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.

Center News

New FJI Website

Visit the Family Justice Initiative's (FJI) new website. This national collaborative is working to increase access to high-quality legal representation for children and parents in child welfare cases.

Effective Strategies for Courtroom Advocacy on Drug Use and Parenting

This new CLP Today article by Dr. Ron Abrahams and Nancy Rosenbloom recommends a harm reduction approach to advocating for parents accused of child neglect or abuse related to drug or alcohol use.

Fifth Circuit Holds Indian Child Welfare Act is Constitutional

Read Beth Kurtz's summary of the Fifth Circuit's recent decision reversing a district court opinion and holding the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) is constitutional. The ruling also found the Bureau of Indian Affairs (BIA) had authority to promulgate its 2016 ICWA regulations.

Legal Community Roles Implementing the Family First Prevention Services Act

The Center has drafted a short summary of different legal audiences whose engagement will be critical to ensuring successful implementation of the federal Family First Prevention Services Act (FFPSA) across the country.

Staff Attorney 2 Positions

The Center is seeking to fill two new Staff Attorney 2 positions in our National Courts project area. These attorneys will conduct substantive child welfare legal work for the Center’s grant funded projects.

Senior Attorney Position

The Center is currently hiring for a senior attorney to facilitate child welfare system change as part of our Permanency Barriers Project. Please review the job description and application requirements.

New Toolkit: Using Adolescent Brain Research to Engage Youth

This new toolkit shares the latest adolescent brain science and explains how to use it to engage youth in their court hearings and case planning.

ABA Family Integrity & Family Unity Policy

This new ABA policy recognizes that children and parents have rights to family integrity and family unity. Its provisions emphasize the role of the legal system in efforts to preserve families and maintain family connectedness during child welfare system involvement.

Montana Supreme Court Clarifies Reasonable Efforts in Child Welfare Case

Read Nicole Johnson's summary of the recent Montana Supreme Court decision overturning a termination of parental rights decision, holding: (1) the child welfare agency failed to make reasonable efforts to reunite the mother with her child; and (2) the agency did not establish by clear and convincing evidence that the mother’s substance use disorder was unlikely to change within a reasonable time.