CFCC was strongly represented when the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) convened their annual conference in Baltimore on August 22–24. Team members from the University of Baltimore School of Law Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) made three presentations showcasing different areas of our work. “Lessons from…

By Rohina Zavala, CFCC Truancy Court Program Coordinator During the Spring 2022 session, CFCC’s Truancy Court Program (TCP) worked with 85 students and their families at five Baltimore City Public Schools: Furley Elementary School, Franklin Square Elementary/Middle School, Mt. Royal Elementary/Middle School, the Academy for College and Career Exploration (ACCE) (middle/high school), and the Baltimore…

By Spencer Hall, TCP Attorney  On April 11, 2022, the Maryland General Assembly concluded its 444th legislative session having considered a wide range of issues impacting Maryland’s children and families. In keeping with CFCC’s mission to create, foster, and support a national movement to integrate communities, families, and the justice system to improve the lives…

By Rebecca Stahl, CFCC Executive Director Across the country, recent governmental actions are attacking LGBTQ+ children, specifically transgender children. Much has already been written about the impact on children and their families from these actions. I write as a child advocate. I have spent more than fifteen years representing children and writing about children’s rights…

By Spencer Hall, CFCC TCP Attorney For the past nine years, first as a CFCC Student Fellow at the University of Baltimore School of Law, then as a staff member for CFCC’s Truancy Court Program, I have seen firsthand the many challenges faced by our community’s most vulnerable families and the impact that exclusionary school…

By Shanta Trivedi, CFCC Faculty Director There are more than 400,000 children in our foster care system each year. Being removed from their parents is one of the most traumatic experiences children can endure in their lifetimes. CFCC’s February Webinar explored how a primary prevention approach could keep families together and help children develop and…

After nearly 1.5 years of virtual programming, CFCC’s Truancy Court Program (TCP) team was excited to return to Baltimore City schools for the Fall 2021 session. The TCP worked with 69 students and their families at five Baltimore City Public Schools: the Baltimore Design School (middle/high), Belair-Edison Middle School, Franklin Square Elementary/Middle School, Furley Elementary School and…

CFCC staff and University of Baltimore law student fellows are developing a comprehensive guide to community-based resources which help families address the wide range of issues that could lead to involvement with the child welfare system and/or the criminal legal system. Our goal in developing this online resource guide is to empower families in the…

​What excites you most about your new role at the University of Baltimore? This was really a dream opportunity for me. I have always done clinical work, and I enjoy lawyering and teaching students how to lawyer. This role at CFCC takes the work I have been doing throughout my career to a higher level,…