The Advocate: NACC's Weekly Bulletin

The Winter 2017 issue of The Guardian is online now.  This quarterly publication is a membership benefit and includes child welfare and juvenile justice articles, case reviews, policy updates and more.  Members log in to read.

 

Congratulations to Sandra Diehl, CWLS, the winner of our Shopping Spree fundraiser!

Our sincere thanks to all of our donors.  We received a total of $760 in donations from the NACC membership and community.  Your generous support helps ensure that the NACC continues to be a resource in the child welfare community. Our training, programs and technical assistance would not be possible without the contributions of advocates and allies – just like you. So once again, thank you!

OJJDP
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) has just released guidelines for juvenile drug treatment courts. These guidelines offer evidence-based, treatment-oriented support for the complex needs of youth with substance use disorders.

The Chronicle of Social Change
President-elect Donald Trump made clear in a recent interview that he plans to deport between two and three million undocumented immigrants, a drastic increase from current practice under which about 235,000 were sent away in 2015.

Many of the people being deported will be parents of children who are U.S. citizens, born into the rights and protections of this country. Child welfare and immigration reform advocates fear that the surge in deportation will prompt a spike in foster care admissions for children in this circumstance.

The Huffington Post
"The bonding is extremely different than with an infant. With babies, it's primal, but you have to connect with the older kids on a more intellectual and emotional level. Communication is much more robust with older kids. The younger ones don't know yet how to put their thoughts into words." – Robin Wade, Awesome Mom

Reuters
The non-profit private Pride School Atlanta is seen as the first school in the American South focused on the LGBT community and one of few addressing similar concerns in the nation. Court records and data reviewed by Reuters show a 12-fold surge in transgender student-related civil rights complaints lodged with the U.S. Department of Education – from seven in 2014 to 84 in 2016.

LA Times
California State Senator Richard Pan introduced the Children's Bill of Rights – a proposed piece of legislation that establishes a basic right to quality childcare, early education, health services and dental services for all of California's children regardless of income.

Cleveland.com
Truant students will not longer be suspended for skipping school or dragged into court when their absences start to become a habit. A new state law will "decriminalize" truancy and force schools to try to bring students back to class before running to juvenile court.

Leslie Barry, JD, CWLS  
Huntington Beach, CA

Katherine Dowling, JD, CWLS
Dept of Children & Family Services
New Orleans, LA

Anoopa Laurens, JD, CWLS
Laurens Law, LLC
Buford, GA

Courtney Longtin, JD, CWLS
Disabled Parents Rights
Windsor, CO

Tammy Mullins, JD, CWLS
Administrative Office of the Courts
Pea Ridge, AR

Ellen Ramsey-Kacena, JD, CWLS 
Ellen Ramsey-Kacena, Attorney at Law
Cedar Rapids, IA

Betsy Smith, JD, CWLS
Mental Health Advocacy/
Child Advocacy Program
Mandeville, LA

Laura Wagner, JD, CWLS
Niagara County Dept of Social Services     
Lockport, NY

Patricia Weir, JD, CWLS
Johnson County Attorney’s Office
Iowa City, IA

 

Congratulations to H.D. ("De") Kirkpatrick, Ph.D and Stephanie Ledesma, MA, JD, CWLS  on their retention as NACC Board Members.