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Spring Edition 2008 |
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Features
Northern Kentucky Salmon P. Chase College of Law Wins 2008 Child Welfare & Adoption Law Moot Court Competition Twenty law school teams from across the country came to Columbus to compete in the third annual National Moot Court Competition in Child Welfare & Adoption Law. More...
Fourth Annual Wells Conference Discusses Issues of Children’s Rights in Adoption and Child Welfare Scholars convene at Capital University Law School for annual adoption law conference. More…
New Adoption & Child Welfare LawSite Coming April 29, 2008, NCALP will launch an all-new online resource for child welfare/adoption stakeholders. More…
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Forever Home Adoption Celebration Saturday, May 17, 2008 Bring your family and join us for a fun afternoon at COSI in Columbus, Ohio, to raise awareness about adoption options and support the Center’s work!
Adoption & Child Welfare Law Fellowship Applications due May 1, 2008 Adoption & Child Welfare Law Fellowships are available to outstanding incoming first-year Capital University Law School students interested in pursuing a career in child welfare and/or adoption law upon graduation. View fellowship application and benefits here.
Summer Adoption Law Institute (SALI) August 4 -- 8, 2008 Learn about adoption and child welfare law during this two-credit, week-long course at Capital University Law School. CLEs will be available.
Autumn Wine Celebration Friday, October 17, 2008 Save the date for the Center’s wine-tasting event! If you are interested in getting involved with our annual fundraiser, please email Anna Lin. |
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Your financial support allows us to continue and improve our work on behalf of children who are in need of safe and permanent homes.
Consider underwriting your weekly subscription of adoption summaries for $2 each month for a total of $24 per year. Click here to contribute to NCALP. |
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Maestro: (noun) genius, expert, rare talent, ace, whiz.
NCALP staff endearingly refer to the figure in the Center’s logo as the “maestro.” |
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National Center for Adoption Law & Policy 303 E Broad St • Columbus, OH 43215 (614) 236-6730 • adoption@law.capital.edu • www.ncalp.org |
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…Because every child deserves a family. |
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Center Staff
Denise St. Clair Executive Director
Angela Upchurch Real Living Academic Director
Carla Carpenter Associate Director
Jenifer Thompson Staff Attorney
Dawn Viggiano Staff Attorney
Anna Lin Financial Projects Coordinator
Christine Morris Assistant Director of Information Services
Jackie Martin Administrative Coordinator |
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Replacing our original Adoption LawSite, the new Adoption & Child Welfare LawSite will debut on Tuesday, April 29 with a press conference at 10 a.m. at Capital University Law School. This website provides user-friendly information on adoption and child welfare law for all 50 states, as well as helpful resource pages for adoption and child welfare stakeholders.
A couple of new and improved features will include:
· better search functionality; · ability to search immediately without having to register; and · landing pages tailored specifically for legal professionals, child welfare/adoption professionals and family members — foster, adoptive and biological.
The website is a free service of the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy. Check out www.adoptionchildwelfarelaw.org on Tuesday, April 29 or join us for the press conference! |
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In partnership with the Center and Capital University Law School, Capital’s Law Review hosted its annual Wells Conference on Adoption Law on Thursday, March 13, 2008. This all-day conference, entitled Hearing the Child’s Voice: Selected Adoption and Child Welfare Topics, brought together more than 70 law and social practitioners, law faculty, and students. |
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On March 14 and 15, the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy and Capital University Law School hosted the third annual National Moot Court Competition in Child Welfare & Adoption Law. The event attracted 20 teams from 16 law schools across the country, including Loyola University Chicago School of Law, University of Tennessee School of Law, University of San Diego School of Law, and Florida State University College of Law. Seven oral argument rounds were held at the Ohio Statehouse and the Ohio Judicial Center, home of the Supreme Court of Ohio.
The 2008 Competition focused on “Children’s Best Interest & Multicultural Issues in Adoption.” The moot court case was loosely based on a highly publicized Tennessee Supreme Court case – In re A.M.H., 215 S.W.3d 793 (2007) – which decided the fate of Anna Mae He who was ultimately returned to her Chinese biological parents after living with an American family for 8 years.
In a very close match with the University of San Diego School of Law, Northern Kentucky Salmon P. Chase College of Law prevailed as the 2008 National Champion. This win for Northern Kentucky was especially meaningful as the school had reached the finals three years in a row but had not clinched the title until this year.
A competition of this size would not have been possible without the help of many colleagues and students who volunteered as judges and bailiffs. We would like to thank the 130 judges, magistrates, attorneys, law professors, students, and community members who volunteered their time for this event.
