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…
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…
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 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…