Center on Children and the Law

The Center promotes access to justice for children and families. Our team of attorneys and core staff work on a diverse portfolio of national, regional and local projects in the children’s law field throughout the country. Center projects are unified by two complementary goals: improving legal representation and improving the legal systems that impact children and families.

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Center News

Tips & Tools for Providing High-Quality Legal Representation to Children and Parents in Child Welfare Proceedings: Out-of-Court Advocacy

This guide examines out-of-court advocacy at the fact-finding stage and advocacy to achieve the client’s goals about returning home, placement, services, and family connections. It also provides discussion, tips, tools, and strategies you can use to enhance your out-of-court advocacy to help your clients achieve their case goals. 5/14/21

Building a Trauma-Informed Court in Memphis, TN

In this CLP Today article, Judge Dan Michael shares how he and his staff transformed the Memphis and Shelby County Juvenile Court and adopted practices that were sensitive to child and family trauma. 4/6/21

Supporting School Stability for Children in Foster Care during COVID-19 and Beyond

This judge's action alert, developed with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, highlights judges' roles in supporting school stability for children in foster care. It explores strategies to help these children stay on track in school during the Covid-19 pandemic. (3/2/21)

Prenatal Substance Exposure Case Law Briefs

Two new briefs analyze appellate court decisions addressing prenatal substance exposure and key legal issues that arise for legal practitioners who represent clients in civil child protection cases and child welfare professionals who serve mothers and families. (1/27/21)

The Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018: A Guide for the Legal Community

This new resource helps child law practitioners understand key provisions of the Family First Act, how to use the Act in legal advocacy and judicial decision making, and implementation strategies to better serve children and families. (1/10/20)

Supporting Remote Family Time during the Pandemic and Beyond: The Judge's Role

This new judge's action alert highlights how the legal community is using remote family time during the pandemic, its benefits and drawbacks, how judges can support its use, and how it can be used to help maintain family connections in the future. (4/22/21)

Supporting Early Legal Advocacy before Court Involvement in Child Welfare Cases

This judicial action alert highlights the reasons for providing legal advocacy early in a child welfare case before court involvement. It explains legal advocates' roles, benefits of this advocacy, how it supports judges’ roles, how judges can support it, and how communities are using it in child welfare cases. (2/25/21)

Trauma Exposure Response: A Resource for Child Welfare Attorneys

This guide defines trauma exposure response, explains how it affects child welfare attorneys, provides strategies for identifying and addressing it, and shares resources. (2/3/21)

Family First Prevention Services Act: Implementing the Provisions that Support Kinship Families Checklist

This user-friendly tool is designed to address the federal requirements of the Family First Act and describe the necessary steps for effective implementation of the kinship provisions. (1/22/21)

Recent Center News & Resources

Access previously published Center news.

New Kinship Brief on FFPSA and Title IV-E GAP

This new brief by the Grandfamilies Project highlights provisions in the Family First Prevention Services Act related to kinship families and federal Title IV-E GAP (GAP). It suggests how states and eligible tribes can build on these provisions to promote use of assisted guardianship for children in kinship foster care.