Special recognition goes to our national partners: the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys (AAAA), the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC), the ABA Center on Children & the Law, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges. For the second year in a row, AAAA and NACC each donated $500 as an award for the National Champions to be divided among winning team members. Additionally, AAAA donated a plaque for the winning team, a plaque for the winning school, and a perpetual plaque that will hang at Capital University Law School with the name of the winning teams. AAAA also generously supported the event with a $2,500 annual three-year pledge that began with the 2007 Competition. |
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Northern Kentucky Salmon P. Chase College of Law Wins 2008 Child Welfare & Adoption Law Moot Court Competition |
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Saturday, May 17, 2008
Forever Home Adoption Celebration
1:30 to 4:00 p.m. at COSI in Downtown Columbus |
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As the only event of its kind in Central Ohio, Forever Home Adoption Celebration brings together families for a fun day of activities and entertainment while raising awareness for adoption.
Participants also will be able to enjoy all-day admission to COSI, and adoption information resources will be available for event guests.
Proceeds from this event will be used to support programs of NCALP that benefit families in Ohio, as well as across the country.
Visit the Forever Home website for information on tickets, sponsorship, and advertising. |
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Through July 2008, iGive.com is donating $1,000 to each of five selected causes per month via its Surfathon promotion. Register on iGive.com and designate National Center for Adoption Law & Policy as your Selected Cause. After you register, each of your visits to an online shopping site through iGive.com will give NCALP an additional chance to win a $1,000 donation!
No purchases are necessary; however, the Center receives a portion of all purchases made through iGive.com and will receive $5 for each new person who registers and shops within the next 45 days. Over 690 stores participate. Click on the icon below to get started.
Surf’s up! |
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“It is one of the best moot court competitions in the country…” — Faculty Coach
“…Students were very well prepared and had a true grasp of the difficulties faced by courts in determining these issues.” — Oral Argument Judge
“Very interesting problem, facts [were] well-balanced for both sides.” — Competitor
“It was fun to argue in the Statehouse and Supreme Court.” — Competitor |
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“This was a great program. Even though I am not yet a practicing attorney, each presentation gave me valuable things to think about that will help me to be a better lawyer.” |
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Good Search Support NCALP by searching the internet at no cost to you! Powered by Yahoo!, GoodSearch is a search engine that donates a percentage of advertising revenue to the Center every time a person uses its search website. Click here to download the GoodSearch toolbar and get started. |
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Winning team members from the Northern Kentucky Salmon P. Chase College of Law (L to R): Tressa Milburn, Bethanie Chaney, and Sara Caudill (who also received the Best Oralist award) |
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Final round teams and judges: Back Row, L to R Honorable Alison Floyd representing the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (Cleveland, OH); Professor Gerard Glynn representing the National Association of Counsel for Children (Orlando, FL); Presiding Justice Yvette McGee Brown, president of the Center for Child & Family Advocacy at Nationwide Children’s Hospital (Columbus, OH); Herb Brail, president of AAAA (Dearborn, MI); and Jack Guttenberg, Dean of Capital University Law School (Columbus, OH) Front Row, L to R Northern Kentucky Salmon P. Chase College of Law team members Sara Caudill, Tressa Milburn, and Bethanie Chaney; University of San Diego School of Law team members Hasmik Badalian and Andrew Haden |
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“This conference was outstanding! This was the most informative and [had] the best speakers in the four years of adoption conferences.” |
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Guests filled a lecture hall to discuss and learn more about adoption and child welfare issues from the following featured panelists:
· University of Missouri-Kansas City School of Law Professor Barbara Glesner Fines presented on A Cacophony of Voices Representing the Child's Interest
· Seton Hall University School Law Professor Solangel Maldonado presented on Permanency Decisions: Balancing Best Interests and Biology
· College of William & Mary Marshall-Wythe School of Law Professor James Dwyer presented on Children’s Welfare Interests Against the Desires and Supposed Rights of Adults to Raise Their Offspring
· George Washington University Law Professor Catherine J. Ross presented on Competing Claims: When do parents stop speaking for their children?
· University of Arizona James E. Rogers College of Law Professor Barbara Ann Atwood presented on Achieving Permanency for American Indian Children: Lessons from Tribal Traditions
· Brigham Young University School of Social Work Professor Jini L. Roby, J.D., presented on International/Intercultural Issues – Protecting the Rights of Parents and Children through the Legislative Process
· Attorney Susan Stockham of the Law Offices of Susan Stockham, P.A., and attorney Robert D. Tuke of Trauger & Tuke gave practitioners’ perspectives on the Anna Mae He Case, Representing Children, and Common Red Flag Issues Encountered through the International Adoption Process |
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Wells Conference featured speakers and commentators with Capital Law Review Editor Jeff Sneeringer (front row, far left side), NCALP Executive Director Denise St. Clair (front row, second from left side), and NCALP Academic Director and Capital Law Professor Angela Upchurch (back row, far left side). |
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Special thanks to Capital Law School Professors Mark Strasser and James Beattie for being panel moderators. |
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“It…appl[ied] to my profession as a social worker, rather than only to attorneys and other legal professionals.” |
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Where Legal Knowledge Helps Build Families. |
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By shopping online, you can support the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy! |