Home › Children's Rights Litigation › About Children's Rights Litigation

Children's Rights Litigation Committee

 

Mission

The Children’s Rights Litigation Committee is one of the more than 40 practice groups open to all members of the American Bar Association’s Section of Litigation. Joining the committee entitles a member to a number of benefits (see list below). The committee’s leadership is made up of experienced litigators from all over the country working to improve access to justice, engage pro bono lawyers, and improve outcomes for all children who come into contact with the legal system. As it works toward that vision, the committee exercises the unique ability to help local groups who are interested in starting or improving children’s legal programs.

In order to accomplish the goals of improving the quality of the legal representation of children and providing members with opportunities to learn and to lead, the committee provides its members with these benefits:

• Children’s Rights, a quarterly publication
• Online access to case notes and alerts on news and developments of interest to the children’s law community
• Opportunities for leadership in the development of children’s legal policy initiatives
• Training that includes a spring teleconference, online programs, and training DVDs (for example, the award-winning Interviewing the Child Client)
• Opportunities to write for committee publications and participate in one or more active subcommittees

Whether you want to receive Children’s Rights, learn from and network with children’s lawyers from around the country, contribute to our programs and publications, or all of the above, join us. Section of Litigation members may join as many committees as they like at no charge.

To join, you must first be a member of the ABA and also a member of the ABA Section of Litigation.

Announcements

Resources for Young Lawyers Added to Related Resources Page

We recently updated our Related Resources page with useful resources for young attorneys interested in child welfare, juvenile justice, education, and immigration. We will continue to update this new resource section and welcome any recommendations from our fellow members.

ABA Adopts Model Act on Representation of Children

On August 8, 2011, the ABA House of Delegates adopted the Model Act Governing the Representation of Children in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Cases [PDF]. The Model Act, sponsored by the Section of Litigation and many other ABA entities, calls for lawyers for children in every abuse, neglect, and dependency matter.

Get Involved

The Education Subcommittee of the Children’s Rights Litigation Committee has formed a work group to explore the growing problem of “pushout” and welcomes your participation.

Directory of Pro Bono Children's Law Programs

The Children's Rights Litigation Committee's Directory of Pro Bono Children's Law Programs [PDF], in its fourth edition, is a compilation of children's law programs.

Message from the Chairs

On February 10, 2012, the Children’s Rights Litigation Committee (CRLC), along with Nova Southeastern University Law Center, hosted the national symposium, “The ABA Model Act Governing the Representation of Children in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Proceedings—Improving Outcomes for Children.” More than 150 people attended the symposium, which consisted of four panels and featured remarks from Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals Judge Rosemary Barkett and Florida Supreme Court Justice Barbara Pariente, welcoming remarks from Nova Law Center Dean Athornia Steele, and closing remarks from Angela Vigil, pro bono partner at Baker and McKenzie in Miami, Florida. The symposium was an opportunity to gather national experts to discuss the implementation of the ABA Model Act Governing the Representation of Children in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Proceedings [PDF], which was adopted by the ABA in August 2011.

Working toward the implementation of the ABA Model Act in states around the country is just one of the many projects of the CRLC during the 2011–2012 bar year. We have held several programs, including the national teleconference “Recognizing and Addressing LGBTQ Issues in Your Children's Law Caseload.”

In addition to our current work, we are focused on creating new projects for the 2012–2013 bar year. CRLC’s education subcommittee has begun crafting a project focused on addressing the racial disparities in the school-to-prison pipeline, and it is looking for new members to get involved in this work. ABA President-Elect Laurel Bellows has chosen trafficking as her signature project for the 2012–2013 bar year, and the CRLC is currently putting together a project focused on the trafficking of children as part of her effort.

If you are interested in helping with one of the projects above or have an idea about a project you would like the committee to consider, please let us know! We welcome and encourage your participation—big or small.

Sincerely,

Lauren Girard Adams
Franchesca Hamilton-Acker
Casey Trupin
Chairs, Children's Rights Litigation Committee

 

Subcommittees

» ABA Online Directory

Our active subcommittees include:

Law Firm Lawyers for Kids—This subcommittee provides opportunities for lawyers in law firms interested in representing children on a pro bono basis anywhere in the country. The cases that lawyers in law firms handle include a variety of matters ranging from abuse and neglect proceedings to truancy and special needs access. The subcommittee also provides resources and training to its members.

Knowledge Sharing—The Knowledge Sharing subcommittee provides the opportunity to assist in the development and dissemination of written content that highlights important developments in the law, practice, and sociology of representing children in our judicial system. Our content is distributed via the Committee webpage, our quarterly newsletter, and other publications that we solicit for publication. This group has bimonthly phone calls to discuss topics, expert resources, and placement opportunities.

Learning and Professional Development—The Learning and Professional Development subcommittee provides its members with the opportunity to assist in the development of all of our training and professional development programs. Programs are created to provide information on the relevant updates in the law and the latest tools for lawyers representing children. Forums include our annual spring teleconference and programs at conferences, such as the Section of Litigation Annual Conference and the National Association of Counsel for Children Annual Conference. Subcommittee members participate in promoting our programs and in developing regional programs and training.

Advocacy: Right to Education—The Advocacy: Right to Education subcommittee provides a forum for lawyers working on the critical issues that impact the right to education for so many of our youth. Issues have included the school-to-prison pipeline, school push-out/zero tolerance, and other critical issues. Participation in this subcommittee provides the opportunity to work on important national initiatives, including the development of a model school code.

Advocacy: Right to Counsel—We have made great strides toward realizing a national right to quality legal counsel for all children who enter our judicial system, but there is much more to be accomplished. The Advocacy: Right to Counsel subcommittee brings lawyers together from across the country to continue this important work. The subcommittee’s current focus is the institution of a right to counsel for children in abuse and neglect cases. This subcommittee holds monthly strategy calls and has an active list serve for sharing developments and ideas in this rapidly developing area of law.

To join a subcommittee or to suggest a new subcommittee, please click here.

Dignity in Schools Project

The Education Subcommittee of the Children’s Rights Litigation Committee has formed a work group to explore the widespread and growing problem of “pushout”—the removal of children from school via open and hidden institutional policies.