School of Law
School of Law
June 7 and 8, 2024, CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi presented Distributing Your Ideas at the 2024 AALS Workshop for New Law Teachers.
May 26, 2024 Trivedi’s letter to the editor, responding to the article What Happens When Abusive Parents Keep their Children, was published in The New York Times.
May 22, 2024, Trivedi, presented “Am I Still a Parent?” The Devastating Effects of Family Policing on Parents at the University of Richmond Junior Faculty Forum.
May 17, 2024, Trivedi presented A Legal and Social Science Framework for Considering the Harm of the Removal at The Counsel for Child Abuse and Neglect, in Washington, D.C.
May 14, 2024, Trivedi presented A Legal and Social Science Framework for Considering the Harm of the Removal for the Committee for Public Counsel, [where in?] Massachusetts.
May 7, 2024, Trivedi presented The Constitution Applies to CINA Cases at The Annual Meeting of the Maryland Office of Public Defender.
May 3, 2024 - Sophie Alpert, UBalt Law Class of 2025, shares her experience in a recent blog post, Reflections as a CFCC Student Fellow. (include headshot)
April 25, 2024 - Michele Hong Polansky [title??] participated in a panel discussion titled Identities Shape Experiences. Women in the Law Shape Common Ground, at the Annual Meeting of Law School Diversity Professionals (AMDIP).
April 19, 2024 CFCC Executive Director Aubrey Edwards-Luce delivered a keynote address about supporting youth in foster care at the Maryland Rotary Club Statewide Conference, alongside a policy and lived expert [??? lived-experience expert?] Kimberly Martin of the Children’s Defense Fund.
April 9-12, 2024 - Trivedi and Edwards-Luce attended the ABA Center for Children and the Law Annual Conference [where?]. Trivedi also gave a presentation on the harms that parents experience at the hands of attorneys in the child welfare system.
March 11, 2024- CFCC Executive Director, Aubrey Edwards-Luce attended th announcement of Doris Duke Foundation’s new Opt-in for Families (Opportunities for Prevention and Transformation) initiative at Martha’s Table in Washington, DC.
March 8, 2024- CFCC Executive Director, Aubrey Edwards-Luce spoke at the UBalt Law School on a panel titled “Representing Children in the Law” hosted by the following student groups: Black Law Students Association, the Criminal Law Association, the Family Law Association and the Society for Equity in Education.
March 7, 2024 -CFCC Executive Director, Aubrey Edwards-Luce attend the Bipartisan Congressional Briefing on Primary Prevention of Child Abuse and Neglect in Washington, D.C.. Hosted by Preevent Child Abuse America and Honorary Co-Hosts: Senators John Cornyn (R-TX), Maggie Hassan (D-NH), Shelley Moore Capito, (R-WV), Bob Casey (D-PA), Lisa Murkowski (R-AK), Ben Ray Luján (D-NM), and Angus King (I-ME) and Representative Danny Davis (D-IL) the briefing included an overview of how prevention is possible with federally funded programs already available to parents and caregivers. The event presented current programs that support families before they are in crisis and reduce adverse childhood experiences. Speakers included family and state leaders implementing and participating in prevention focused community-based solutions for families.
March 6, 2024 - CFCC Executive Director, Aubrey Edwards-Luce testified in support of HB849 and SJ4. HB849 would establish a Universal Basic Income program for transition-aged youth who are aging out of foster care. SJ4 would establish governmental responsibility and accountability for addressing student chronic absenteeism. Senator Carter, the sponsor for SJ4, committed to accepting CFCC’s recommendation to change the resolution’s language from addressing “truancy” to “chronic absenteeism.”
February 23, 2024 - CFCC Faculty Director, Shanta Trivedi co-authored anop-ed with Shereen A. White, 50 years after the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act, it’s time to redefine child protection through a lens of equity and support
February 22, 2024 - CFCC Executive Director, Aubrey Edwards-Luce is featured in the Mining For Gold podcast titled Dreaming Sanctuary. Streaming now on Apple Podcasts, Google, SafeCamp Audio, Spotify, and Amazon Music. [include photo from post]
February 21, 2024 - CFCC Executive Director, Aubrey Edwards-Luce shared her lived experience as a kinship
caregiver as she testified in support of SB708, a bill championed by Maryland DHS
Secretary Rafael Lopez. SB 708 would align Maryland’s law with the evidence that shows
that children who are removed into foster care have better educational, social, and
health outcomes when they are placed with kinship caregivers. The bill balances a
“kin first” with the best interest of the child analysis and respect for parents’
right to direct the care, custody, and control of their children.
