Below are our newest Child Welfare Law Specialists. Their dedication and hard work allows them to join the ranks of nearly 600 other CWLS across the country.  Job well done!

Stacey Auvenshine, TX

Katherine Bender, LA

Janet Bledsoe, AR 

Casey Copeland, AR

Jamie Hamlett, NC

Guy Lain, LA

Suzanne Lustig, NJ

Christy Malott, NC

Jill McInerney, CA

Alison Meyers, TX

Janice Powell, GA

Renia Robinette, AR

Patricia Soffer, NJ

Ian Trueblood, CA

Donna Wright, NC

Please take a few moments and help NACC and the Annie E. Casey Foundation accumulate knowledge regarding non-family placements in your local jurisdictions. This survey will help support the creation of valuable resources for legal professionals as part of the ‘Every Kid Needs a Family’ initiative. Please complete your survey by today, March 9, to be considered.  
 
Please Note:

• The term "non-family placements" is meant to encompass residential treatment, congregate care facilities, group homes, shelters. 
• This survey is being supported by a grant from the Annie E. Casey Foundation: 
  

1. It will provide the foundation with a perspective from the legal field on non-family placements.
2. It will help inform tools to support attorneys, judges and CASAs in making informed decisions about non-family placements (in the courtroom and outside the courtroom).

Click Here for the survey! 

 

 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." 

 

 

 

JJIE
The connection between youth homelessness and the juvenile system is the subject of a sweeping new study by the Coalition for Juvenile Justice and several of its partners. The report makes recommendations for policymakers, law enforcement and youth advocates and provides broad insights into a problem that has plagued juveniles for decades.

Prison Policy Initiative
This past fall, a new report from Prison Voice Washington detailed the decline in food quality served in the state’s correctional facilities. While incarcerated people often voice complaints about (very real) quality-of-life issues related to food service, there is a broader public health concern here: the long-term health consequences of forcing incarcerated people to consume unhealthy food.

Philly.com
Sherreiff McCrae was 5 years old when he was placed in the care of a neighbor. Not long after, the Department of Human Services intervened, moving Sherreiff to a group home. There he found stability and safety. But once he turned 18, he was on his own - no family, no education, no job. Every day, America's foster care system cuts off social services to 60 young people like Sherreiff. They have become legal adults - but in many ways are woefully unprepared for the adult world.

Youth Today
In the wake of the Supreme Court decision, civil rights attorneys and LGBT advocates are reaffirming their legal strategy to challenge discrimination based on gender identity.

The Chronicle of Social Change
While parental unemployment is a known risk factor for child abuse and neglect, a new study finds that a parent’s satisfaction in the workplace may play an even more important role.

The News & Observer
After decades of work and some failed attempts, there’s considerable steam behind an effort to give the juvenile criminal-justice system jurisdiction over 16- and 17-year-olds so they have a chance to bounce back from nonviolent crimes and low-level offenses.