Greetings!
Greetings from the University of Baltimore School of Law Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC). Welcome to the fifth issue of CFCC's "Full Court Press" E-newsletter, which includes articles about advances made by CFCC's Truancy Court Program, information on the Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence, and a look into CFCC's Urban Child Symposium, "A Holistic Approach to the Urban Child's Trauma: From the Eyes of the Beholder." You also can read about a landmark report by the Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Access to Justice Commission which finds that civil legal services significantly boost the state's economy. We appreciate your interest and welcome you to become involved in one or more of CFCC's projects and initiatives. |
CFCC's New Name and New Home
We at the University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) are happy to announce that we now bear a new name in honor of a distinguished and generous alumna. CFCC now is known as:
The University of Baltimore School of Law
Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts
The name recognizes and expresses our gratitude to Sayra Meyerhoff, J.D. '78, M.S. '04, and her husband, Neil Meyerhoff, for their extraordinary support of the University of Baltimore (UB) and its School of Law.
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A view from the Law Center's balcony, complete with landscaping. (Photo courtesy of the University of Baltimore)
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The Meyerhoffs have made a $1 million gift to the capital campaign for the stunning new John and Frances Angelos Law Center. As visionaries, the Meyerhoffs see the new building as an exceptional opportunity to create a state-of-the-art learning environment that can give UB students every educational advantage. We at CFCC also value the time and expertise Ms. Meyerhoff contributes to the university community. She currently serves on the UB Foundation Board of Directors and the School of Law Advisory Council.
CFCC will move into the new John and Frances Angelos Law Center in early June. CFCC's suite will boast state-of-the-art offices for faculty and staff, a beautiful conference room, and fabulous work space for CFCC's Student Fellows. For more information on the new law building, visit the School of Law's building site.
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Truancy Court Program Data Shows Significant Increases in Attendance
The University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) provided a comprehensive analysis of its Truancy Court Program's (TCP) effectiveness to the US Department of Justice Office of Justice Programs Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). BJA funded the TCP in four jurisdictions (Baltimore City, Montgomery County, Anne Arundel County, and Baltimore County) from September 2009 until June 2012. Over the course of the grant, the TCP and its Mentoring Program served 341 students and their families in nine schools in these jurisdictions.
CFCC succeeded in achieving the overarching goal of the TCP - reducing truancy by reconnecting students and their families with the school using a therapeutic, non-adversarial, holistic model. There was consistent and dramatic improvement in school attendance among students participating in the TCP in all four jurisdictions where the program operated.
Continue on to read more about the TCP's data findings. |
National Task Force Calls Childhood Exposure to Violence a National Crisis
Calling for a massive overhaul of the nation's approach to exposure to violence, the Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence has issued what United States Attorney General Eric H. Holder, Jr. describes as "a wake-up call and warning bell for all of us."
The Task Force held four public hearings (Baltimore, Albuquerque, Miami, and Detroit) and three "listening sessions" (Anchorage, Oakland, and Joint Base Lewis-McChord outside Tacoma, Washington) during which members heard personal testimony from survivors of violence, young people, social service providers, medical personnel, researchers, and advocates, among others.
The Task Force's report, "Defending Childhood: Protect, Health, Thrive," finds that exposure to violence is a national crisis that affects approximately two out of every three children in the U.S. The task force, co-chaired by Robert Listenbee, Jr., Chief of the Juvenile Unit of the Defender Association of Philadelphia, and Joe Torre, Chairman of the Joe Torre Safe at Home Foundation and Major League Baseball's Executive Vice President for Baseball Operation, makes 56 recommendations divided into six areas: ending the epidemic of children exposed to violence, identifying children exposed to violence, treatment and healing of exposure to violence, creating safe and nurturing homes, community involvement, and "rethinking our juvenile justice system."
Learn more about the Attorney General's national task force.
