There has been accelerating adoption of both the TFJS strategy and the use of strategy mapping by influential institutions in the justice sector. Word of the RFJS and A2JBC initiatives, their objectives and their approach to strategy engagement is spreading to new organizations and sectors that are becoming actively engaged in the growing movement, even taking on leadership roles. Organizations within the family justice system across Canada are beginning to embrace the idea of a well-defined cross-sector strategy for transformation along with this approach to strategy mapping and supporting techniques. 

The Canadian Institute for the Administration of Justice (CIAJ) has taken on the role of fiscal agent for the TFJS movement and has received funding for two additional coalitions (Saskatchewan and Nova Scotia) to begin the InsightFormation process.

The use of these strategy engagement techniques is also spreading to adjacent work focusing on addressing youth violence, family violence, poverty, and academic programs. One group that has been part of the TFJS coalition in Alberta, led by Dr. Nicole Letourneau at the University of Calgary, incorporated the use of strategy maps and InsightVision into a large grant application for reducing family violence and adversity as well as transforming the ways that academic training and research is done for social sector-related programs across many universities in Canada. This application received $2.4 million (CDN) to fund the work over 6 years, with over 150 partnering organizations. This is a major expansion of the depth and breadth of the TFJS work and a very important step for spreading the use of strategy mapping and InsightVision.

Existing efforts to advance restorative justice and other restorative practices (including indigenous approaches that have similarities to restorative practices) are being integrated into the TFJS work. 

The Child and Youth Advocate in Alberta, an influential and independent office in the province, normally addresses issues of children who are harmed while in care and typically doesn't engage with the formal justice system.  So, it is very significant that they released a Statement of Concern to community professionals and decision-makers which specifically calls on the Ministry of Justice to lead the work needed to address these concerns.  The RFJS played a significant role in bringing this issue to the Advocate's attention.

Pilot deployments of important innovations have been launched in multiple communities.  These include: 

• the Family Justice Navigator pilot in the County of Strathcona is a collaboration between the Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and the Family Community Support (FCS) office outside of Edmonton where Family Court Counselors (who normally work in the courts) were located in the FCS office to refer struggling families directly to supports that to help them improve family wellbeing so fewer families end up in court.

• the coParenter pilot study, where…

Public awareness of the movement is continuing to grow. .  Divorce Magazine, a free annual publication targeting people who are considering or going through divorce, has embraced the importance of brain science and the RFJS approach.  The 2022 issue includes an article by Diana Lowe, QC, and Justice Rod Jerke, as have each of the last 6 issues.  They are reaching the public in a variety of ways, including monthly Divorce Resource Group meetings (which Diana participated in) and symposiums designed to bring professionals together along with members of the public.   Justice Jerke and Dianaspoke at their 2021 online public Symposium and will speak at their 2022 Symposium.

On June 7, 2022, Access to Justice BC launched the Transform the Family Justice System Collaborative to mobilize a cross-sector coalition in British Columbia to advance the well-being of families through transformation of the family justice system. British Columbia’s Chief Justice and Attorney General spoke at the launch, and leaders from other sectors were present and supportive. Jane Morley, the lead in laying the foundation for the Collaborative, commented, “The TFJS Strategy Map was an important factor in engaging leaders from across the justice sector and from other sectors. I was able to show that the strategy mapping approach and the work we had already done with InsightFormation and Diana Lowe provided a well-thought-out strategic framework for the Collaborative and a tool to tame the complexity of our ambitious initiative.”

The United Way of Calgary and Area is also embracing this approach to strategy mapping and the use of InsightVision to support the many ways they work to help people.  As an influential funder in Alberta, their adoption of these techniques will help align more community-based organizations around a strategy that will be braided into the TFJS strategy for cross-sector collaboration to strengthen struggling couples and their children. 

The use of strategy maps and the supporting techniques and technologies have enabled the coalitions across Canada to be in a much stronger position to accomplish what had looked like a near-impossible dream to transform the family justice system. The intertwined social challenges that the coalition is seeking to impact are still complex and daunting. Fortunately, the details of the co-created strategy map—a rich and thoughtfully developed common agenda—are bringing about a shared vision for how a collection of mutually-reinforcing changes can lead to system transformation and dramatically improved outcomes. The longer and more widely the strategy map is used, the less it will seem overwhelming and the more it will be seen as the way that the complexity can be tamed. 

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