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April 2023
CFCC Connections is the newsletter of the University of Baltimore School of Law Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC).
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How can we create a new “Normal” for students at a time of increasing violence? | |
Truancy Court Program students share their experience of violence in our city, and its impact on their academic success. | |
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By Michele Hong, CFCC Interim Executive Director
Since 2005, CFCC has been operating a Truancy Court Program (TCP) in public schools in Baltimore City and several surrounding districts. Our program takes a holistic view of the many stressors on families that can lead to truancy and prevent students from thriving in school. In the past year, a dramatic increase in violence in our city has become a daily reality for students, and the impact this trend is having on students today will have long-term impact on our society.
Simply put: Our students are scared. They fear for their lives and the lives of their loved ones. The TCP is currently operating in five Baltimore City public schools, and our students offer a window into how pervasive violence affects children and youth. We know that the schools are working hard to keep students safe. In fact, some students report that school is the one place they feel safe. However, what happens outside the school walls has a major impact on students’ lives and academic experience. We asked students in the TCP program about their own experiences with violence in and around school, and for suggestions on how to stem the violence in Baltimore. As a parent of two students who attend(ed) Baltimore City public schools, I know the heart-wrenching fear we feel when receiving a text from our child: "Mom, we're on a lockdown because they think someone has a gun on campus. Do you know what's going on?" And that incident was only one of several lockdowns my children experienced due to fears of a gun or even a bomb at or near school grounds.
Much has been said in the media about the failing test scores in Baltimore City public schools. While we can all acknowledge the importance of passing scores on state assessments, let’s not lose sight of the bigger problem. We need to do more to protect our children. They need to feel safe at home, in their schools, and in their community, before they can thrive. When asked about all of the gun violence in Baltimore, a 17-year-old high school student responded, “It is normal.” But then she quickly corrected herself, “No--it is our normal. It shouldn’t be normal.” To save our kids, we need to work together to create a new normal.
READ THE FULL ARTICLE
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Thank You for Donating Towards TCP Family Food Baskets | |
CFCC operates the Truancy Court Program (TCP) in some of Baltimore’s most underserved neighborhoods. Working to re-engage students and families with their schools, the TCP identifies and addresses the reasons why students are missing school, including violence, poverty, poor health, substance use, grief, homelessness, and unemployment, to name a few. We thank everyone who contributed to our spring break food basket drive—we delivered 25 baskets to families who rely on school meals that are not available when students are not in school, providing enough food to share with the student's household. Your continuing support allows us to help students meet ongoing challenges that pop up throughout the year. Thank you for helping to support Baltimore City students and their families!
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CFCC is hiring a new Executive Director. We are looking for someone who is passionate about working with the community and our legal partners to improve the lives of families. Expertise in family law, juvenile justice, education law, child welfare law or disability law preferred. Please reach out with any questions, and feel free to share widely! | | | |
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March 7, 2023 – CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi participated in a discussion of Daniel L. Hatcher’s book Injustice, Inc.: How America’s Justice System Commodifies Children and the Poor” (University of California Press), at Red Emma’s in Baltimore.
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March 10, 2023 – Shanta Trivedi presented her paper “The Adoption and Safe Families Act Should Not Be Salvaged: The Case for Repeal” at the Poverty Law Conference at University of California Berkeley School of Law. | |
March 21, 2023 – Shanta Trivedi participated in a judicial training coordinated by Hon. Cathy Serrette entitled “Cultural Considerations in Family Law,” with Maria Nenutzka Villamar, Dr. Denise McCain, and Nolanda Kirby. | |
March 23, 2023 – Shanta Trivedi conducted a virtual training for the Judicial Council of California on the harm of removal. | |
March 30, 2023 – Shanta Trivedi presented at a University of Connecticut School of Law symposium entitled “Are Parental Rights Always in the Best Interest of Children? Race, Gender, Sexuality, and the Conflict over Parental Rights.” | |
March 2023 – Shanta Trivedi was quoted in the article "Advocates for foster children sue state over psychotropic drug prescriptions" in The Daily Record's March 2023 Maryland Family Law Update. | |
ICYMI
In Case You Missed It
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Links to Past CFCC Events & Webinars | |
Is the Indian Child Welfare Act Unconstitutional? a UB Law in Focus webinar moderated by Shanta Trivedi on February 7, 2023. You can access the video here. | |
Childhood Poverty is Not Just a Moral Failure; it’s a Policy Choice, an event hosted by CFCC with the Maryland Child Alliance on November 15, 2022, featured presentations by Nate Golden, Aubrey Edwards-Luce, and Windy Davis. You can access the video here. | |
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CFCC Symposium on Protecting Family Integrity, Thursday September 29, 2022 – Recordings are now available on the University of Baltimore School of Law’s YouTube Channel:
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Keynote conversation with University of Pennsylvania Law Professor Dorothy Roberts and Andrea James, Founder and Executive Director of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls and Founder of Families for Justice as Healing, moderated by CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi
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Incarceration and Its Devastating Impact on Families with the panelists Yanet Amanuel, Director of Public Policy at the ACLU of Maryland; Kristin Henning, Blume Professor of Law at Georgetown Law; Shari Ostrow Scher, Founder and Executive Director of Children of Incarcerated Parents; Nicole Hanson-Mundell, Executive Director of Out for Justice; and moderator Odeana Neal, Professor at University of Baltimore School of Law.
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Promoting Family Integrity while Ensuring Children’s Welfare with the panelists Jamar Barnes, advocate, scholar, and former foster youth; Marty Guggenheim, formerly Fiorello LaGuardia Professor of Clinical Law at NYU School of Law; Stephanie Franklin, President and CEO of the Franklin Law Group; Nate Golden, Baltimore City Public School teacher and President of Maryland Child Alliance; Joyce McMillan, Founder and Executive Director for JMAC for Families; and moderator Shereen A. White, Director of Advocacy and Policy at Children’s Rights
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For Families: CFCC's Community Resource Guides
Recognizing that families living in poverty are at greatest risk of involvement with the child welfare system and/or criminal legal system, CFCC publishes comprehensive guides to community-based resources offering help with issues that often lead to family separation through the foster care system or parental incarceration. We will publish new issue-targeted guides on a regular basis.
Access and download our Community Resource Guides here.
Does your organization provide services for low-income or other marginalized members of our community? Email us with information on your organization at cfcc@ubalt.edu.
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CFCC’s Benchbook for Family Courts on Substance Use Disorders – Second Edition provides valuable insight into the science of addiction, the treatment of substance use disorders (SUDs), how SUDs affect children and families in many family law cases and how family courts can intervene in ways that lead to better outcomes. The good news is that with a recognized neurobiological basis for substance use disorders, there is potential for recovery. Evidence-based interventions can prevent harmful substance use and related problems, and the courts have considerable power to influence individuals suffering from these disorders.
The Benchbook for Family Courts on Substance Use Disorders is available for $29 as an e-book or PDF. Download your order form here.
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CFCC Founding Director Barbara Babb's 2019 book, Caring for Families in Court: An Essential Approach to Family Justice, co-authored with Judy Moran, is available in paperback. The authors propose an approach to family justice system reform that envisions the family court as a "care center," by blending existing theories surrounding court reform in family law with an ethic of care and narrative practice. | |
About CFCC
The Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) supports families, communities and the justice system to improve the lives of children and families and to strengthen communities.
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