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2013 Urban Child Symposium: A Holistic Approach to the Urban Child's Trauma: From the Eyes of the Beholder
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Dr. Thomas Scalea presenting during "Panel One: Setting the Stage" (Photo courtesy of the University of Baltimore)
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It is well known that violent adults often have a history of childhood psychological trauma. Some of these individuals exhibit very real, physical alterations in a part of the brain called the orbitofrontal cortex. A landmark study published by the Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne, a major science and technology university in Switzerland, demonstrates for the first time a correlation between psychological trauma in pre-adolescent rats and neurological changes similar to those found in violent humans.
"This research shows that people exposed to trauma in childhood don't only suffer psychologically, but their brain also gets altered," explains Professor Carmen Sandi, Director of the Brain Mind Institute in Lausanne and a lead researcher in the study. "This...obviously has scientific, therapeutic, and social implications."
The Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) explored these and other implications of childhood trauma during its fifth annual Urban Child Symposium, "A Holistic Approach to the Urban Child's Trauma: From the Eyes of the Beholder," on April 4, 2013, at the University of Baltimore School of Law. The symposium addressed the importance of considering exposure to childhood trauma when developing more effective means to confront the problems that urban children and their families face.
Continue on to learn more about the 5th annual Urban Child Symposium focused on child trauma.
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Landmark Report Finds that Access to Justice Boosts the State's Economy
A landmark report published by the Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) Access to Justice Commission finds that civil legal services significantly boost the state's economy by bringing in millions of federal dollars, improving the lives of low-income citizens, and saving Maryland millions in expenditures.
The report, "Economic Impact of Civil Legal Services in Maryland," calculates that non-profit civil legal services programs generate $190 million per year in economic activity, cost savings, and increased productivity. According to Pamela Ortiz, Executive Director of the Maryland Access to Justice Commission, which produced the report, the state's civil legal services providers have a significant impact on the state's economy. "In advocating for their clients, legal services lawyers help their clients receive millions of dollars in benefits they would otherwise never receive. Their efforts bring millions of dollars in additional federal aid into the State. They also help their clients win millions of dollars in additional resources which they spend on goods and services in Maryland. By helping their clients thrive, they also save the State money in expenditures associated with homelessness, domestic violence and other social costs of poverty."
Read more to learn about the legal services programs that receive state funding through the Maryland Legal Services Corporation |
Sincerely, Barbara Babb, Associate Professor of Law and Director, Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts
CFCC Staff: Gloria Danziger, Senior Fellow; Andrea Bento, Truancy Court Program Manager and School Liaison; Anthony "Bubba" Green, Truancy Court Program Mentor Coordinator; Catherine Jackson, Truancy Court Program Co-Manager; Elizabeth Mullen, Program Administrative Specialist; Christopher Gibson, Administrative Assistant
Editing Staff: Barbara Babb, Editor; Gloria Danziger, Editor/Writer; Andrea Bento, Editor/Writer; Elizabeth Mullen, Editor; Christopher Gibson, Editor
University of Baltimore School of Law Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts
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This 12th issue focuses on juvenile justice, with articles written by panelists from CFCC's 2012 Urban Child Symposium, "The Beginning or the End: The Urban Child's Experience in the Juvenile Justice System:"
- "Juvenile Correction Facilities Are No Place for Kids" by Bart Lubow
- "Courts Can Be Instrumental in Meeting the Needs of Youth in the Justice System" by Dana Shoenberg
- "Taking Age into Account Has Led to Significant Reform in Juvenile Jurisprudence" by Bernardine Dohrn
- "Brain Development Research Offers Key Insights on How to Approach Adolescents in the Legal System" by Gloria Reeves
For a paper copy of the newsletter or to be added to the mailing list, please email cfcc@ubalt.edu.
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CFCC Director Barbara Babb speaking at the Urban Child Symposium
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For more images from the 2013 Urban Child Symposium, visit CFCC's Facebook page.
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