Rachel Nastasi

Rachel Nastasi is inspired by her clients and believes that despite their circumstances, she must still advocate for their wishes and well-being with passion and a smile. She aims to help her clients achieve their goals and live ordinary lives and achieves this by living up to her professional motto, “It is not a question of can or can't—there are somethings in life you just do.” As an attorney representing children in Child in Need of Care cases in Louisiana, this is reflective on Rachel’s work ethic and the favorable outcomes that she helps achieve on behalf of her clients.

Rachel has been a staff attorney in the Child in Need of Care Unit at Acadiana Legal Service Corporation in Louisiana for approximately four years and represents children in Southwest Louisiana. The Child in Need of Care Unit provides legal representation to children in Child in Need of Care cases in 2/3 of the jurisdictions, including 47 jurisdictions within 36 parishes in north, central, southwest, and south Louisiana.

It was while doing an externship in law school that involved working with children in Child in Need of Care and mental health cases that Rachel realized she wanted to commit her career to representing the interest of children. She notes that, “By sitting in at client meetings and talking to the workers about their cases, I became encouraged to dedicate my future career to public service work.”

Rachel is driven by passion and believes,

These court cases affect all aspects of the children's lives, from environment, schooling, and their relationship with their friends, parents, siblings and extended family. These children are also still growing physically and mentally so it is very important for these children to have someone advocate on their behalf to make sure the children are not only getting their needs met but to maintain a bond with their family and friends. I want all my clients to be able to voice their wants and needs and have all resources available to them.

Rachel is quiet in nature but is a mighty force as an advocate. As a young attorney, she is a fearless advocate for all of her clients and is unafraid to challenge rulings that she and her clients believe are contrary to her client’s wishes and interest. One of Rachel’s most challenging cases occurred soon after she started as a child’s attorney. She explained,

My client was in foster care for years and was soon turning 18. Her parents' rights were terminated years ago, and several possible adoptive families had to back out at the last minute. A year before the client would turn 18, relatives had contacted the agency in hopes of gaining custody of the child. The state failed to evaluate these relatives even with motions and contempt orders to compel the agency to evaluate the family and produce a report of their findings. The agency continued to deny the family as a possible placement but failed to provide any evidence explaining why this placement was not in the child's interests.

Through advocacy, the child was able to be placed on an extended visitation with her relatives and the child started to flourish with extracurricular activities and good grades. After several court hearings pushing the matter, a report was produced by the agency approving the family as a placement which also enabled the family and child to receive money from the agency for monthly care and treatment and even an allowance for the child. As the family was not receiving benefits from the agency during the time it was an extended visitation, I advocated for the child to enroll in extended foster care so she can still receive a stipend from the agency even when after she is no longer in the system.

If Rachel could make one change in the system, it would be at the state level in changing the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services authority on some matters. Specifically, she believes that “it would be beneficial if laws changed where the state did not have the ultimate authority on placement of the foster children.” From her experience of being on the front lines of advocacy, she has observed that “by the state’s placement practices, many teenagers are placed in group homes instead of able and willing relatives or family friends.” She believes “if the judge had the power to decide placement, the placement would always have to be determined by proper evidence in a court hearing before any child is moved from their current home or placement and the jurisdiction that the case is in.” Rachel meets with her clients regardless of their distanced placements, at times traveling 4 or more hours one way to meet with her clients.

Rachel recognizes the importance of building a strong rapport with her clients and she notes,

Before discussing court matters with my clients, I like to build a sense of ease and trust with my clients when they converse with me. I like to learn my clients' hobbies and interests in order to try to incorporate those interests in our client meetings. I also feel it is important that the children not only feel comfortable at the meeting but to also be treated with respect like any adult client.

She also acknowledges the importance of counseling her clients and keeping them informed about what is happening in their case. “At each meeting I not only go over the upcoming matters of the case, but I ask for my client's opinions on all matters of case proceedings. I want to know if my clients feel they are being heard and what more I can achieve as their advocate.”

Through affirmation of Rachel’s clients feeling included, heard, and represented zealously is where Rachel feels that she’s been effective and that she has helped her clients to experience justice.

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