By Samantha Richmond, CFCC Student Fellow 2012-2013 Every Wednesday afternoon, mentors, professors, and Student Fellows from the Center for Families, Children, and the Courts at the University of Baltimore School of Law meet to speak about our weekly Truancy Court Program (TCP) sessions. We discuss ways in which we can prevent truancy. Over the past…
By Carly Reisman, CFCC Student Fellow 2012-2013 Last week during my Truancy Court Program (TCP) session at Walter P. Carter Elementary/Middle School I met a third grader who had recently been bullied. She said that a boy in her class had been teasing her lately and had even spit on her. She said that she…
By Navneet Pal, CFCC Student Fellow 2012-2013 The Truancy Court Program run by the Center for Families, Children, and the Courts uses therapeutic jurisprudence and preventive law to address the issue of truancy. Through this approach, teachers (and/or other school officials), judges, volunteers, mentors, and parents work together to help students overcome obstacles that lead…
By Spencer Hall, CFCC Student Fellow 2012-2013 A few days ago NPR profiled a young woman named Tierra Jackson, now a junior in college, who had struggled in high school as her family experienced homelessness. She recalled being frequently punished by school administrators for her tardiness, but being too embarrassed to tell them that her…
By Amin Berrah, CFCC Student Fellow 2012-2013 The Center for Families, Children and the Courts’ focus on promoting court reform is based on the belief that families would benefit most from a legal system which addresses underlying issues (such as substance abuse, domestic violence, mental illness etc.) as part of an effective and therapeutic judicial…
The Center for Families, Children and the Courts Student Fellows Program I (SFP) is now underway. The course provides students with a unique perspective on the law, instructing them on policies and theories that underlie family justice system reform. The SFP includes classroom discussion, lectures, and guest speakers about cutting edge issues in family law,…
We at CFCC cannot believe that it has been ten years since CFCC’s launching, thereby implementing our vision to create a center to identify opportunities for family justice system reform. Beginning our work with a staff of three, we currently have a staff of eleven, including two senior fellows, six Truancy Court Program consultants, and…
By Kate Wolfson, CFCC Student Fellow 2010-2011 The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation released a report entitled The Silent Epidemic: Perspectives of High School Dropouts in 2006. The report begins by stating: There is a high school dropout epidemic in America. Each year, almost one third of all public high school students – and nearly…
By Jessica Weinberger, CFCC Student Fellow 2010-2011 Due to the rise in popularity of social networks over the past ten years, cyber-bullying has been on the increase, and some social scientists believe bullying may be one of the most prevalent causes of teen suicide. As a result of cyber-bullying, teens’ personal, private situations are becoming…