The Children's Law Podcast

Some of our child clients have been talking to John and Jim about adoption, which inspired an episode about how we think of adoption as children's attorneys: It's important to understand all the things that come with and all the things that get taken away with adoption. Federal policies and local practices seem to swing on a pendulum as to whether adoption is to be emphasized or strenuously avoided, but we focus on finding the best possible option for each singular client and keep it in our tool belts. One way we think of the issue is that adoption is about the risk of harm from the continued pursuit of reunification versus the risk of harm due to the loss of their birth family. As a child's attorney, knowing your client and the dynamics affecting them will help you recognize when adoption might be the best strategy for the child. Thanks for listening and please share with others who might find the podcast helpful!

Placement decisions happen fast and are made by the agency - usually without any input from attorneys representing children. The child's placement impacts the case A LOT so we wanted to do a podcast about the things we think about when it comes to placement. It's the agency's job to find a placement right away, but evaluating whether the placement will ultimately facilitate permanency for the child is yours. If reunification seems likely, should the kids be with a couple that wants to adopt? If TPR looks probable, do you let a baby stay in a placement that separates her from her 11 year old sister? Getting the home study and critically reviewing it can help identify omissions that will help keep the child safe or, alternatively, possibilities for placement that shouldn't be ruled out. Talking to the child - both at the placement and away from the home - is always important. Listen and trust your instincts.   Children's attorneys don't always have a lot of options when it comes to impacting the child's placement. However, since the placement impacts your overall legal strategy it can't be considered in a vacuum. We hope our discussion gives you some ideas for your jurisdiction!

We talk about work culture and retention a lot in child welfare. Angela talks with Cathy Krebs, Director of the ABA's Children’s Rights Litigation Committee who thinks a new approach to these topics could lead to ways to improve representation. A few of the subjects covered were: Burnout and self-care - Cathy tells a story of a child client who's attorney seemed so distracted and overwhelmed that the child decided not to "burden" the lawyer with what was happening in her life. The need for self-care is real, and doing anything from singing to cooking to meditation has benefit. Mentorship - Attorneys with even a couple years of experience can help others who don't know the culture or may be working alone. Community - If you're a solo practitioner or in a smaller children's law office, there are things you can do within existing resources to create a supportive network, like brown bag lunches or collaborating on systemic advocacy. The ABA's Children's Rights Committee has resources on this topic and tons of others. Some of the studies mentioned include:    The Future of Children’s Lawyering Practical Tips for Addressing Burnout Using Reflective Case Consultation to Battle Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress 2021 Illinois Legal Aid Recruitment and Retention Study What Draws Attorneys to Child Welfare Practice The Case for a Centralized Office for Legal Representation in Child Welfare Cases

In this episode, Angela, John and Jim discuss a few key takeaways from 2023. 

Sometimes you can move a case with legal arguments and procedural tools, but other times, you have to win hearts and minds. In our newest podcast, Jim, John and Angela share how learning to message in this way can help your child client.

Angela and Jim discuss the adversarial nature of the dependency system, and how to find a balance between a collaborative and adversarial approach to representing children.

Children's attorneys can't do it all, but in our experience, doing certain things consistently in each case can improve representation and outcomes. We call it practicing with fidelity. For our 50th Episode we wanted to give some concrete tips to our listeners. Listen to this episode to learn three actionable strategies that make a difference when repeated consistently.

John and Angela discuss a tool that can be used to move cases forward - the motion to compel.

In this episode, John, Jim and Angela discuss the cornerstone of their practice philosophy - keeping the focus on the child's number one legal problem.

In this episode, sponsored by the National Association of Counsel for Children, Angela interviews David Ambroz, author of the memoir “A Place Called Home” and keynote speaker at the upcoming NACC Conference in Minneapolis. After growing up homeless and then in foster care, David graduated from Vassar College and later earned his J.D. from UCLA School of Law. He is now the Head of Community Engagement (West) for Amazon, a national poverty and child welfare expert and advocate, and a foster dad. In this episode, David provides a powerful perspective on the intersection of homelessness and child welfare. He talks specifically about how his attorneys impacted his journey. David also encourages people to focus on the progress being made within our admittedly imperfect systems and gives concrete strategies to continue pushing that progress forward. Join us at the NACC Conference August 10-12, 2023. Click here to register. To learn more about David Ambroz, visit his website and the website of his nonprofit, FosterMore. You can follow David on Instagram @hjdambroz and Twitter @DaveAmbroz.

In this episode, Angela, John and Jim talk about how to handle those difficult cases where you get what you asked for, but it doesn't go as planned.

In this episode, Jim and Angela discuss using case plans to ensure the state agency is preparing your teen client for successful adulthood, rather than just meeting federal requirements for youth aging out of the child welfare system.

