“Once every two hours, a child in Manitoba is exposed to a police-reported incident of intimate partner violence.”

Interpersonal violence is a major concern in our province and the harm it causes is significant, especially to children and youth – its most vulnerable and often unseen victims. In addition to the trauma of witnessing these violent interactions firsthand, children can become pawns in custodial matters, especially when it comes to visitation with non-custodial parents or guardians. These visits, often unstructured or unsupervised, can lead to an escalation in interpersonal violence, causing anxiety and harm to both parents and children alike.

In the wake of the 1995 commission of inquiry into the murder-suicide of a Winnipeg couple, Rhonda and Roy Lavoie, it became clear that a service that provided a protected place for both parents and children was necessary. 

After extensive research into supervised visitation and exchange programs in Canada and the United States, a recommendation was made by the Manitoba Family Violence Program, endorsed by the Lavoie Inquiry. This recommendation – to establish an independent third-party organization to facilitate supervised visitation and exchanges in a professional, unbiased, and child-focused manner – led to the establishment of The Winnipeg Children’s Access Agency (WCAA) in 1996, making it the second supervised visitation and exchange service provider in Western Canada.

In 1999, a funding agreement with the Manitoba Government’s Family Violence Prevention Program was entered into, allowing WCAA to provide services where there had been evidence of interpersonal violence.

The Winnipeg Children’s Access Agency Inc. operates from a facility at 385 River Avenue. The WCAA is centrally located close to bus service one block east of Osborne Street on the corner of Bryce Street and River Avenue.