By Katie Davis, CFCC Truancy Court Program Attorney “I didn’t come to school because my uniform was at my mom’s house and I slept at my dad’s two days last week.” “I was late because I stayed at my cousin’s house and her mom didn’t get us up.” “I overslept because I was staying in…
By Snehal Pulivarti, CFCC Student Fellow 2013-2014 One of my apprehensions in committing to law school was the adversarial process and the impact on families and children in the judicial process. The Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) Student Fellows Program has been instrumental in reassuring me that my…
By Gauri Khanna, CFCC Student Fellow 2013-2014 Only two sessions into the Truancy Court Program (“TCP”), I have already noticed a dramatic change in students’ attendance. While it is still early in the year, the students seem as though they want to make a genuine effort to attend school, be on time, and do well…
By Julianne Kelly, CFCC Student Fellow 2013-2014 How can we expect a child to succeed when the parent or caregiver is unequipped to assist the child? Children not only need assistance with homework and school projects, but also with social and emotional development. Parents or caregivers who struggle with their own emotional, financial and/or mental…
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 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…
Professor Bernardine Dohrn opened CFCC’s fourth annual Urban Child Symposium with a powerful presentation on the Supreme Court’s recent consideration of juvenile justice cases. Over 200 people attended “The Beginning or the End? The Urban Child’s Experience in the Juvenile Justice System,” which included interdisciplinary panel discussions of issues such as the psychological, social, and…