The Children's Law Podcast

In this episode, Angela talks with Tim Keller of the Center for the Rights of Abused Children about asserting constitutional rights on behalf of your clients. You won't want to miss this discussion! For more information about the Center for Abused Children: Center for the Rights of Abused Children We discussed this free resource to jumpstart your practice: A Practice Manual for Lawyers Representin...

In this episode, Angela, Jim and John discuss the way immigration policies and enforcement are harming children. We reference the following quote by Nelson Mandela as we discuss these issues: "There can be no keener revelation of a society's soul than the way in which it treats its children." As mentioned in the episode, we want to offer a way for you to reach out to members of Congress. Here are...

In this episode, John, Jim and Angela discuss the transformative power of filing claims on behalf of your clients. We discuss your duty as a children's lawyer and the specific benefits to your clients. If you have questions or suggested podcast topics, you can now reach us by text (404) 507-2303 or email (angela@childrenslaw.org). If you like the podcast, please share with your colleagues, subscri...

In this episode, John and Angela take on the difficult topic of creating and holding boundaries with child clients. Filled with nuance and contradictions, the topic of boundaries is challenging for many children's lawyers. We hope you enjoy the discussion!  Feel free to reach out with comments or episode ideas to Angela, at angela@childrenslaw.org.

Preventive and pre-petition advocacy is not in all jurisdictions, but when the Title IV-E rule clarified that this representation was eligible for reimbursement, expansion increased. Angela asks Emilie Cook to explain how it works. Emilie is a Senior Attorney at the Barton Child Law and Policy Center at Emory University School of Law and leads the Preventive Legal Advocacy and Pre-petition Program...

Despite progress, children involved in both dependency and delinquency proceedings still have higher risks for poor outcomes. Crossover, dually-involved, or dual-adjudicated youth have greater mental health challenges, poorer placement stability, and worse permanency outcomes. John, Angela and Deborah talk about what an already-busy child's attorney might do and, as importantly, why.

A LOT of the kids we're representing are being prescribed psychotropic medications - especially the older youth. John, Angela, and Deborah talk about ways children's attorneys can get more information and confidence in this area to effectively advocate for clients even if we don't have medical expertise: The NIH says children in foster care are 6.8% more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medica...

In this episode, Angela interviews Professor Vivek Sankaran, Director of the Child Advocacy Law and Child Welfare Appellate Clinics at the University of Michigan's School of Law. Professor Sankaran encourages stakeholders to question whether TPR is in the best interests of as many children as we think it is. He and Angela talk about his article, The ties that bind us: An empirical, clinical, and c...

A new book “Families Belong Together,” was released by Public Knowledge to help elevate and honor the voices of individuals with lived experience and make the case for reimagining our child welfare system. Stacey Moss , Public Knowledge President and CEO, and Will Hornsby , Senior Vice President of Delivery, talk with Angela about the group’s idea to “replace” the current system with a community-o...

January is National Human Trafficking Prevention Month, and we want to give children's attorneys some perspectives on advocating for child victims going forward. Angela talked to Professor Emma Hetherington, from the Wilbanks Child Endangerment and Sexual Exploitation Clinic at University of Georgia School of Law ( CEASE Clinic ) about how identifying the individualized needs of HT/CSEC victims ca...

Children's attorneys are critically important to the functioning and success of child welfare - but it doesn't always feel that way. Why do we do it? How do you stay in this field and not burn out? Angela, John, and Jim share their perspectives and give a little pep talk to kick off 2025.

In 2017, the Safe Havens report was published to "Close the Gap Between Recommended Practice and Reality for Transgender and Gender-Expansive Youth in Out-of-Home Care." The report has been updated to reflect current research and resources for LGBQ+ and transgender, nonbinary, gender diverse (TNGD) youth, along with giving lived experience perspectives and a call to action. In this episode, Angela...

Ever come across a case plan packed with tasks that have little to do with a family's actual challenges? What is the child's attorney's role? Angela and Jim dive into this topic, discussing how children's attorneys can influence case planning. They explore the gap between ideal practices and what is happening on the ground, and share how a child's attorney can take a proactive role to benefit thei...

That's the rate at which infants and toddlers are being removed from their homes in the U.S. according to new research from Zero to Three, and this age group makes up nearly 50% of the foster care population. What should children's attorneys know when advocating for this population? Angela interviewed Shannon Felder, Training Director from the NACC to get some practical advice and a preview of NAC...

In this episode we're talking about staying in the profession, with ideas for both individual attorneys and organizations. The reality is there isn't always money available to retain employees in this field, even if they love it. Angela, Jim, and Deborah (a new voice) discuss strategies they've used and new ideas from their facilitated discussion at the National Association of Counsel for Children...

In this episode Angela interviews Jonathan Budd, Associate Executive Director from KidsVoice in Pittsburgh about strategies KidsVoice uses to retain lawyers. Jonathan says if he had to emphasize two things they would be flexibility and time off - things people can control regardless of how much money they have or how much fundraising ability exists. 

In this episode, Angela talks with Shannon Felder, Training Director at the National Association of Counsel for Children. Listen to learn about upcoming training opportunities and ways to connect with fellow children's lawyers. And be sure to join us at the NACC conference in Salt Lake City August 12-14, 2024! We will be presenting at the preconference Children's Law Office Project Convening. We h...

Have you ever seen a dependency case that looks more like a tennis match? The parties volleying back and forth, waiting to see if the parents will succeed? In some jurisdictions, everyone is doing their job, but no one is leading. In this episode, we want to encourage children's attorneys to take charge. We think one of the most consequential things you can do for your clients is to think of yours...

Some of our child clients have been talking to John and Jim about adoption, which inspired an episode about how we think of adoption as children's attorneys: It's important to understand all the things that come with and all the things that get taken away with adoption. Federal policies and local practices seem to swing on a pendulum as to whether adoption is to be emphasized or strenuously avoide...

Placement decisions happen fast and are made by the agency - usually without any input from attorneys representing children. The child's placement impacts the case A LOT so we wanted to do a podcast about the things we think about when it comes to placement. It's the agency's job to find a placement right away, but evaluating whether the placement will ultimately facilitate permanency for the chil...

We talk about work culture and retention a lot in child welfare. Angela talks with Cathy Krebs, Director of the ABA's Children’s Rights Litigation Committee who thinks a new approach to these topics could lead to ways to improve representation. A few of the subjects covered were: Burnout and self-care - Cathy tells a story of a child client who's attorney seemed so distracted and overwhelmed that...

In this episode, Angela, John and Jim discuss a few key takeaways from 2023. 

Sometimes you can move a case with legal arguments and procedural tools, but other times, you have to win hearts and minds. In our newest podcast, Jim, John and Angela share how learning to message in this way can help your child client.

Angela and Jim discuss the adversarial nature of the dependency system, and how to find a balance between a collaborative and adversarial approach to representing children.

Children's attorneys can't do it all, but in our experience, doing certain things consistently in each case can improve representation and outcomes. We call it practicing with fidelity. For our 50th Episode we wanted to give some concrete tips to our listeners. Listen to this episode to learn three actionable strategies that make a difference when repeated consistently.