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Fall Edition 2007 |
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Features
Ohio’s Alternative Response Pilot Project Ten Ohio counties will be participating in a pilot project that will give child protection agencies more early intervention choices for working with at-risk children and families. More...
Autumn Wine Celebration 2007 Bringing together 250 people for the Center’s fifth annual fall fundraiser, the Autumn Wine Celebration was a lively and enjoyable event. More…
Summer Adoption Law Institute Draws Law Students Nationwide The week-long intensive law course enrolled 49 students in total, of which 27 law students traveled from many parts of the country to attend the program. More…
NCALP Welcomes 2007 Adoption Law Fellows Meet our 2007 Adoption Law Fellowship recipients, Laura Austen and Amanda Azon. More...
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National Adoption Day Saturday, November 17, 2007
To raise awareness of foster care adoption, National Adoption Day is a collective national effort to finalize thousands of adoptions of foster care children in one, single day. Find out what is happening in your neck of the woods at www.nationaladoptionday.org.
Wells Conference on Adoption Law Thursday, March 13, 2008
This year’s topic is Hearing the Child’s Voice: Selected Adoption and Child Welfare Topics. For more information, see the Wells Conference website.
National Moot Court Competition in Child Welfare & Adoption Law Friday and Saturday, March 14 & 15, 2008
Save the date! Law school moot court teams will compete on the topic of Children’s Best Interest & Multicultural Issues in Adoption. Volunteer moot court judges are needed to judge team briefs and oral arguments. Check out the moot court website for further information. |
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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 |
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November is National Adoption Month, a month set aside to raise awareness about the critical need for permanent homes for children in foster care. As part of National Adoption Month, the Franklin County Ohio Probate Court will make the dream of a loving, permanent home come true for twenty children on November 14, Adoption Day 2007. Supported by a team of child welfare professionals and by volunteer attorneys and organizations, the Court will finalize adoptions for twelve families that day. NCALP is participating again this year by coordinating efforts to recruit and train the volunteer attorneys who will represent families in finalizing their adoptions, including Capital Law School Dean Jack Guttenberg.
Thank you to the Franklin County Adoption Day partners: Franklin County Children Services; the Ohio Legal Assistance Foundation; Nationwide; and Vorys, Sater, Seymour, and Pease llp. For more information on Franklin County’s event, visit the Center’s National Adoption Day webpage. For more information on National Adoption Day, go to: www.nationaladoptionday.org. |
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On Tuesday, October 23, order your meal from City Barbeque located at 2111 Henderson Road in Columbus and 25% of your total bill will be donated to the Center’s student family law organization, Maestros. Maestros offers Capital students the opportunity to learn more about family law through presentations, career panels, and field trips. Download the fundraising flyer here. You must present the group’s flyer at the time of purchase for the 25% donation to apply. This offer is good all day for both eat-in and carry-out orders. |
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In August, Capital University Law School and the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy hosted the Summer Adoption Law Institute (SALI). This course, one of only a few adoption law courses taught across the nation, brought students from across the country to Capital.
SALI, a two-credit, intensive, week-long course, explored adoption and related child welfare issues from both academic and practitioner perspectives. “Teaching a course where the law varies from state to state was both challenging and rewarding. The students were very engaged and enthusiastic about the course and brought varying perspectives from across the nation,” said Professor Angela Upchurch, Real Living Academic Director of the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy and Associate Professor of Law at Capital University Law School.
Guest lecturers during the week included Franklin County Probate Judge Lawrence Belskis; Ellen Yarrell, past president of the American Academy of Adoption Attorneys; and Columbus attorney Thomas Taneff, recipient of the Congressional Angel in Adoption Award, among others. The students commented that the guest lecturers offered interesting and different perspectives that helped law students understand inter-disciplinary approaches to adoption.
SALI 2007 hosted 49 students in total, 27 of which were from various law schools across the nation and 22 of which were Capital University Law School students. Sixteen law schools were represented, including: University of Toledo, University of Dayton, University of Florida, Stetson, George Washington, Albany, University of Texas, University of Tulsa, University of Richmond, Michigan State, St. Mary’s, Thomas Jefferson, University of Baltimore & Charlotte School of Law. |
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“My school offers little in family law and zero in adoption law, so the week was an extremely rewarding experience in a field I am interested in.” — SALI student |
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“SALI turned out to be one of the most interesting classes I have ever taken and has sparked an interest in adoption law I never knew I had.” — SALI student |
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The National Center for Adoption Law & Policy is pleased to welcome two new Capital Law students as Adoption Law Fellows. Laura Austen, of Springfield, Ohio and Amanda Azon, of Wheaton, Illinois have been selected as this year’s Fellowship recipients. Established in 2006, Adoption Law Fellowships are available to incoming first-year students who are interested in pursuing a career in child welfare and/or adoption law upon graduation. Fellows receive various educational and financial benefits in exchange for a commitment to spend at least the first two years of their career working in this area of law.
Laura Austen is a graduate of Wittenberg University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Psychology. Laura has spent the past three years as a mental health case manager for children and families at South Community Behavioral Healthcare and worked in cooperation with Children Services and the Juvenile Court. She also served as a Youth Leader at Oesterlen Services for Youth, which is a mental health treatment facility in Springfield, Ohio. She continues to work closely with Oesterlen's foster care program. Laura plans to continue her public service upon graduation by working to improve the child welfare system.
