The Advocate - February 2020

February 2020

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NACC HAPPENINGS

New Staff: NACC welcomes Kristen Pisani-Jacques!

NACC’s board and staff welcome Kristen Pisani-Jacques who joins our team February 24 as Training Director. Previously, Kristen served as the Deputy Director of the Guardian ad litem (GAL) Project at the Children’s Law Center in Washington, D.C. As Deputy Director, Kristen helped to lead GAL program design, management, and evaluation, guided appellate strategy, and ensured high-quality representation of clients in the D.C. child welfare system. During her eleven years at the Children’s Law Center, Kristen also served as a case-carrying GAL, supervising attorney, and senior supervisor. She has over a decade of experience providing representation to children in child welfare and high-conflict custody cases, as well as representing caregivers seeking adoption, guardianship, and custody. Kristen has presented locally and nationally on a variety of child welfare topics. Kristen earned her law degree at Georgetown, where she participated in the Street Law and Domestic Violence clinics. Kristen is currently licensed to practice in Washington, D.C. and Maryland, and is based in the Washington, D.C. area with Legal Director Allison Green and Executive Director Kim Dvorchak.

Share your Comments on NACC's Recommendations!

This year, NACC will be revising our Recommendations for Representation of Children in Abuse and Neglect Cases . Please consider submitting comments here by February 18, 2020.

NACC's RED BOOK TRAINING COURSE starts soon!

NACC's online Red Book Training Course is designed to assist you in preparing for the Child Welfare Law Specialist (CWLS) examination, and serves as an excellent review of core dependency competency areas. The material covered in the course is drawn from Child Welfare Law and Practice: Representing Children, Parents, and State Agencies in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Cases (3rd Edition "Red Book"). The course consists of seven weekly webinars. Participants can join the course live or watch/listen to recordings for a six-month period.

Spring Course: March 4th, 2020 through April 15, 2020.

Individuals register through NACC at the link below. Applying for CWLS Certification is not required to take the Red Book Training--but why not take your practice to the next level and obtain this important credential?

To register a group of attorneys from your office, please contact NACC at Training@NACCchildlaw.org . We can also create custom packages to include hard copy Red Books and/or CWLS certification applications.

UPCOMING MEMBERS-ONLY WEBINAR

How To Use the Federal Reasonable Efforts to Advocate for Older Youth in Foster Care

Tuesday, March 17, 2:00-3:30pm ET

Presented by:

Kristen Pisani-Jacques , incoming Training Director, National Association of Counsel for Children

Jenny Pokempner, Senior Staff Attorney, Juvenile Law Center

Advocating for older youth in foster care presents unique challenges, barriers, and opportunities. This webinar will examine the key provisions of federal legislation that can be used to improve outcomes for older youth. Areas of focus include:

Enforcing the normalcy and reasonable and prudent parent requirements;
Utilizing transition planning requirements to improve accountability, ensure service provision and inter-agency collaboration;
Using requirements around permanency planning to ensure older youth are connected with family, and
Marshaling the reasonable efforts requirement to leverage effective permanency services and sustain the focus on permanency as youth age.

The presenters will offer advocacy tips and strategies for incorporating these statutes in cases involving older youth. The webinar will also discuss common barriers to achieving permanency for older youth and the acquisition of adult living competencies after foster care, creative ways to address and mitigate those barriers, and how to empower clients to be active participants in their case plans. Through hypotheticals and case studies, participants will leave with concrete strategies for how to use the language of reasonable efforts to lead to stronger outcomes for youth emancipating from foster care.

MEMBERSHIP NEWS

NACC Launches Organizational Membership Program

NACC’s newly updated organizational membership program is designed to bolster the national NACC community by engaging child welfare offices and agencies from small teams to large agencies.

An organizational membership provides Bronze-level membership benefits and discounts to your entire office, law firm, or agency, including discounted rates for NACC's 2020 Conference!

February Organizational Membership Special!

Join NACC as an organizational member in February and

receive a complimentary hard-cover Red Book for your office!

Visit NACC's Membership Webpage

CERTIFICATION NEWS

Child Welfare Law Specialist (CWLS) certification is a professional achievement that signifies an attorney's specialized knowledge, skill, and verified expertise in the field of child welfare law.

CWLS certification is for children's attorneys, parent's attorneys, agency attorneys, judges, and policy advocates/professors. #ChildWelfareLawSpecialist

Congratulations to Our Newest Child Welfare Law Specialists!

