The NACC Board of Directors is conducting a search for an Executive Director.

Interested in applying for the Child Welfare Law Specialist (CWLS) program? Our final diversity campaign for 2016 is for Agency Attorneys, Parents' Counsel, and Children's Attorneys/GALs. Deadline is November 30th.

Why I Became a CWLS
by Cherrilynne Washington Thomas, Esq

I am currently an Assistant District Attorney with the Orleans Parish District Attorney's Office.  I almost exclusively handle child welfare cases. I have also been employed as counsel for the Louisiana Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS).

Most of my legal career has consisted of law practice in the area of child welfare. I have enjoyed facilitating many sessions in the area of child welfare. As I share my knowledge of child welfare law with other professionals, the Child Welfare Legal Specialist certification will demonstrate my commitment to being among the most prepared and knowledgeable in the field. The certification further demonstrates the specialized expertise shared by practitioners in the field of child welfare.

Read this week's blog, ICWA and Indian Heritage: So Much More than "Paperwork"  by Jerin Damo

 

 

Child Welfare Information Gateway
In honor of National Adoption Month, the Child Welfare Information Gateway assembled this collection of resources. The collection is intended to help child welfare and adoption professionals involve older youth in ongoing conversations about the importance of having a wide support system – including family, mentors, and friends – throughout their entire lives.

YouthToday
What will child welfare look like under the administration of President-Elect Trump? Plans for major policy changes and cuts in funding could reshape child welfare systems across the country.

The New York Times
Politicians and voters often say they want better schools, but that doesn’t mean they’re willing to pay for them. Voters this week largely rejected attempts to increase school spending through ballot initiatives.

Philly.com
Natural mentoring is a practice approach that not only prepares youths for independence, but also cultivates supportive relationships between youths and a self-nominated, caring adult (or natural mentor) in their lives. An intervention called Caring Adults R Everywhere (CARE), leverages the power of relational connectedness and social support to change the lives of youths in foster care who will age out and likely end up homeless.

NJDC
The National Juvenile Defender Center recently released a report that proposes solutions to ensure that more juveniles have access to legal counsel. In addition to making specific recommendations, the report highlights the impact that not having counsel has on historically oppressed communities and highlights programs around the country that are improving youth access to justice.

JJIE
In 2000, California enacted a policy known as "direct file." This policy gave prosecutors the authority to bring charges against juveniles in adult court without having to first appear before a juvenile judge. On Tuesday, California voters approved Proposition 57, which reverses that policy, giving all juveniles the right to a hearing before they can be transferred to adult court. Now that Proposition 57 has passed, child welfare attorneys and judges must learn to apply the law, and the juvenile system as a whole must prepare to offer services to teenagers who likely would have ended up in adult prison under the previous law.

M. Currey Cook, Esq.

 

Currey Cook is a Senior Attorney and National Director of the Youth in Out-of-Home Care Project at Lambda Legal. Lambda Legal is the oldest and largest national legal organization whose mission is to achieve full recognition of the civil rights of lesbians, gay men, bisexuals, transgender people and those with HIV through impact litigation, education and public policy work. View Currey’s NACC profile here.

Welcome to our newest silver member Betsy Mussleman, Attorney at Law in Taos, New Mexico.