By Guest Author Matthew J. Sullivan Unified Family Courts Connection | Fall 2020 The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic—which engulfed the entire world like a brushfire out of control—has changed the practices of fam- ily courts and all the judges, attorneys and practitioners who help families traverse the court system. I work with parents in high-conflict, shared-parenting…
How The University of Baltimore’s Truancy Court Program Integrates Unified Family Court Principles Into Its Problem-Solving Team Strategy for Students and Families in Need By Amanda Bentley, CFCC Student Fellow 2013-2014 This week marks the beginning of many of my classmates’ placements in CFCC’s Truancy Court Program (TCP). Unlike several of my colleagues, I’m new…
CFCC’s 2012 Urban Child Symposium (UCS), entitled “The Urban Child in the Juvenile Justice System: The Beginning or the End?,” focused on the juvenile justice system. Symposium panelists identified several priorities for juvenile justice system reform (more information is in the Unified Family Court Connection Winter 2013 Issue, which featured articles from several UCS presenters):…
CFCC will soon release its e-newsletter, Full Court Press, which reports on family justice system reform around the country. Here is a sneak preview from an article about a national task force on childhood trauma: National Task Force Calls Childhood Exposure to Violence a National Crisis Calling for a massive overhaul of the nation’s approach…
2012-2013 CFCC Student Fellows pose for a picture after their final class. With the end of the Fall semester at the University of Baltimore School of Law, we at CFCC would like to thank the CFCC Student Fellows for their superb contributions to class discussions, CFCC projects, and the CFCC blog. Their blog posts on…
By Nicole Harris-Crest, CFCC Student Fellow 2012-2013 The Center for Children, Families, and the Courts (CFCC) Truancy Court Program (TCP) uses early intervention to address the problems that underlie truancy. Each week, TCP staff meet with students who are “soft” truants, having between five to twenty unexcused absences in a semester. The goal of the…
By Rexanah Wyse, CFCC Student Fellow 2012-2013 Through the CFCC Student Fellows Program, I was afforded the opportunity to learn how the integration of therapeutic jurisprudence, the ecology of human development, and problem-solving courts work together to impact children and their families. Problem-solving courts attempt to address the underlying problem that is responsible for the…
By Andrew Wong, CFCC Student Fellow 2012-2013 Last year, I volunteered as a tutor with CFCC’s Truancy Court Program (TCP) and it was a wonderful experience. I believe this is a great opportunity for all law students. Many of us come to law school with some vision to serve the public interest. Because law students are limited…
By Catherine Villareale, CFCC Student Fellow 2012-2013 Courts struggle with effective ways to deal with individuals whose mental health issues lead to criminal behavior. This is especially true for courts responsible for adjudicating juvenile delinquency. Childhood exposure to violence can impact children’s social and emotional development. It has been linked to poor social functioning and…