Clear Voice Interview Services Inc.
How to Refer a Voice of Child Matter
Referring a matter to Clear Voice Interview Services (CVIS) is simple. Our team will guide counsel and the parties through each step of the process.
Step 1: Contact Us
Legal professionals are welcome to call us directly to discuss a potential referral or email us to request a phone consultation.
If you are ready to make a referral, send us the names and ages of the child or children, the names of the parties, and any relevant timelines or upcoming court dates.
Where both parties are represented, we encourage counsel to include one another on the initial email thread. This helps keep communication transparent and allows the referral process to move forward efficiently.
Step 2: Confirm Authority to Proceed
Voice of Child services may proceed with the consent of both guardians, by court order, or by an award or direction of an arbitrator.
Even where a court order or arbitration award provides the authority to proceed, we prefer to obtain the consent and cooperation of both guardians whenever possible. When children understand that both of their parents support their participation in the process, it can help reduce feelings of conflict or pressure and create the conditions for the best possible interview experience and outcomes.
Step 3: Complete the Required Waiver
Once we receive the names and ages of the child or children, we will provide counsel with our consent and liability waiver for review and signature by the guardians and legal professionals involved.
If the matter is proceeding by court order or arbitration award, please also provide us with a copy of the applicable order or award.
Step 4: Select Interview Dates
Once the completed waivers have been returned to us, we will provide available interview dates. Our team will then coordinate the two interview appointments for each child and provide the parties with the necessary attendance information.
Step 5: The Child Participates in Two Interviews
Each child participates in two separate interviews, allowing them to be brought to one appointment by each guardian.
Whenever possible, we schedule the two interviews at least one week apart. This gives the child time to reflect on the first conversation without feeling rushed and provides an opportunity to return with additional thoughts or information.
The second interview allows the child to share information they may not have been ready to discuss during their first appointment, and to add to, clarify, or correct information they previously provided.
Step 6: The Voice of the Child Report Is Prepared
Following completion of both interviews, CVIS prepares a comprehensive, neutral report reflecting the child’s views, experiences, and perspectives in their own words.
Step 7: The Report Is Provided to Counsel
The completed Voice of the Child report is provided directly to the legal professionals, including the decision maker involved in accordance with our report distribution and confidentiality procedures.
Ready to Make a Referral?
Call us directly or send us an email with the names and ages of the child or children to begin the referral process.
If you would like to discuss whether Voice of Child services are appropriate for your matter before making a referral, simply request a complimentary phone consultation.
Matt Linzer: (780) 991-9950
Kim Burke: (780) 974-9928
General: clearvoiceinfo@gmail.com
Research and Articles
Welcome to our Research Hub.
This page brings together leading research, published articles, and practice resources that demonstrate how children’s voices can be safely and meaningfully included in parenting matters. These materials support legal professionals in understanding when and how VOC processes contribute to stronger, clearer, and more efficient family-law outcomes.
Please click below to see our research PDF and links
Conclusion and how CVIS supports Alberta practice across all seven major publications
Spanning national reviews, empirical studies, provincial guidelines, and established Canadian practice models, the evidence is clear and remarkably consistent: children benefit when their voices are meaningfully included in family-law decision-making. The 2019 and 2023 Department of Justice Canada reports emphasize that children overwhelmingly want opportunities to share their experiences in separation and parenting disputes, and they feel more respected, safer, and better understood when they can do so in a neutral, structured environment. The research also shows that when children participate, they experience less anxiety, demonstrate greater acceptance of outcomes, and report feeling empowered, even when their expressed preferences are not the determining factor in the final decision.
The FREDA & RCY (2020) literature review reinforces that child participation is not merely a procedural courtesy, it is a rights-based obligation under the UNCRC. This review highlights that participation improves long-term emotional well-being and reduces the harmful effects of uncertainty during parental conflict. Cashmore’s influential 2011 work further establishes that children value the opportunity to be heard far more than the responsibility of decision-making, and that well-designed participation processes do not burden children, but rather support fairness and transparency in family-law systems.
Jurisdictional practices across Canada such as the Nova Scotia VOC Guidelines, the BC Hear the Child model, and Ontario’s Office of the Children’s Lawyer offer well-developed frameworks that demonstrate how VOC can be implemented safely, consistently, and effectively. These models share common elements: neutral interviewers, developmentally appropriate protocols, clear and non-interpretive reporting, and rigorous standards for ensuring children’s views are represented accurately. Together, these practices reflect a national movement toward child-centred, rights-compliant family-law processes.
In Alberta, however, the landscape is different. Unlike BC, Ontario, or Nova Scotia, Alberta does not yet have a standardized provincial VOC system. This has created a gap in service availability, quality, and consistency especially as courts increasingly expect that children’s views be considered under the Divorce Act and the Family Law Act. This is where Clear Voice Interview Services Inc. (CVIS) plays a critical role. CVIS provides the very type of structured, neutral VOC process validated by all seven major sources: non-investigative interviewing that prioritizes children’s comfort and safety; developmentally appropriate and trauma-informed approaches; and written reports that capture children’s lived experiences clearly, respectfully, and without interpretation or recommendation. With more than 5,500 child interviews conducted by the CVIS team, and deep expertise in both forensic and family-law interviewing, CVIS offers one of the most qualified and reliable VOC services in the province.
By aligning with national best practices and grounding its work in the research summarized above, CVIS fills Alberta’s structural gap by offering timely, professional, and neutral child-participation services that support lawyers, mediators, arbitrators, and courts in making informed, child-centred decisions. CVIS helps ensure that the voices of Alberta’s children are heard consistently, respectfully, and ethically exactly as the research, the legislation, and modern family-law practice all demand.