Voice of the Child Reports in Ontario: How They Work

When parents can't agree on a parenting arrangement, a judge sometimes wants to hear directly from the child — not in open court, but through a structured, professionally conducted conversation. That's what a Voice of the Child Report is for. It's one of the more common tools Ontario family courts use to let a child's perspective reach the decision-making process without putting the child on the stand.

If a report has been raised in your case, it helps to know what actually happens, who's involved, and — importantly — how much it will actually shape the outcome.

What a Voice of the Child Report Is

A Voice of the Child Report relays a child's own views and preferences to the court, in language as close to the child's own as the process allows. It isn't a full evaluation of either parent's capacity, and it generally doesn't come with a recommended outcome attached — its purpose is narrower: let the court hear from the child without asking the child to testify or "choose" a side in front of their parents.

Who Prepares the Report

The interview is conducted by a trained professional — often a clinician connected with the Office of the Children's Lawyer, though other qualified professionals can also be engaged depending on how the report is arranged in a particular case. The interviewer's role is to draw out the child's own perspective in an age-appropriate way, not to advocate for either parent or to steer the child toward a particular answer.

How the Process Typically Works

1. The report is requested. This can happen by court order, or sometimes by agreement between the parents' lawyers, depending on the case.
2. One or more meetings take place. The child meets with the interviewer, generally without either parent present, so the child can speak freely.
3. The interviewer writes up what the child said. The report generally focuses on relaying the child's own words and expressed views, rather than analyzing parenting capacity.
4. The report is filed with the court. It typically becomes part of the record and is shared with both parents' lawyers, often with some conditions on how it can be used.
5. The judge factors it in. The child's expressed views become one piece of evidence the judge weighs alongside everything else.

How Much Weight a Judge Actually Gives It

This is the part parents most often get wrong: a Voice of the Child Report is not a vote, and it isn't binding on the judge. A child's stated preference is one factor considered under the best-interests-of-the-child test, weighed against the child's age and maturity, the reasons behind the preference, and the rest of the evidence in the case. An older child's clearly reasoned, consistent views tend to carry more practical weight than a younger child's, but there's no fixed age or formula that makes a child's preference determinative.

Helping Your Child Through the Process

• [ ] Explain to your child, in age-appropriate terms, that the meeting is a chance to talk honestly, not a test with a right answer
• [ ] Avoid discussing the interview in detail beforehand or debriefing your child about what was asked afterward
• [ ] Reassure your child that they aren't being asked to choose between their parents
• [ ] Keep your own anxiety about the process away from your child as much as possible — children often pick up on parental stress more than they let on
• [ ] Let your lawyer know about any scheduling or comfort concerns (a preferred location, a support person nearby) well before the meeting date

What a Voice of the Child Report Does Not Do

• It does not evaluate either parent's overall parenting capacity — that's the role of a fuller parenting assessment (often called a Section 30 assessment), not this report.
• It does not recommend a specific parenting arrangement in most cases.
• It does not require the child to testify or appear in the courtroom.
• It does not guarantee the outcome the child expressed a preference for.

Frequently asked questions