Amanda Azon is a graduate of Tulane University, where she double majored in Spanish and Psychology and also received her Master’s degree in Spanish. While at Tulane, Amanda volunteered for CASA New Orleans and was involved in a variety of activities such as tutoring and Kappa Alpha Theta sorority. Following Hurricane Katrina, Amanda spent a semester at Northwestern University where she also worked as a clerk for the Cook County Public Defender Juvenile Justice Division. Amanda also has experience as a Spanish teacher and Special Olympics coach. After graduation, she plans to use her law degree to advocate for children, particularly the growing Hispanic population in this country.
Welcome, Amanda and Laura! |
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“The National Center for Adoption Law and Policy is what drew me to Capital. I am extremely honored and grateful to have been chosen as a Fellow and look forward to the numerous opportunities available to me to learn from the Center’s knowledgeable staff.” — Laura |
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Thrilled to be taking a picture after a Spaghetti Warehouse lunch are the 2007 Fellows (L to R): Laura Austen and Amanda Azon |
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“I was very excited to be named an Adoption Law Fellow because it grants me the opportunity to work with an institute devoted to the same goal that I want to pursue after my completion of law school: bettering the lives of children in need.” — Amanda |
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On September 27, the Center hosted its fifth annual fundraiser, the Autumn Wine Celebration, at the Smith Brothers Hardware Building in downtown Columbus. During a perfect fall evening, guests were treated to gourmet appetizers and desserts, a selection wines from Tramonte & Sons Distributing to taste, a variety of Barley’s Brewery beer to sample, and an array of unique silent auction packages.
The Autumn Wine Celebration’s 5th anniversary was also marked by the announcements of the gift to Capital Law School for a newly created Real Living Academic Directorship by Real Living HER’s Harley Rouda, Jr. and Kaira Sturdivant Rouda (honorary founding chairs of the Wine Celebration) and of the appointment of Professor Angela Upchurch as the first Real Living Academic Director. Although the Roudas were unable to attend, we were honored to have Real Living HER Chief Operating Officer Sarah Shoemaker as their representative. We would like to extend a special thank you to NBC4 Reporter and adoptive dad Mike Bowersock and NBC4 News Anchor and Law School alumna Colleen Marshall who served as our celebrity emcees for the evening.
Two hundred fifty people attended this year’s wine event, which raised more than $26,000. Proceeds from this event will be used to support Center education and information programs for families, professionals, and students in Ohio and across the country. Thank you to our guests, committee members, musicians, vendors, volunteers, underwriters, and silent auction donors for making this year’s Autumn Wine Celebration a wonderful event! |
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Autumn Wine Celebration 2007 was made possible with financial and in-kind support from:
· Isaac Brant Ledman & Teetor llp · Chester Willcox & Saxbe llp · IAB Benefits llc · Massucci & Kline llc · Squire Sanders & Dempsey llp · mesh design + communication, inc. · Capitol Equities & the Venue at Smith Brothers · Flowers on Orchard Lane · Pure Imagination Chocolatier |
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Pictures from the Autumn Wine Celebration 2007 |
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Since 2004, NCALP has served as staff to the Subcommittee on Responding to Child Abuse, Neglect and Dependency of the Supreme Court of Ohio’s Advisory Committee on Children, Families and the Courts to drive the Ohio Child Protection Law Reform Initiative (OCPLRI). The Ohio legislature last year authorized a pilot of one of the two major OCPLRI components, the Alternative Response practice model, which provides another tool to child protection agencies for responding to reports of child maltreatment.
This family-centered model has been found to lower the recurrence of child maltreatment in families by increasing parental engagement and linking families to needed services more quickly. Large-scale evaluations of Alternative Response Systems in other states, such as Minnesota and Missouri, have found positive outcomes related to child safety, parental cooperation, and family and caseworker satisfaction. Working closely with the Supreme Court of Ohio, the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services and their team of consultants, NCALP is at the forefront of this ground-breaking project in Ohio.
Alternative response is a form of practice in child protective services that allows for more than one method of response to reports of suspected child abuse and/or neglect. This practice recognizes the great variation in the nature of child maltreatment reports and gives agencies the ability to respond in different ways – either by traditional investigation or a family assessment response. In low-to-moderate risk cases, a family assessment response promotes parental involvement by setting aside a formal determination that maltreatment occurred and focuses instead on identifying family needs and providing services sooner. Additionally, this approach encourages greater collaboration among child protection agencies and other community service providers to better meet families’ needs.
“It’s very exciting for us to have the opportunity to see this project develop from a research concept to an active pilot project with the ultimate goal of statewide implementation,” said NCALP’s Associate Director Carla Carpenter.
Ten Ohio counties have been selected to participate in the 18-month pilot, which will begin on April 1, 2008. The design workgroup of the Ohio Alternative Response pilot formally launched this fall. For more information about the project and its history, visit www.ohiochildlaw.org. |
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Central Ohio Readers: In the Mood for BBQ? |
