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Nov. 2007 - NCYL attorneys provided trainings on a range of issues at two recent conferences – the National Legal Aid Defenders Association’s (NLADA) annual conference last month in Tucson, Ariz., and Beyond the Bench, an annual convening of more than 1,000 juvenile dependency and delinquency professionals from California, including judges, attorneys, social workers, and educators. Beyond the Bench is sponsored by the California Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC), Center for Families, Children & the Courts.
NCYL Director John O’Toole was one of two plenary speakers for the civil caucus to kick off the NLADA conference, encouraging neighborhood legal aid offices to formulate a proactive agenda for addressing the needs of poor children. John gave examples of how legal aid offices could do more to serve children, such as securing the dependency contract for their region, thereby directly representing abused and neglect children. John also discussed NCYL’s work advocating for foster youth in the education system.
Senior attorney Bill Grimm and fellow panelists Hannah Lieberman, Deputy Executive Director of the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau, and Chuck Greenfield, Executive Director of the Legal Aid Society of Hawaii, discussed how they become involved in dependency proceedings, the advantages and pitfalls encountered, and how it has lead to innovative programs that provide legal advice and assistance to teens. They also suggested ways in which legal services programs – other than through direct representation – might assist clients who are involved with the child welfare system.
NCYL attorneys Patrick Gardner and Fiza Quraishi presented trainings on securing mental health services for children, as well as on NCYL’s Juvenile Mental Health Court Project.
Media advocacy was the topic of a workshop presented by John O’Toole, NCYL Communications Director Tracy Schroth, and John Diaz, editorial page editor of the San Francisco Chronicle. They discussed NCYL’s work with the Chronicle on its 2006-07 editorial campaign to reform foster care in California. A series of more than 75 editorials and articles in the Chronicle, in combination with other media coverage, led to the passage of 16 foster care reform bills, increased funding of $100 million, and the unprecedented commitment of the courts, legislators, and the governor to improve foster care in California.
Beyond the Bench
Bill Grimm was one of five panelists who discussed media coverage of foster care issues at the Beyond the Bench Conference in San Diego Dec. 12-14. Bill and fellow panelists, including John Diaz of the San Francisco Chronicle, talked about the public’s perceptions of foster care, how foster care issues are conveyed in the media, and ways to develop more balanced and informed coverage. Other panelists were Miriam Krinsky, consultant on policy, reform, and legislative initiatives for the AOC; Amanda Riddle, editor of LA Youth, an independent newspaper written by and about teens; and Gina Russo, a communications consultant and former communications director for the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care.
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