VFCYJ Terms of Reference

Terms of Reference

A. General Meetings

1. Whereas the Capital Regional District electoral year ends November 30, and whereas the Family Court and Youth Justice Committee (the Committee) year ends June 30, therefore, appointees from the municipalities shall hold their positions until the first of January following the November municipal elections.
2. The Committee will normally meet monthly but no fewer than four times a year with additional meetings at the call of the Chair.
3. A quorum shall be seven (7) voting members.
4. The rules of order shall be the same as those outlined for Municipalities in the Local Government Act
5. A vote in abstention is a vote in favour
6. The chair shall exercise a vote and, in the case of a tie, the motion is defeated.

B. Amendment of Terms of Reference

A proposed amendment shall be presented at the meeting previous to the meeting at which it is to be discussed. It shall be circulated also to all the committee members in advance of the meeting. One-half plus one of the voting members is required to approve an amendment.

C. Amendments to the Constitution

A proposed change to the Constitution may be initiated by a member of the Family Court Committee or by a participating municipality. The same procedure for amending the Terms of Reference shall apply. Amendments to the Constitution approved in committee will be communicated to participating municipalities and the Capital Regional District for Ratification.

D. Officers of the Family Court Committee

1. The Chair and Vice-Chair and Treasurer shall be appointed by the Capital Regional District under Clause 2 of the Constitution. A nominating committee will be formed in September comprised of retiring members and/or one or two members of the Committee whose responsibility will be to solicit nominations for the Officer's positions as well as to appoint a chair for the Annual General Meeting (someone not running for the executive, such as a past president or long time member).
2. If an Officer or Member of the Committee is unable to complete their term, their appointing agency will be requested to make a new appointment. In the case of an Officer, the committee will be requested to make an interim appointment (from the membership available) to perform those duties until the next AGM.

E. Duties of Officers

8. The Chairperson shall: a. Chair all the meetings of the Committee b. Appoint sub-committee chairpersons c. Prepare all agendas for Committee Meetings d. Have charge of all correspondence e. Be an ex-officio member of all sub-committees f. Have signing authority for funds jointly with the Treasurer
9. The Vice-Chair shall: a. Undertake duties of the Chair in his or her absence b. Be an alternate signing authority for funds
10. The Treasurer shall: a. Have charge of all monies b. Prepare monthly statements of expenditures and revenues c. Have signing authority for funds d. Prepare annual financial statements and budgets for year ending March 31
11. The Secretary shall have responsibility for: a. Recording of minutes b. Distribution of agendas c. Notices of meetings, and d. Any other secretarial duties as required through the Chair.

F. Committees

Each sub-committee or task force chair shall be appointed by the Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Chair at the Annual General Meeting or the nearest possible meeting. The Chairs of the sub-committees may invite interested persons to serve on his/her sub-committee who are not members of the main Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee. The sub-committee Chairs will make reports to the main committee and will recommend speakers, agenda items or other projects be included through the steering committee.

The sub-committees are:

• Communications/Planning
• Youth Matters
• Family Matters
• Priorities
• CRATSEY
• CASA for Children
• Court Watch

The Youth Mental Health Task Force was created in 2005 and is still functioning to support the creation of a school based medical clinic pilot project that could address youth mental health issues.

The Steering Committee will be comprised of the sub-committee chairs, the executive and the secretary who may meet physically or electronically to plan the agenda.

Ad Hoc Committees may be created from time to time to study and report on specific matters.

G. Annual General Meetings

The AGM will be held in January to receive the annual report and the annual financial statements for the previous year. The financial statements shall be provided to the Capital Regional District to be included in their Audit. The Annual Report shall be approved prior to distribution to the Attorney General, other ministries, and the Capital Regional District and the participating Municipalities.

The Chair of the AGM will open the AGM with an approval of the Agenda. If there are not seven voting members present for quorum, the AGM shall be postponed to the next regularly scheduled meeting date and notification of the postponement shall be sent to the municipalities and the CRD with a list of those absent from the meeting.

The first order of business shall be a call for Nominations from the floor. Officer's Positions require only one member to make a nomination. If there is only one nomination for a position, no election will be held but the committee shall make a motion to appoint the Officer(s). If there is more than one nomination for the Officer(s) positions, the vote shall be taken via a secret ballot where each member present shall write the name of their preferred candidate(s) on a slip of paper which the Chair of the AGM shall collect and count with the supervision of the recording secretary. If there is any dispute, a recount will be taken in full view of all voting members. Once the election process is complete, the Chair will declare the election results and the committee will make a motion to appoint the Officers as per the election results.

The Chair of each subcommittee and task force shall be appointed by the Chair of the Victoria Family Court and Youth Justice Committee at the AGM, or the nearest possible committee meeting.

H. Membership

If a vacancy occurs during the year, the body represented by the departed member should appoint a new representative to complete the term. If there is an alternate, they may continue to represent the body that appointed them.

If a member is absent for more than two consecutive meetings, without notice, a letter will be forwarded to that member soliciting future intent. If no response, or a third absenteeism, a letter will be forwarded to his/her sponsoring agency advising of the lack of representation.