NACC RELEASES JOINT STATEMENT WITH THE CHILDREN'S ADVOCACY INSTITUTE, CHILDREN'S RIGHTS, JUVENILE LAW CENTER, NATIONAL YOUTH LAW CENTER, AND YOUTH LAW CENTER
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NACC holds General Membership Call on COVID-19, Children's Bureau releases new letter on the role of courts and agencies during the pandemic.
Joined by Associate Commissioner Jerry Milner and Special Assistant David Kelly of the Children's Bureau, NACC members shared their experiences and challenges advocating for clients amid court closures, disrupted visits, and technology gaps. The following day the Children's Bureau released a letter calling upon agencies and courts to work together, avoid blanket orders and policies, and center youth voice and parent voice in this challenging time. The call notes are posted on
NACC's COVID-19 Resource Hub
, alongside the Children's Bureau letter.
COVID-19 Webinar Tomorrow OPEN TO ALL
: Thursday, April 2, 4:00pm ET
Co-Sponsored by the American Bar Association Section on Litigation Children's Rights Litigation Committee.
In the uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic, many aspects of life have dramatically changed – schools, court hearings, social events. What has not changed, however, are the critical and urgent needs of youth involved in the child welfare system. Join advocates from around the country who will share guidance and practical tips to safeguard and advance the rights of youth in the child welfare system during the COVID-19 pandemic and beyond. Practitioners will walk away will concrete tools to determine what ongoing and unique client needs present themselves during these times and how to maintain, modify, and increase zealous advocacy amid the pandemic.
Presenters:
· Jennifer Rodriguez, Executive Director, Youth Law Center
· Jenny Pokempner, Senior Attorney, Juvenile Law Center
· Chris Henderson, Executive Director, Colorado Office of the Child’s Representative
· Moderator: Kristen Pisani-Jacques, NACC
CLE credit pending. This webinar is open to all, please distribute widely.
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Join the Movement!
NACC IS SEEKING 10 STATE COORDINATORS,
1 YOUTH COORDINATOR,
15 NATIONAL YOUTH ADVISORY BOARD MEMBERS
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NACC welcomes new State Coordinator applications
Deadline: April 15, 2020
NACC established its first 10 coordinator positions in 2019 in Alaska, California, Colorado, Iowa, Louisiana, Missouri, Montana, New York, Oklahoma and Washington, to help lead NACC’s outreach and provide localized support to child welfare attorneys. We now seek to add an additional 10 coordinators from other states and districts, moving to fulfill our 50-state strategy over the next five years. This is a critical time to build community and support practitioners and we are grateful for this volunteer network.
Click here for more info and to apply
!
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NACC is recruiting our first Youth Coordinator staff member and National Youth Advisory Board!
NACC is now hiring a Youth Coordinator and recruiting National Youth Advisory Board
Members. The Board will advocate for the rights of children in the child welfare system, especially the right to effective assistance of counsel, and use what they learn to lead change in their communities. NACC also recommends that applicants to the Board have a sponsor organization within their home community (no financial commitment required)--
we encourage children's law offices and agencies to support local youth applicants!
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UPCOMING MEMBERS-ONLY WEBINARS
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The Next Level: Appellate Practice in Child Welfare Cases (Part I)
Tuesday, April 7, 2:00-3:30pm ET
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Abraham 'Abe" Sisson, JD, Associate, Delaney McKinney, Chevy Chase, Maryland
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Melissa Colangelo, JD, Appellate Project Manager, Children's Law Center of DC
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An appeal is a powerful tool in the child welfare system. Not only are appeals a means to challenge legal errors and correct wrongs in individual cases, but they also can create broad change by obtaining precedent-setting decisions on wide-reaching legal questions. In this two-part webinar series on appellate fundamentals in child welfare law, the presenters will provide concrete tools and take-aways to attorneys filing and responding to appeals. This webinar series will be beneficial to both attorneys who have previous experience handling appeals and those who have not yet had the chance to do so.
Part 1 of the webinar will provide an overview of basic appellate principles and key appellate doctrines such as standing, mootness, jurisdiction, and issue preservation. Because a strong appeal starts with a sound trial record, the presenters will share pointers from an appellate perspective that attorneys can use in their everyday trial practice. This webinar will prepare attorneys to strengthen their cases before both the trial judge and the appellate bench and help practitioners answer the question: how do you make the best trial record possible from an appellate perspective?
Accredited for 2 hours of CLE in Colorado. CLE approval in at least one state can streamline an attorney’s CLE application in another state. Check with your jurisdiction for details on simplified CLE applications and online/on-demand learning requirements.
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The Next Level: Appellate Practice in Child Welfare Cases (Part II)
Tuesday, May 5, 2:00-3:30 PM ET
Part 2 of the webinar will build on Part 1, and focus on the procedural and substantive aspects of appellate practice in greater detail. The presenters will provide tips on drafting persuasive and powerful briefs and dispositive motions, give a refresher on effective usage of citations and proper formats, and offer guidance on how to prepare for and present an effective oral argument.
Accredited for 2 hours of CLE in Colorado. CLE approval in at least one state can streamline an attorney’s CLE application in another state. Check with your jurisdiction for details on simplified CLE applications and online/on-demand learning requirements.
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NACC Urges Congress to Include Needs of Children, Families in COVID-19 Response
In response to the pandemic, NACC has urged congressional leaders to increase funding for critical programs to prevent and address child maltreatment. Specifically, NACC has advocated for increased funding of the following federal programs: Social Services Block Grant (SSBG), Court Improvement Program (CIP), Community-Based Child Abuse Prevention (CB-CAP) grants, Title IV-B MaryLee Allen Promoting Safe and Stable Families Program, and Family Violence Prevention.
