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.

Upcoming Center Webinars

Working with Immigrant Children and Families Involved in the State Child Welfare System

Wed., Sept. 30, 3-4:30 pm ET. This webinar will provide an overview of considerations for attorneys working with immigrant families and children using case studies at each phase of a dependency court proceeding. The speakers will provide promising practices and resources for child welfare attorneys as well as key sources of relevant immigration law.

Pre-Petition Legal Representation

Wed., Sept 23, 2020, 3-4:30 pm ET. The Family Justice Initiative is hosting a webinar on pre-petition legal representation for parents and youth in the child welfare system. Presenters will discuss pre-petition representation programs, including funding, getting started, relationship with the child welfare agency as a referral source, best practices and outcomes.

Webinar Recordings

View recordings of previous Center webinars.

ABA Policy Resolution 115

Policy Text

ABA Policy Resolution 115 recognizes effective reforms of legal systems that affect the rights of children require active participation by individuals who experienced those systems as children and youth. It encourages the legal community address any barriers to that participation in reform and advocacy efforts.

ABA House of Delegates Video

A video recording of Commission Members Dafna Gozani and Lily Colby presenting ABA Resolution 115 before the ABA House of Delegates on August 3, during the 2020 Annual meeting. Thank you Dafna and Lily and everyone in the larger community who called for this resolution.

Center News

The Prevention Lessons of Mary Ellen Wilson

In this new Family Justice Talk, Katie Albright, JD, CEO of Safe & Sound, discusses how Family Resource Centers strengthen and support families from within to prevent crises and child welfare and court system involvement.

Webinar Recording: How Funding Changes Affect Legal Representation Quality for Children and Parents

A recording of the August 31, 2020 webinar highlighting findings from the Center's assessment of the impact of funding changes on child welfare legal representation quality in California and guidance for advocating for greater investments in child and parent counsel in communities.

Compassion: The Foundation for All Reasonable Efforts to Reunify Children with Their Parents

In this new Family Justice Talk, Vivek Sankaran, JD, University of Michigan, discusses compassion as the foundation of reasonable efforts to reunify families in the child welfare system and it how improves attorneys' advocacy and families' outcomes .

Effects of Attorney Funding on Representation Quality for Children and Parents

This new assessment looks at the impact of funding changes on quality legal representation of children and parents in California child welfare cases.

Five Ways Attorneys Can Use Adolescent Brain Science to Guide Their Advocacy

In this new article, Center attorney Sneha Barve highlights 5 ways legal advocates can use adolescent brain science to promote positive experiences and outcomes for youth involved in the child welfare system.

A Conversation about the Manifestation of White Supremacy in the Institution of Child Welfare, Level 2

A recording of this Sept. 16 webinar continuing the conversation on the impact of racism and white supremacy in child welfare policies and practices is now available, along with PowerPoint slides and related resources.

Legal Issues for Grandparents Raising Grandchildren

Heidi Redlich Epstein, director of Kinship Policy at the Center, answers questions about legal issues and resources for grandparents raising their grandchildren in RetireGuide’s new publication “Taking Care of Yourself While Raising Your Grandchildren.”

National Covid-19 Survey

The Center is conducting a national survey to understand jurisdictional approaches to the pandemic in four areas: (1) Attorney-Client Communications, (2) Court Hearings, (3) Child Safety, Placement and Services, and (4) Visitation and Case Work Contacts. The survey also seeks input on roles and responsibilities during the pandemic. Please take the survey before it closes September 1, 2020.

Judge's Action Alerts

The Center is developing a series of action alerts for judges on timely issues in the child welfare system in collaboration with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. Access the first two alerts on ensuring high-quality representation for children and parents, and leveraging Title IV-E funding to support child and parent representation.

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.