Justice for Children

Training Opportunities Facilitated by J4C 2007

robertsr — Thur, 22 May 2008 16:39:20 GMT

The attached document is a listing of the training opportunities J4C facilitated in 2007. The majority of the trainings address our mission of improving representation for all parties in child abuse and neglect cases.

Webcast Trainings

robertsr — Wed, 09 Apr 2008 16:50:12 GMT

This attached document is a partial listing of the webcast trainings available through our website. The presentations were sponsored or co-sponsored by J4C. The Lecture Series presented by Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation includes expert speakers in the field of child development addressing the critical needs of special needs and at-risk youth.

AFPAG Conference 2008

barclaym — Mon, 25 Feb 2008 12:37:36 GMT

Adoption and Foster Parents Conference 2008 presentations

Improving Representation for the Agency

barclaym — Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:06:03 GMT

An article written for the GA State Bar Journal (was not accepted) by J4C Committee member, Director of the Office of the Child Advocate, Tom Rawlings and former Dean of Emory Law School, Prof Frank Alexander.

Summits-Justice for Children Summits

barclaym — Fri, 14 Dec 2007 02:42:03 GMT

What is a summit?

A project created by the Supreme Court of Georgia Committee on Justice for Children which calls for the Juvenile Court Chief Judge to hold a multi-disciplinary one day summit in each of the 49 Judicial Circuits in Georgia or each county to focus on improvement for child deprivation cases.

18 summits have been done so far.

Circuits:
Appalachian (Fannin, Gilmer, Pickens)
Toomb (Glascock, Lincoln, McDuffie, Taliaferro, Warren, Wilkes)
Stone Mountain (DeKalb)
Eastern (Chatham)
Western (Oconee, Clarke)
Ocmulgee (Baldwin, Greene, Hancock, Jasper, Jones, Morgan, Putnam, Wilkinson)
Blue Ridge (Cherokee)
Dublin (Johnson, Laurens, Treutlen, Twiggs)
Clayton (Clayton)
Douglas (Douglas)
Cordele (Ben Hill, Crisp, Dooly, Wilcox)
Tallapoosa (Polk, Haralson)
Atlantic (Bryan, Evans, Liberty, Long, McIntosh, Tattnall)

Counties:
Glynn
Houston
Paulding
Bartow
Newton

Upcoming Summits:
Atlanta Circuit
Augusta Circuit
Gordon County
Troup County
Hall County
Piedmont Circuit
Southwestern Circuit

Sample agenda and powerpoints are attached. A strategic plan for improvement is prepared by the participants at the end of the day.

Title IV-E Federal Funding

barclaym — Tue, 06 Nov 2007 15:27:30 GMT

You can find Georgia's Title IV-E Reports here:

Georgia
PIP Report or (PDF - 436 KB)
Initial Primary Review or (PDF - 74 KB)
Primary Review or (PDF - 29 KB)

http://www.acf.hhs.gov/programs/cb/cwmonitoring/final/index.htm

Independent Living Services for Foster Youth

barclaym — Mon, 01 Oct 2007 20:17:37 GMT

"Know Your Legal Rights" presentation by Michelle Barclay, Judge Vincent Crawford and Anthony Reeves. Presented at the "Its my Life" Conference 10/1/07 in Atlanta, GA. Write barclaym@gaaoc.us with any questions..

GA Child and Family Services Review

barclaym — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:25:23 GMT

The 2007 GA Child and Family Review took place this past May.

State Assessment and the Preliminary Results are located on this federal website.

http://basis.caliber.com/cwig/ws/cwmd/docs/cb_web/SearchForm

Judge Leonard Edwards, executive director National Court and Child Welfare Collaborative, recently visited GA to speak at the Committee on Justice for Children meeting regarding the upcoming CFSR final report and the preliminary results and shared these articles which were the basis for his remarks.

GA Appellate Law Summaries

barclaym — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:08:38 GMT

See attachment for summaries

Visitation for Children/Parents/Siblings While in Foster Care

barclaym — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:03:45 GMT

See:

www.visitationseminar.org

Preventing Unnecessary Removal/Special Focus on Zero to Three

barclaym — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 17:01:13 GMT

Infants and toddlers are most at risk for serious injury and death due to child abuse and neglect.

These early years are also the most important for bonding and attachment which is a child's best opportunity for healthy brain development. Reactive attachment disorder can cause permanent damage for a child to be resilient to stress, develop meaningful relationships and achieve their genetic potential.

This is the tightrope the child welfare system walks for young children. The youngest children provide the greatest safety risk but unnecessary removal from a potentially loving parent/s is also a risk. The Committee on J4C wants to explore what can be done to provide more family preservation services to keep children safely in their homes.

http://www.zerotothree.org/

Judge Peggy Walker was a 2005 Zero to Three Fellow.
http://www.zerotothree.org/site/PageServer?pagename=ter_ldr_alumni

Expediting TPR Appeals

barclaym — Fri, 07 Sep 2007 16:47:15 GMT

HB 369 changes TPR appeals from direct to discretionary starting January 1, 2008.
http://www.legis.state.ga.us/legis/2007_08/fulltext/hb369.htm

(11) Appeals from decisions of the state courts reviewing decisions of the magistrate courts by de novo proceedings so long as the subject matter is not otherwise subject to a right of direct appeal; and

(12) Appeals from orders terminating parental rights."

Improving Representation for Parents

barclaym — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:28:16 GMT

www.parentattorney.org is ready for viewing

Placement Stability

barclaym — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:27:32 GMT

Draft Implementation Guide is ready for review

Measures for Courts

barclaym — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 18:25:17 GMT

Data current thru October 1, 2007 is posted at www.fosteringcourtimprovement.org/ga/