Attorneys

FAMILY JUSTICE JOURNAL: The Need For Belonging

If we cared about the harm of separating children from their parents, we’d be far less likely to do it. If we were serious about ending racial disparity, we would see it decline sharply. The reality is there has been … Read More

Adoption Triad: Tribal Customary Adoption

Tribal Customary Adoption Tribal customary adoption is a cultural practice within Indigenous communities that aims to ensure a child is taken care of when there is a parental death or inability to provide care. This practice offers children stability and … Read More

Trauma-Informed Legal Representation for Youth in Sexual-Abuse-to-Prison Pipeline

When we criminalize the behavioral results of trauma, we set in motion a cycle of abuse and imprisonment that has harmful consequences for child victims. A few years ago, the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation (CEASE) Clinic at the … Read More

Barriers to Authentic Youth Engagement in Permanency Planning

The Quality Improvement Center on Engaging Youth in Finding Permanency (QIC-EY) is a cooperative agreement, funded by the Children’s Bureau, which is charged with advancing child welfare programs and practice to ensure that children and youth in the child welfare … Read More

A Research-Based Question and Answer Resource on Sex Trafficking for Youth-Supporting Professionals

This website answers common questions that youth-supporting professionals may have about sex trafficking, describes warning signs that a young person may be a sex trafficking survivor, and offers tips for starting conversations with young people who may be sex trafficking … Read More

State of American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Families Report

Published by NICWA – November 22, 2022 The State of American Indian and Alaska Native Children and Families Report is a six-part series of data briefs that presents current data on American Indian and Alaska Native (AI/AN) child and family … Read More

Language Bias in Child Welfare (Includes audio)

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services, Administration for Children & Families, Children’s Bureau – October 20, 2022 This brief provides an overview of biased language in child welfare case practice and strategies to identify and study it. Key themes … Read More

Children in Today’s Courtroom

By Franchesca L. Hamilton-Acker, Kellie J. Johnson and Josephine C. Vanderhorst There are multiple layers to the child welfare system. One of these layers is peeled backwhen there is a need to remove a child from his/her parents or caretakers … Read More

Overview: LSBA Children’s Law Committee Continuing Advocacy for Louisiana’s Future

By Curtis Nelson, Jr., Kellie J. Johnson and Mariarenee Contreras The Children’s Law Committee was created in 2008 as an ad hoc committee at the request of the state Legislative Task Force on Legal Representation in Child Protection Cases. Since … Read More

Toolkit: How to Engage People with Lived Experience

Federal agencies have often made decisions about programs and services based on “expert” consultation. Notably missing from the list of experts have been the very families and individuals the federal program is trying to serve. More recently, agencies have become … Read More