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Barton Child Law and Policy Center Newsletter |
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Next Georgia Child Welfare Legal Academy September 27, 2011
The Indian Child Welfare Act
The September session of the Georgia Child Welfare Legal Academy is scheduled for Tuesday, September 27, 2011 from 2:00 until 4:15 p.m. in room G575 of Gambrell Hall at Emory University School of Law. The Honorable Lisa Mantz, Newton County Juvenile Court, will be the presenter for this program.
Judge Mantz will discuss the basic requirements of the Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA), Georgia's compliance with ICWA, and the relationship between ICWA and Georgia's state-recognized Indian tribes.
Seating is limited. Online registration is strongly encouraged . The nonrefundable registration fee for all participants is $10 and includes materials, 3-hour parking in the hospital visitor parking deck, and light refreshments.
CLE credit: 2.0 regular CLE credits will be offered for this program for an additional fee of $10.00 payable by cash or check (preferred) at the door. Please make checks payable to Emory University.
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Save the Date for the October Georgia Child Welfare Legal Academy on Reinstatement of Parental Rights
The October session of the Georgia Child Welfare Legal Academy has been scheduled for Tuesday, October 4th, from 1:30-3:45pm. Judge Lane Bearden and attorneys Elinore Portivant and Brent Erwin will present on the issue of reinstatement of parental rights after termination in room G575 on the 5th floor of Gambrell Hall, Emory Law School.
Registration is not yet open, but please hold the date for this exciting discussion. More details will follow soon.
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The Barton Center Welcomes New Robin Nash Fellow Kosha Tucker
In August, the Barton Center bid farewell to our 2010-2011 Robin Nash Fellow, Taylor Dudley. During her term, Taylor served the Center with distinction, working on issues such as the protection of runaway youth, and pregnancy prevention for youth in foster care. Taylor has returned to her home state of California, where she is now working with the Alliance for Children's Rights.
Though we were sad to see Taylor go, we are delighted to welcome our 2011-2012 Robin Nash Fellow, Kosha Tucker, to the team. Kosha is a graduate of New York University School of Law, where she was a Root-Tilden-Kern Public Interest Scholar. While at NYU, Kosha dedicated her studies and extracurricular efforts to juvenile law and critical race theory. During her law school experience, Kosha was a legal intern at the Southern Center for Human Rights in Atlanta, where she assisted lawyers on projects aimed at empowering indigent people of color entangled in the criminal justice system. She also worked as a student advocate for special-needs students with Advocates for Children of New York. Pursuant to the Student Practice Act, Kosha also served as a student defender in delinquency proceedings under the supervision of the Juvenile Rights Division of the Brooklyn Legal Aid Society. Finally, Kosha participated in the Emory Summer Child Advocacy Program as a legal intern at the Barton Child Law and Policy Center. Because of her efforts in and out of the classroom, Kosha was awarded the Gary E. Moncrieffe Award for her work in the area of Racism and the Law and the Ann Petluck Poses Prize in recognition of her outstanding work in a clinical course requiring student practice.
Prior to law school, Kosha taught first grade in the Atlanta Public Schools System and was named a regional finalist for the Sue Lehmann Excellence in Teaching Award. Kosha completed her undergraduate education at Duke University, where she received a B.A. in Public Policy Studies.
The Robin Nash Fellowship is named for former Barton Center Director Robin Nash, who we tragically lost in 2007. Robin dedicated his career to improving the lives of others. After fifteen years in private practice, concentrating on rights of the mentally ill and the developmentally disabled, he served as a juvenile court judge in DeKalb County for ten years. He became a member of the Barton Clinic Advisory Board while still a judge, and joined us as our full-time Director in spring of 2006.
