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,…
Proud TCP Graduate Aaliyah Grimes poses with Mrs. O’Malley (Photo by Tom Nappi). To view more photos from the event, click here or here. “This has always been my dream,” remarked Aaliyah Grimes, a third grade student at Margaret Brent Elementary/Middle School in Baltimore City. Aaliyah, a 2012 graduate of the Center for Families, Children…
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…
By Joan Weber On January 13th, students at Violetville Elementary-Middle school who participated in the Truancy Court Program’s Kids & Theater program presented a morning of theater to their families, fellow students and staff at the school. The actors were dressed in their purple for Violetville’s “Purple Friday”. The production included a staged reading of…
Last year, several high-profile bullying incidents led children to consider or commit suicide, including the Baltimore City girl who made the news after she tried to jump out of her elementary school window. Since then, there has been a major push to expose this serious issue, highlighted by a “Bullying Awareness and Prevention Week” in…
We recently posted on CFCC’s Facebook page a link to a Baltimore Sun front-page article about a new anti-truancy intervention in Baltimore City. Although the program itself is laudable and a wonderful complement to CFCC’s Truancy Court Program (TCP), operating in six Baltimore City Public Schools this year, what really caught our eye was the…
With the beginning of the school year, our attention turns to attendance, academic achievement, and graduation. All three are inextricably linked, and all three are the focus of the University of Baltimore School of Law Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) Truancy Court Program (TCP). As we gear up for the sixth year…
Baltimore City District Court Judge Catherine Curran O’Malley, Maryland’s First Lady, hosted the fifth annual Truancy Court Program (TCP) Reception on Monday, June 6. We had a record-breaking number of attendees, with over 200 TCP graduates, family members, and supporters. TCP Graduates and Judges enjoy a celebratory dinner (Photo by A. Green) We are very…