In the winter of 1992-1993, the John Howard Society of Canada, funded by the National Literacy Secretariat, conducted a study of practitioners working in the justice system with respect to their awareness of limited literacy and the accused. The report  Presumed to Understand: Do you Understand? An Analysis of Literacy, the Accused and the Justice Sector  (1993) by Susan McDougall-Gagnon-Gingras outlined the major findings of this research. The research report identified that justice workers were generally unaware of the impact of limited literacy on those who come into contact with the justice system and that even when justice practitioners were aware of the impact of limited literacy on the accused, they had no tool to identify the extent of the limitation. The research report concluded that justice and human services practitioners need a reliable literacy knowledge base about justice literacy issues, a reliable literacy measurement tool, and an improved familiarity with community-based upgrading literacy providers.

Justice Literacy Assessment & Awareness Project  was created as a response to these research findings. The John Howard Society of Saskatchewan, Regina Council and the University of Regina’s Saskatchewan Instructional Development and Research Unit formed a partnership and began to develop initiatives which linked the above mentioned research findings with goals and objectives in each phase of the project.

The objectives of this project were to:

Phase One:
The goal of this phase was to address the need for a reliable literacy measurement tool. Our objective was to develop the Justice Literacy Indicator (JLI).

Phase Two:
The goal of this phase was to address the need for a reliable knowledge base about justice literacy issues and an improved familiarity with community-based literacy upgrading providers. Our objective was to develop the Justice Literacy Workshop (JLW).

Phase Three:
The goal of this phase was to address the need for increased access to professional development information about literacy for justice and human service practitioners. Our objectives for Phase Three were to continue to further promote the JLW and try to begin to implement the JLI into some legal process.

The Justice Literacy Indicator is a scientifically valid, quick and easy test that gives the administrator an accurate reading of their clients’ level of literacy. The justice literacy workshop workbook teaches how to administer the test and some important general information with regard to the effects that limited literacy has on a person’s life. This step can easily be added to your intake process, it only takes a couple of minutes to complete and process the test results.

The workbook is set up in a 4 module process:

Module A - The orientation will:

• - outline the social effects of a limited literacy level
• - outline the personal effects that people with limited literacy levels deal with
• - describe for you the Justice Literacy Assessment & Awareness Project and what was discovered

Module B will:

• - describe the legal process
• - describe the legal process through the eyes of someone with limited literacy

Module C will:

• - describe for you the justice literacy indicator
• - demonstrate how to use the justice literacy indicator

Finally Module D offers:

• - a description of limited literacy and the role justice workers have in the process

If you are interested in adopting the Justice Literacy Indicator as a part of your organization’s process or procedures, or are interested in obtaining a copy of the JLW (including workbook and CD-ROM) as an educational product for professional development for employees or volunteers, please contact the John Howard Society, Regina Council by telephone (306)757-6657, email: jhs.regina@sk.sympatico.ca or fax: (306) 347-0707.
The website is at : www.regina.johnhoward.ca/ .

We would be happy to facilitate the Justice Literacy Workshop for you or simply provide you with this professional development package for you to utilize on your own time and at your convenience.

Ten Commandments for Volunteers

1.Understand the job you undertake.
2.Accept training appreciatively and contribute your own experience.
3.Match your interests to the needs and the job.
4.Serve faithfully and report new insights about your work.
5.Discover its meaning to the total program.
6.Open yourself to opportunities for growth in skill, sympathy, self-confidence and responsibility.
7.Value your special two-way role as community interpreter.
8.Contribute to supervision by self-evaluation and a willingness to ask questions.
9.Give loyalty to your organization and its program.
10.Take pride in your volunteer career. It pays handsomely in treasures of the spirit.

[Taken from Volunteer Handbook for Literacy Tutors in a Correctional Setting, compiled by The John Howard Society of Newfoundland.]