Thank you to Brooke Silverthorn, NACC's staff attorney, who has stepped up to the plate to become our Interim Executive Director. The staff is excited to work with her as she continues her awesome work on policy, training, and certification. Brooke says, "In my new role at NACC, I look forward to expanding my work with NACC’s partners and members to advance the rights and interests of children and families." 

Child Welfare Law and Practice: Representing Children, Parents, and State Agencies in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Cases (AKA The Red Book) is now in its 3rd edition and available in soft and hard cover versions.  All NACC members receive 20% off The Red Book. Visit Bradford Publishing and use code NACC at check out for your discount.

NACC Silver and Gold Members receive a copy of The Red Book as a membership benefit. Consider upgrading your membership during your next renewal!

The Children’s Rights Litigation Committee (CRLC) is thrilled to announce that all five programs in the series "Assuring a Successful Transition" have been posted to the CRLC website where they are available at no cost. This series focused on the role of legal representation in assuring that youth transition successfully from foster care to adulthood. Each program was a rich discussion of these complex issues, and we are grateful to our truly impressive line-up of speakers who each generously shared their significant experience to ensure these programs were practical and informative. We had strong geographic diversity among our speakers to ensure that these programs were meaningful regardless of whether you practice in a jurisdiction with extended foster care, or a jurisdiction that ends foster care at age 18 or somewhere in between.  Feedback from attendees was that these programs were incredibly valuable. CRLC is grateful to our co-sponsor, the Juvenile Law Center for assistance in planning. 

The programs that can be heard are:

• Assuring a Successful Transition: An Overview of the Issue
• Assuring a Successful Transition: What Is the Role of Lawyers and the Courts for Transitioning Youth?
• Assuring a Successful Transition: What Legal Issues Do Transitioning Youth Face?
• Assuring a Successful Transition: Transition Planning For Special Populations
• Assuring a Successful Transition: Permanency and Connections in Transitioning Youth

To find these programs and more, visit the CRLC website: http://www.americanbar.org/publications/litigation-committees/childrens-rights/materials.html

Casa Grande Dispatch
The Arizona Supreme Court has granted the petition for review filed by attorneys for the Gila River Indian Community giving them an opportunity to argue before the justices in a controversial case involving the future of a Native American child being permanently removed from the community.

The New York Times
A fight over an order that would rescind protections for transgender students in public schools has erupted inside the Trump administration, pitting Attorney General Jeff Sessions against the secretary of education, Betsy DeVos. According to three Republicans with direct knowledge of the internal discussions, Mr. Trump sided with his attorney general, telling Ms. DeVos in a meeting in the Oval Office on Tuesday that he wanted her to drop her objections.

HRC
Join NACC in taking action to prevent discrimination against LGBTQ and transgender youth, many of whom we work with in the foster care system.

Youth First
A national poll commissioned by the Youth First Initiative and conducted by GBA Strategies in 2017 shows that a majority of Americans, especially young people, believe that youth prisons should be closed and replaced with rehabilitation and prevention programs.

Youth Today
Juvenile drug treatment courts must do more to bring families into the treatment process if they want to help young offenders overcome addiction and stay out of the criminal justice system, a team of mental health professionals concluded in a sweeping report released today.

Campaign for Children
Amid discussions to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, children and health advocates urged Congress to not forget that the law currently provides coverage for former foster youth. In a letter sent to Congress this week, more than 240 organizations expressed their support to ensure that youth who age out of foster care can keep Medicaid coverage until they turn 26, in parity with their peers who can stay on their parent’s health insurance until the age of 26.

Thank you to our newest Silver Members!  We truly appreciate your support of NACC and the work we do.

AnnaLee Foster
Denver, Colorado

Venetha Johnson
Chicago, Illinois

Alicia Park
San Francisco, California

East Bay Children's Law Offices, Inc. (EBCLO) is seeking an exceptional person to lead a strong team including attorneys and social workers who represent children and youth in the juvenile dependency court. This leader must be committed to high quality legal advocacy, through a holistic approach, to provide young clients with a voice in the decisions affecting their lives both in and out of court. The new Executive Director will have a unique opportunity to work with the Board and staff to expand and deepen services for children who need lawyers.