What is the National IRCA™ Training Project?​

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The National IRCA™ Training Project (NITP) was a three-year initiative led by Natalie Hodgson, Director of the National Impact of Race and Culture Assessment™ Training Project. It is implemented by the People’s Counselling Clinic with funding from the Federal Department of Justice.

 

What is the purpose of the National IRCA™ Training Project?

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The purpose of the project is to train professionals on conducting Impact of Race and Culture Assessments™ (IRCAs™) and integrating them in both English and French into the justice system.

 

People who want to become IRCA™ assessors can take a free micro-credential course offered with Dalhousie University School of Social Work. The course includes two days of in-person training, an online follow-up session, and a practice IRCA™ to complete the certification.

 

For more information, contact Sarah Upshaw, Director of Operations, at Sarah.Upshaw@ansji.ca.

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Learn more about Impact of Race and Culture Assessments™ here.

 

Additional information:

 

Before this project was developed, the NITP began training Impact of Race and Culture Assessments™ (IRCA™) assessors in jurisdictions with active IRCA™ requests through an intensive mentorship program. Under the leadership of Natalie Hodgson, this work helped establish a strong foundation for building assessor capacity and supporting communities in need of timely assessments.

 

In 2021, the Government of Canada provided funding to expand and implement IRCA™ infrastructure across all provinces and territories, ensuring greater accessibility and consistency nationwide. Read the full federal news release here.​