Nazish Ahmed, JD, CWLS

Flint Circuit Public Defender’s Office

McDonough, GA

Meredith Alexander, JD, CWLS

Children’s Law Center of California

Monterey Park, CA

Cynthia Brandon, JD, CWLS

Arkansas Administrative Office of the Courts

Heber Springs, AR

Tara-Anne Canada, JD, CWLS

Gwinnett County Juvenile Court

Lawrenceville, GA

Angi Cavaliere, JD, CWLS

Yurok Tribal Court

Klamath, CA

Stephanie Cook, JD, CWLS

Washoe Legal Services

Reno, NV

Andrea Goodman, JD, CWLS

Law Office of Andrea Goodman

San Francisco, CA

Lyana Hunter, JD, CWLS

New Hanover County Office of the Public Defender

Wilmington, NC

Elizabeth Kennedy-Gurnee, JD, CWLS

Durham County Attorney’s Office

Durham, NC

Stephani Logue, JD, CWLS

Wichita County Criminal District Attorney’s Office

Wichita Falls, TX

Lynda McGhee, JD, CWLS

Michigan Children’s Law Center

Southgate, MI

Patsy Moore, JD, CWLS

Children’s Law Center of California

Monterey Park, CA

Rhiannon Olliff, JD, CWLS

DeKalb County Child Advocacy Center

Decatur, GA

David Patton, JD, CWLS

Wisconsin State Public Defender’s Office

Kenosha, WI

Shawnea Taylor, JD, CWLS

Mecklenburg County Guardian ad Litem

Charlotte, NC

Juan Valles, JD, CWLS

Children’s Law Center of California

Monterey Park, CA

Thanks for Participating in the 2020 CWLS Salary Survey

NACC is advocating on behalf of the CWLS community in order to avoid fee increases and highlight disparities in compensation between CWLS and other legal specialists. A big THANKS to the hundreds of you who responded to our recent CWLS salary survey. Aggregated results will be made available soon.

Get Certified and Join the CWLS Community!

NACC members benefit from 2020 pricing: Members $375 (Non-Members $500)

This application fee includes the exam and a hard copy of Child Welfare Law and Practice, 3rd Edition. The exam can now be taken online at a time and place convenient to you.

Visit NACC's CWLS webpage

NACC's 2020 CONFERENCE

43rd National Child Welfare Law Conference

Join the NACC Community August 24 – 26, 2020 at the Baltimore Waterfront Marriott. NACC's conference is a unique opportunity for child and family legal and policy professionals from across the country to gather to continue their legal education, exchange new ideas, build skills, and network with colleagues and friends. Pre-conference sessions on August 23 will include NACC’s Red Book Training and Children’s Law Office Convening. #NACC2020

It’s Early Registration Season. Register before April 30th to receive the lowest registration rates of 2020:

$400 for Children Welfare Specialists (CWLS)
$425 for NACC Members (individual/organizational)
$600 for Non-Members

Sponsor, Exhibit, Advertise

We invite you to sponsor, exhibit and advertise, and be a part of this extraordinary event. You will demonstrate your organization’s commitment to children’s rights and family justice, as well as promote your brand to a national audience of legal professionals and children’s advocates.

Conference Group Registration

If you are sending a group to the conference and would like to streamline your registration process, take a look at our Group Registration Form located on our conference registration page.

Abstracts are Closed

NACC is grateful for the contributions of our national conference faculty, who provide their time and talent to produce a high-quality training event which inspires attendees to do their best work for children and families in courtroom and policy advocacy. Our Abstract Work Group is reviewing the many abstracts received this year. Final selections will be made this month and our eBrochure will be available in March.

Visit NACC's Conference webpage

NACC POLICY NEWS

NACC Joins Amicus Brief Filed in Flores to Protect Migrant Children

On January 28, 2020 NACC joined with Children's Rights and other children's advocacy organizations in filing an Amicus brief in the Ninth Circuit. The Brief urged the Ninth Circuit to affirm the District Court of California, which granted a permanent injunction against enforcement of the Final Rules instituted by the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) and Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), and ordered the DHS and HHS to continue to comply with the Flores Agreement . Click here for more information about this case and link to the brief.

NACC to Revise Recommendations on Child Representation

This year, NACC will be revising our Recommendations for Representation of Children in Abuse and Neglect Cases . A strong, updated set of written recommendations – that reflects and inspires the highest quality lawyering on behalf of children – is critical to continue to influence policy decisions and reforms nationwide. Our members’ perspectives and expertise are invaluable to this process. Please consider submitting comments here by February 18, 2020.

NACC PARTNER NEWS & EVENTS

Children's Bureau released Informational Memorandum on Family Time and Visitation

Today, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration on Children, Youth and Families; Children's Bureau released an Informational Memorandum urging child welfare professionals to strengthen family time. The Memorandum (linked here ) emphasizes the importance of family time and visitation in reducing the trauma of removal and placement of children in out-of-home care, maintaining the integrity of the parent-child relationship, healthy sibling relationships and overall child and family well-being.

2020 CIP Talks

The Capacity Building Center for Courts is producing a new series of engaging and inspiring talks by nationally recognized child welfare experts. A new CIP Talk will premiere the first Monday of each month in 2020 followed by a virtual Q&A with the speaker. Upcoming Talks:

Monday, March 2, Sheldon Spotted Elk "Family Justice in Indian County"
Monday, April 6, Monique Mitchell "What Every Judge and Attorney Needs to Know about the Trauma of Removal"

All talks will be posted here , where you can now see prior speakers, including Angela Vigil "Why Every Child in Foster Care Would Benefit from High Quality Legal Representation" and Jey Rajaraman "How Parent Attorneys Can Help Promote Parent and Child Well-Being through Family Time and Work with Resource Parents."

NACC to present at National Conference on Juvenile Justice

NACC's Executive Director Kim Dvorchak will present with Naomi Smoot, Executive Director of the Coalition for Juvenile Justice on A Dual System Strategy for Dual-Status Youth: Leveraging the Family First Prevention Services Act and the Juvenile Justice Delinquency Prevention Act for Youth and Families at the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges' National Conference on Juvenile Justice. Click here for more information about this conference to be held in Pittsburgh this March.

Want to share your event with NACC? Email Comms@NACCchildlaw.org.