Robin's energy, spirit, and commitment to the children we serve inspired us all. After his loss, we decided the most fitting way to honor his memory was to continue his work in mentoring and encouraging new child advocate attorneys. The Robin Nash Fellowship Fund provides post-graduate fellowships in law in Robin's name. These Robin Nash Fellows participate in our policy and advocacy work and supervise students in our programs. The Robin Nash Fellowships help us attract talented recent law school graduates to build a career in children's law in Georgia, and add to the capacity of the Barton Center to make the kinds of positive improvements for children that Robin consistently sought.
If you would like to make a contribution to the Robin Nash Fellowship Fund, you can do so by sending your check made out to Emory Universitywith the memo line Barton Center Nash Fellowships to:
Michele Papotto
The Barton Child Law & Policy Center Emory University School of Law
1301 Clifton Road
Atlanta, GA 30322
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Other Barton Center Developments
Appeal for Youth Project Continued
The Appeal for Youth (AFY) program, begun by Steve Reba as an Equal Justice Works fellowship project in 2009, has been extended so that it can continue its important work providing excellent representation to children in need and outstanding clinical learning opportunities to Emory Law Students. This year, AFY will focus on providing representation to foster children in the School-to-Prison Pipeline.
The School-to-Prison Pipeline refers to the common pattern of school disciplinary measures that escalate into long-term suspensions and expulsions, placing children at greater risk of delinquency or criminal involvement and incarceration. Foster children are suspended and expelled from school at much higher rates than non-foster children. When removed from school, the lack of support systems available to foster children often lead to illegal behavior and rapid travel down the School-to-Prison Pipeline.
AFY is one of the only programs in the state focusing exclusively on legal services for foster children in the School-to-Prison Pipeline. The Clinic receives case referrals from child welfare attorneys, social workers, public defenders, and prison advocates. From those referrals, supervised law students provide (1) holistic education representation to current foster children facing removal from school; and (2) holistic post-conviction representation to current and former foster children in juvenile detention and prison.
Specifically, students represent foster children in administrative disciplinary hearings before the local boards of education in Metro Atlanta and through the administrative appeals process before the Georgia Board of Education. In addition to direct client interaction, hearing preparation, and advocacy, students draft appellate briefs and prepare oral arguments. Concurrent to litigation, students negotiate educational alternatives with local and state agencies.
Additionally, students provide post-conviction representation to current and former foster children in juvenile detention and prison. Cases involve direct appeals, habeas corpus, and post-conviction trial motions. Students meet and interview their clients at the detention center or prison, draft appellate briefs, and investigate and prepare habeas corpus petitions and motions. Additionally, students regularly communicate with their clients to monitor and ensure fair and humane intra-facility treatment.
For more information or to make a case referral, please contact Steve Reba via email or by phone at 404-727-0984.
Barbara Bennett Woodhouse Transitions to Senior Faculty Advisor
After two years of serving as Co-Director of the Barton Center, Barbara Bennett Woodhouse is transitioning to the role of Senior Faculty Advisor. We are deeply grateful for the leadership Barbara has provided to the Center since 2009, particularly the work that she has done to promote the Center's work and faculty within the law school community and the critical role she played in the transition between former Center Director Karen Worthington's departure, and Melissa Carter's arrival. We look forward to continuing to benefit from Barbara's vast knowledge and leading edge scholarship on child law, and to collaborating with her on appellate and amicus issues through her new practicum course for many years to come.
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Quick Links...
Donate. Your contribution directly supports the work of the Barton Child Law and Policy Center to improve the lives of abused, neglected and court-involved children. In the "select fund" drop down box, please choose "Robin Nash Fellowship" to help us launch the careers of talented new child advocates or choose "other" and write "Barton Center operations" to support all other aspects of our work. Thank you for your generous support; our work would not be possible without community contributions. Join the Barton Center email list. The Barton Child Law and Policy Center sends weekly legislative updates when the Georgia General Assembly is in session. During the rest of the year we send periodic emails with information on upcoming educational opportunities, legislative and policy developments, research findings, and changes to law, policy and practice. Sign up here to receive important updates on children's law in Georgia.
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