The Children's Law Podcast

Putting the "Fun" in Fundamental Rights

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 w

Has America Lost Its Soul?

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

Riding Without Seatbelts

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 spe

Set the Boundary or Plan the Quinceañera

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 bo

How Do We Get Upstream?

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, expansio

Your Client Caught a Charge - Now What?

Despite progress, children involved in both dependency and delinquency proceedings still have higher risks for poor outcomes. Crossover, dually-involved, or dual-adjudica

I'm Not a Clinician, But...

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 atto

Are 60,000 TPRs Necessary?

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

Reimagining the System with Public Knowledge

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 re

Feeling Unsafe When Your Placement is "Secure"

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 t

Recommit to the Work

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 t

Safe Havens for LGBQ+ and TNGD Youth

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."

Cookie-Cutter Case Plans

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 thi

Every Seven Minutes

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 nea

When You Can't Show Them the Money

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 availab

Love 'em or Lose 'em: Keeping Lawyers in the Field

In this episode Angela interviews Jonathan Budd, Associate Executive Director from KidsVoice in Pittsburgh about strategies KidsVoice uses to retain lawyers. Jonathan say

NACC: New Tools to Elevate Your Practice

In this episode, Angela talks with Shannon Felder, Training Director at the National Association of Counsel for Children. Listen to learn about upcoming training opportun

Objection! No One is Leading.

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 jurisd

Let's Talk Adoption

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 import

Placement Considerations for Children's Attorneys

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