Attorney Practice Manual Developed by CFCC for Child Protection Cases
March 15, 2006
Contact: University Relations
Phone: 410.837.5739
Fulfilling a critical need for additional training and resources for lawyers and advocates involved in child protection cases—including children who are victims of abuse and neglect—the Center for Families, Children and the Courts at the University of Baltimore School of Law has developed an attorney practice manual that is being distributed across Maryland.
CFCC, working under a grant from the Maryland Legal Services Program of the State Department of Human Resources, developed the Child in Need of Assistance (CINA) Attorney Practice Manual: A Guide for Representing Children in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases to assist attorneys and others who provide representation for children in cases where the Department of Social Services is involved in a child protection matter.
The manual’s four chapters are structured to provide a comprehensive overview of the needs of abused and neglected children, including their medical and psychological requirements, legal rights and the role of counsel in representing a child in a CINA proceeding.
“Maryland law states that a child in these circumstances has a right to counsel,” said Barbara Babb, CFCC director and associate professor in the School of Law. “It is vital that practitioners who are involved in these kinds of cases be fully aware of the needs of their clients and have access to all available resources to ensure the best possible representation. This manual addresses that need, and helps ensure that the child’s rights are not cut short.”
In establishing the need for the practice manual, the Maryland Legal Services Program pointed out that while it provides an education and resource program for attorneys working in this area, a 1997 report by the Maryland Judiciary Foster Care Court Improvement Project found that nearly half of the lawyers representing children in CINA cases lacked formal training—and that nearly all the lawyers who undertake such representation believe they could use more training.
The interdisciplinary training manual uses a “toolbox” approach to offer guidance and information on a wide range of topics. It offers advice on evaluating the physical and psychological states of children involved in these kinds of cases, and provides definitions of sometimes more subtle forms of deprivation, such as in cases of neglect.
The four chapters in the manual were written by Richard FitzGerald, retired chief judge for Jefferson District Court in Louisville, Ky. (“The Role of Counsel for Children in Child Protection Proceedings”); Charles Shubin and Howard Dubowitz, physicians at Baltimore’s Mercy Medical Center (“Medical Aspects of Child Abuse and Neglect for CINA Attorneys”); Catherine Koverola and Laura Murray of the University of Maryland Center for Families (“Important Considerations in the Psychosocial and Cognitive Development of Abused and Neglected Children”); and the staff of the Maryland Legal Aid Bureau (“Child in Need of Assistance Proceedings”).
The CINA Attorney Practice Manual: A Guide for Representing Children in Child Abuse and Neglect Cases is available by contacting CFCC (http://law.ubalt.edu/cfcc/index.html) or the Maryland Legal Services Program (www.dhr.state.md.us/legal/).
The University of Baltimore is a member of the University System of Maryland and comprises the School of Law, the Yale Gordon College of Liberal Arts and the Merrick School of Business.