February 16, 2024 -CFCC Executive Director, Aubrey Edwards-Luce attended The National Foster Youth Institute’s Black Youth Leadership Forum at the Library of Congress in Washington, DC . Members of Congress and community leaders took center stage to discuss legislative initiatives and community organizing they’re doing to help build up successful Black youth . Amanda Bertholf moderated a conversation around community engagement and uplifting youth. Speakers included Natasha Leake, Robert T. Stephens, Nancy Kay Blackwell, and Kenneth Ward.
February 12, 2024 - CFCC Executive Director, Aubrey Edwards-Luce and Deputy Director Michele Hong attended a grant training with the Maryland Administrative Office of the Courts, a longtime funder of the Tackling Chronic Absenteeism Project, formally known as the TCP.
February 8, 2024 - CFCC Faculty Director, Shanta Trivedi, was featured in the ABA Journal titled Family Limbo focused on The Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA), a topic of which she recently
published an article that pushes for the repeal of ASFA. Read Shanta's article.
February 5 - 2024, CFCC Faculty Director, Shanta Trivedi, traveled to Temple University, Philadelphia, PA as a participant in the Faculty Research and Development Faculty Exchange Program.
December 5, 2023 CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi gave the keynote address at the Office of Criminal Conflict & Civil Regional Counsel, 4th DCA Region’s Parent Representation Conference entitled The Child Welfare System’s Approach to Domestic Violence is Not What’s Best for Kids or Their Parents.
November 21, 2023, The upEND Podcast featured Shanta Trivedi and Joyce McMillan in a segment entitled The trauma of family separation and foster care are well documented, so why is this harm ignored? Episode 5 of Family Defenders, discussed the harms of family separation on children and parents, the outcomes of family policing involvement, and what Miranda Rights for families means.
November 1, 2023 CFCC hosted the Maryland State Bar Association, Family Law Section Open Meeting. Presenters included Hon. Joanie Raymond, Magistrate, Circuit Court for Frederick County; Steffani Langston, Esq., Associate Attorney, Wasserman Family Law; Erica LeMon, Esq., Advocacy Director for Children’s Rights Maryland Legal Aid; and Laure Ruth, Esq., Chief Program Officer, The Women’s Law Center of Maryland; moderated by Christopher W. Roberts, Esq., Roberts Family Law.
October 28, 2023 CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi was a panelist at the Keeping Families Together: Crisis in Child Welfare conference at Duke University School of Law.
October 12-13, 2023 CFCC Executive Director Aubrey Edwards-Luce attended the American Bar Association’s Commission on Youth at Risk invitation-only meeting at Hofstra University School of Law. The event was titled, “Renewal and Revolution: Recommitting the Legal Profession to Serving Children and Youth, their Families, and Communities.”
October 12, 2023 CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi was a panelist at What’s Next?: Supporting Children, Youth and Families in a Post-Abolition World, at Rutgers Law School.
October 7, 2023 CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi moderated a panel entitled How We Win: Lessons Learned from Policy Changers.
October 6-8, 2023 CFCC partnered with First Focus on Children in D.C. to host the annual convening of the lived experts of the Child Welfare and Race Equity (CWARE) Collaborative. The group met with one executive office and three federal legislators’ offices. Additionally, the in-person gathering allowed the leaders to further refine their policy strategies and grow their vision for the CWARE Collaborative.
July 19, 2023 CFCC Executive Director Aubrey Edwards-Luce testified at the Library of Congress in Washington DC at the Congressional Breakfast Briefing entitled, Hidden Foster Care: What it is, what harm it causes, and what Congress can do.” CFCC staff members attended in support.
July 2023 "How will I get back?: The Enduring Pain of Permanent Family Separation," CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi co-authored this article with law student Erin Carrington Smith in the Family Justice Journal.
July, 2023 – CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi published “Mandated Support for Survivors,” in the Virginia Journal of Social Policy & the Law, Vol. 30:1.
July 21, 2023 – Aubrey Luce-Edwards, CFCC Executive Director, hosted a breakfast briefing on the hidden foster care system for Congressional staffers on Capitol Hill.
June 27, 2023 – The Abell Foundation awarded CFCC $50,000 in support of the Truancy Court Program.