This interview starts with Prof. Emma Hetherington explaining why she thinks a huge barrier to effectively serving HT/CSEC populations is that stakeholders don't fully understand what trafficking is. In this powerful podcast, Prof. Hetherington, from the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic at University of Georgia School of Law (CEASE Clinic), reveals how children's circumstances and behaviors need to be examined differently when exploitation and trafficking issues are involved. She discusses tips for attorneys representing HT/CSEC survivors, screening tools, the harm reduction approach, and how to build trust with youth. We hope you learn as much as we did! Here are the resources referenced in the podcast: Red Flags of CSEC and Child Trafficking, New York State Office of Children and Family Services: https://ocfs.ny.gov/programs/human-trafficking/assets/docs/red-flags-of-CSEC-and-child-trafficking.pdf Trust-Based Relational Intervention: https://child.tcu.edu/blog-tbri-ffpsa/#sthash.c5E1aPKh.dpbs For a deep dive, check out these resources:  How can the child welfare system protect young people from commercial sexual exploitation?, Casey Family Programs Strategy Brief (November 2022): https://www.casey.org/media/22.07-QFF-SC-CSEC-update.pdf  Child Sex Trafficking Warning Signs, Shared Hope International: http://sharedhope.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/General-Warning-Signs.pdf  Summary of Screening Tools: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/sites/default/files/documents/opre/IAHT%20Screening%20Brief%204.22.pdf  Criminalized Survivors: Today’s Abuse to Prison Pipeline for Girls (April 2023): https://genderjusticeandopportunity.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2023/04/Criminalized-Survivors_Georgetown-Gender-Justice.pdf  Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girls’ Story (2020): https://genderjusticeandopportunity.georgetown.edu/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/The-Sexual-Abuse-To-Prison-Pipeline-The-Girls%E2%80%99-Story.pdf  Harm Reduction Series Introduction, California Child Trafficking Response Unit (2018): https://www.courts.ca.gov/documents/BTB25-3E-01.pdf  Harm Reduction Series Caregiver, California Child Trafficking Response Unit (2022): https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/lac/1125790_CaregiverHarmReductionI-31_22.pdf

In this episode, Angela, John and Jim talk about understanding your teen client, helping them set goals for their future, some ways to help them stay on track, and navigating the ups and downs when representing older youth. 

If you're representing older youth, the issues may look the same, but the perspective is likely different. We recorded this podcast to help attorneys understand how the experiences of older children impact permanency and how to move forward. We've got some practical tips on identifying what family means to teens and strategies for attorneys to guide these youth to a place that feels like home. 

In this episode, John and Angela offer three ideas for your New Year's Resolutions.

In this episode we talk with Kristen Pisani-Jacques, the NACC's training director. We reflect on some themes from the 2022 conference in Baltimore and highlight what is coming in the online conference. The NACC Online Conference is September 21-23, 2022, and features 17 sessions. You can register for the conference here.

This episode is sponsored by the National Association of Counsel for Children. Join  us at the NACC annual conference in Baltimore, August 22-24, 2022. The theme is Bridging Theory to Practice: Learning  and Unlearning  to Drive Effective Advocacy. We hope to see you there! In this episode we talk with Professor Kristin Henning, The Blume Professor of Law and Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic and Initiative at Georgetown Law. Professor Henning discusses the traumatic effects of policing on children of color, and how children's lawyers can respond. Professor Henning is the author of Rage of Innocence: How America Criminalizes Black Youth. She also mentioned several other resources, including Torn Apart: How the Child Welfare System Destroys Black Families--and How Abolition Can Build a Safer World, by Dorothy Roberts; Seeing What's Underneath: A Resource for Understanding Behavior and Using Language in Juvenile Court; and, for NACC members, her recent article in The Guardian, What Counsel for Children Need to Know About the Traumatic Effects of Policing (p. 31). 

This episode is a companion to Trauma and the Children's Lawyer. The arriving exercise is something you can use when you are feeling stressed out or overwhelmed. It can help you to regulate yourself so you are prepared to meet with clients, go to court, or even go home. It is not recommended that you try this while driving. Thanks to Cynthia Bowkley for this helpful tool!

This episode was developed in partnership with the National Association of Counsel for Children. Join us at the NACC's national conference in Baltimore August 22-24, 2022! Click HERE to learn more and register! In this episode we interview two of the presenters at the NACC conference, Cynthia Bowkley and Rebecca Stahl. Click their names for a link to their webpages. Their presentation at the conference is Trauma-Informed Interviewing, but in this episode we focus more on the role of the children's lawyer in self-regulating and understanding how trauma presents in our clients. We discuss the role of somatic experiencing as a way to help people with trauma. Click HERE for the website of Somatic Experiencing International for more information. As always, thanks for listening. If you have comments or suggestions you can message us at angela@childrenslaw.org.