NACC has also signed-on
to this letter
requesting additional funding for these and several other key child welfare programs in the next COVID-19 relief package. It is crucial that Congress provide critical supports to families facing stress and disruptions resulting from the pandemic by equipping the child welfare systems with the requisite tools to handle the crisis. The sign-on letter is accepting signatures from national, state and local organizations until
April 3rd
; read the letter and
sign on here
to build a strong, unified call for support. Please also consider contacting your congressional delegation to explain the urgent needs at stake.
Promote the Congressional Foster Youth Caucus’s COVID-19 Letter to Leadership
The leaders of the Congressional Foster Youth Caucus are asking for help circulating a letter they have written to Congressional leadership urging them to consider the needs of current and former foster youth in their COVID-19 response. If you can, please consider blasting this out to your networks to sign on. Full text of the letter is available
here
.
NACC Files Amicus Brief Supporting Right to Counsel in Nevada
On March 20, NACC filed an amicus brief in the Supreme Court of Nevada supporting right to counsel for young people in dependency proceedings. The case involved an older youth who was denied the opportunity to opt-in to extended foster care through his attorney because his autism rendered him non-verbal. Citing due process and statutory grounds, NACC argued against the lower court’s decision to dismiss the request made through counsel. Read more
here
.
Court Grants Request for TRO in
Flores
Case
NACC is one of several amici in
Flores v. Barr
, a class action matter involving protections for the approximately 5,000 minors detained by Immigrant and Customs Enforcement and the Office of Refugee Resettlement
.
This week, the court granted a nationwide temporary restraining order requiring that the Trump administration to "make every effort to promptly and safely release" from custody thousands of class members due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Advocates expect the ruling will help slow down the spread of the virus among detained children and staff.
NACC Supports Full Funding for the JJDPA
NACC recently joined a broad network of state and national partners urging Congress to fully fund the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act (JJDPA) programs for Fiscal Year 2021. The intersection of child welfare and juvenile justice is a prominent aspect of our
Policy Agenda
and full funding for JJDPA programs is key to realizing these goals.
More information is available
here
.
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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
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Congratulations to Our Newest Child Welfare Law Specialist!
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Larisa Reithmeier-McKenna, JD, CWLS
Riverside County Counsel's Office
Riverside, CA
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CWLS Now Eligible for Deep Discount on NACC’s Red Book Training Course
As an added CWLS benefit, NACC is now offering registration for the online Red Book Training Course at a 50% discount for CWLS only. Whether you have been practicing for decades or just a few years, it’s important to brush up on the fundamentals every so often — and stay on top of your CLEs (accredited in Colorado for 8 hours total including 1 ethics credit). The spring course runs from March 4th through April 15th, and registration is available until April 14th. (Missed a session? No problem — you can always catch up on the recordings at your leisure.) View the syllabus and schedule here. The registration fee is $200 for NACC members and $275 for nonmembers, but
all CWLS can now register for $100
. Registration includes access to all the session recordings for six months (until July 31st).
Register here!
(Make sure you are logged into your profile when you register in order to get the CWLS discount.)
Attention CWLS Applicants! CWLS Exam Update
We have been notified by our exam proctoring company, Examity, that they have suspended exam proctoring operations until at least mid-April due to the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also closed access to the scheduling portal so you will need to delay scheduling or rescheduling your exam. We realize this is frustrating for those of you who would have liked to take advantage of this time to tackle the CWLS exam. We will be reevaluating the situation in mid-April, pending updates from Examity. We’ll stay in touch with you as we learn more.
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.
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NACC's RED BOOK TRAINING COURSE is Underway!
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CLE Credits Available! Extended Registration through April 15.
Missed some sessions? No problem - Register today and catch up on the recordings.
States now waiving limits for online learning.
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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 --
includes access to electronic Red Book and course recordings until July 31.
Spring Course: March 4th, 2020 through April 15, 2020.
Registration now through April 15.
This course has been accredited for
8 hours of CLE
in Colorado, including 1 hour of ethics credit. CLE approval in at least one MCLE state can streamline an attorney’s CLE application in another state. It has been approved in two formats - for those who plan to participate live each session and for those who intend to watch the recordings. Please check with the CLE authority in your jurisdiction with regard to specific online and on-demand learning requirements or limitations. Certificates of attendance and accompanying documentation will be made available to participants after the course concludes.
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.
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2020 Census: Make Sure Your Clients are Counted
Children have historically been missed in the census, especially those in complex living arrangements like foster care. Research found that a high proportion of young children living with foster families were missed in the 2010 Census. Undercounting impacts support for critical programs such as children’s health insurance, hospitals, child care, food assistance, schools, and early childhood development. The Count All Kids campaign has
released this new toolkit
with resources for advocates to make sure all young people in your community are counted in the census. This includes a factsheet that foster care agencies can send to foster parents about including their foster kids, and a template cover letter advocates can use to send to state CW agencies or foster care agencies. You can also learn more at
www.2020CENSUS.GOV
.
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.
All talks are posted here.
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- How to Use Reasonable Efforts to Advocate for Older Youth-CLE credit available!
- Research on Youth Perceptions of High-Quality Legal Representation--CLE credit available!
- Family First Prevention Services Act--CLE credit available!
- Child Welfare Year in Review --CLE credit available!
- And More!
- Youth Voices
- Resource Spotlight
- Law Office Corner
- Research Highlights
Join the conversation on social media!
#ChildRep2020
#NACC2020
#ChildWelfareLawSpecialist
#PromotingExcellence #BuildingCommunity #AdvancingJustice
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National Association of Counsel for Children | www.NACCchildlaw.org
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