Contact Cristina Ritchie Cooper
Cristina is a Senior Attorney with the Center and pursues system reform in several areas. She directs the Child Welfare and Immigration Project, which supports courts and agencies working with immigrant families in or at risk of entering the dependency system, and child welfare and immigration attorneys who seek to understand their clients’ legal needs in both fields. In state-specific projects such as the Pennsylvania Barriers Project, Cristina partners with juvenile courts and child welfare agencies to address system delays to reunification and other forms of permanency. Cristina also provides guidance on effective implementation of federal laws, including the Family First Prevention Services Act, to the legal community through trainings, written resources, and tailored consultations. And through her work with the National Legal and Judicial Child Welfare Center for Innovation and Advancement ("CLJIA"), Cristina supports state Court Improvement Program efforts to strengthen court practice and improve outcomes for families.
Providing technical assistance and policy analysis on child welfare issues was long a goal of Cristina’s. She attended law school to become a child advocate, and gained experience in several positions before joining the ABA, including as an attorney for children and youth in child welfare cases with the Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice in the Bronx, NY; as legal manager of the Teen Dating Violence Program at Women Empowered Against Violence (WEAVE) in Washington, DC, representing adolescents in protection order and family law matters and advocating for legislative improvements; and as a post-graduate NAPIL (now Equal Justice Works) fellowship on medical child support at the National Women’s Law Center.
Cristina enjoys combining advocacy, technical assistance, and policy work at the national and state/local levels. She also enjoys the variety in her work--collaborating with national groups; engaging with judges, attorneys, and other practitioners in the field; and researching and drafting topical guidance.