Seattle—Casey Family Programs and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law announce the official launch of the Legal Center for Foster Care & Education (Legal Center FCE). The initiative is a collaboration between Casey Family Programs, the Seattle-based national operating foundation devoted solely to foster care, and the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law (with support from the National Child Welfare Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues) in conjunction with the Education Law Center-PA and the Juvenile Law Center in Philadelphia. The Legal Center FCE will be a national resource and information clearinghouse that child welfare professionals, attorneys, judges, legislators, policymakers, and journalists can access to receive current information on legal and policy matters pertaining specifically to the educational needs of youth in foster care. It will provide expertise and relevant information to states, agencies, professionals and constituents, facilitate methods to advance promising practices and reforms, and provide technical assistance to respond to the ever-growing demands for legal support and guidance.
"This multi-year, million dollar investment by Casey Family Programs provides important resources to focus on the legal and policy issues surrounding the educational needs of children and youth in foster care," stated Howard Davidson, director, ABA Center on Children and the Law. He added, "Through this partnership we will help advocates and policymakers better assure uninterrupted school access for all youth in foster care despite changes in placement, and we will work with them to accomplish significant improvements in the educational outcomes for foster children generally."
"This is an important partnership as we develop our education programs for the benefit of youth in foster care across the nation," said David Sanders, executive vice president of systems improvement at Casey Family Programs. "One of Casey's overarching goals is to realize significant improvements in the educational outcomes for children and youth in care—outcomes that are at least the equivalent to those of youth in the general population. This collaboration with the ABA Center on Children and the Law works to further these efforts."
New Web site to provide more information
A new Web site, www.abanet.org/child/education provides users with a searchable database of legal and policy resources and houses announcements of events and newly developed information. Initially created through the support of the National Child Welfare Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues, the Web site has been substantially revised and expanded through this collaboration with Casey Family Programs. The Web site contains three significant components to assist anyone who is interested in legal issues surrounding education of children and youth in care:
- Resource Clearinghouse
Find current and new legal and policy resources and documents related to the educational needs of children in foster care—by state and by topic.
- National Foster Care/Education Listserv
Members of the listserv can read and respond to inquiries from other members, receive important announcements regarding events and new resources, and confer with other experts and advocates on a variety of issues.
- Topical Conference Calls
A full schedule of conference calls for the year will be listed. Each call will focus on a relevant topic and callers will be able to share information with others members from around the country.
A brief, five minute survey is currently posted on the Web site to gather information from the field regarding priorities, best practices, and ways to continue developing the Legal Center FCE for the maximum benefit of legal and educational professionals. Readers are urged to complete this to further inform the work of the Legal Center FCE.
About the ABA Center on Children and the Law
The ABA Center on Children and the Law, a program of the Young Lawyers Division, aims to improve children's lives through advances in law, justice, knowledge, practice and public policy. Areas of expertise include child abuse and neglect, child welfare and protective services system enhancement, foster care, family preservation, termination of parental rights, parental substance abuse, adolescent health, and domestic violence.