, I have never received any form of training in death notification. This training was needed". (OPP Police Officer)

"Excellent, this training should be continued on a permanent basis. It should be mandatory for all emergency professionals". (EMS Worker)

To receive more information or a quote on the face-to-face program, contact Ardene Vicioso, avicioso@madd.ca, ext. 227. To register for online training go to Canadian Police Knowledge Network.

Funding for MADD Canada’s Death Notification Training generously provided in part by:

Department of Justice Canada

 

Bereavement Education

TAPE Educational Services TAPE offers an on-line Course in Bereavement Education which is supported By MADD Canada. Learn about bereavement, grief and mourning in a user-friendly way and complete this Certificate Program in just eight weeks. Toll Free: 1.877.270.8273 Local: 416.929.3396