July 18, 2023 - CFCC received the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) 2023 Impact of the Year Award and was honored during the organization’s 86th Annual Conference in Baltimore for CFCC’s exceptional efforts in rethinking, reimagining, and redefining justice for children and families."The NCJFCJ is proud to recognize CFCC's dedication to redefining justice for children and families with programs that are making a profound difference in the lives of those they serve," said NCJFCJ President Judge Gayl Branum Carr. "It is truly commendable. We applaud the organization for advancing the NCJFCJ's vision of a society where every family and child has access to fair, equal, effective, and timely justice."
July 12, 2023 – Aubrey Edwards-Luce joined CFCC as new executive director. Aubrey is a zealous advocate for children, youth, and families. CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi said, “We could not be more excited to have Aubrey join us. Aubrey has spent her entire career advocating for children while emphasizing the importance of family and community. She is a natural collaborator and centers the voices of those with lived experience in legal systems in everything she does. We are grateful for her policy expertise and are so excited to work together to bring her ideas to life.” About joining CFCC, Aubrey said, “I am deeply grateful for the opportunity to build on CFCC’s incredible legacy as we launch new efforts to prevent unnecessary court involvement by supporting children and families in ways that are responsive to their needs and experiences.” Read Aubrey’s full bio.
June 20, 2023 - The Hon. Miriam Hutchins, District Court of Maryland for Baltimore City (ret.), received this year’s Anthony “Bubba” Green Star Player Award in recognition of her long service as a TCP volunteer judge. Judge Hutchins is known for her ability to draw students out of their shell and for providing never-ending support. As one Carver student put it, “My favorite part of the school week is…talking to the judge. She is so cool and lets me talk about anything and everything, but still keeps me in check about getting to school on time.” Each year, CFCC conveys this award in honor of Anthony “Bubba” Green, a former Baltimore Colts defensive lineman, and a long-time mentor on the TCP team who passed away in June 2019. The award is given each year to the individual associated with the TCP who best exemplifies Bubba’s commitment to working on behalf of others, taking on new challenges, and persevering in the face of adversity.
May 24, 2023 - Christopher Kelly joined the CFCC team in the newly created role of Truancy Court Program Case Manager. This new position was created to focus on outreach and advocacy, and to refer TCP students and families to service providers who can support the complex needs that can serve as obstacles to TCP students’ academic, social, and emotional growth. Read Christopher’s full bio.
February 2023 – The Charles Crane Family Foundation continued its nearly two decades of support for the operation of CFCC’s Truancy Court Program with a grant of $60,000 this year. The foundation was CFCC's first donor in 2004. We thank the Charles Crane Family Foundation for their unwavering support of CFCC.
March 8, 2023 – Executive director Rebecca Stahl left CFCC to become executive director of Somatic Experiencing International.
August 22, 2023 - CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi was quoted in theBaltimore Banner article, “Under new state law, state can’t take kids away solely for parental cannabis use.”
August 9, 2023 – The Imprint Youth and Family News published “Center for Families, Children and the Courts Gets New Executive Director.
August 7, 2023 – The Maryland Daily Record published “University of Baltimore family law center gets new executive director.
August 1, 2023 - CFCC Executive Director Aubrey Luce-Edwards was featured in “Shadow Foster Care: Children and caregivers in a ‘hidden’ system miss out on benefits and support,” by Amanda Robert inThe ABA Journal’s Children & the Law series
August 2023 - CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi published “Mandated Support for Survivors,” in theVirginia Journal of Social Policy
July 24, 2023 - Baltimore Fishbowl published “Impact of the Year Award goes to local legal group helping children and families.”
July 20, 2023 – Shanta Trivedi co-authored with law student Erin Carrington Smith “How Will I Get Back?: The Enduring Pain of Permanent Family Separation, published in the Family Justice Journal.
July 2023 – Shanta Trivedi was interviewed for the University of Baltimore School of Law blog series Charles Street Chats.
March 2023 – Shanta Trivedi was quoted in the article "Advocates for foster children sue state over psychotropic drug prescriptions" in The Daily Record's March 2023 Maryland Family Law Update.
March 23, 2023 – Shanta Trivedi published "The Adoption and Safe Families Act Cannot Be Salvaged," in the Family Court Review.
February 14, 2023 – Shanta Trivedi was quoted in the article “Maryland Eyes Law to Protect Domestic Violence Survivors from ‘Failure to Protect’ Charge,” by Sara Tiano in The Imprint Youth and Family News. Shanta provided testimony on behalf of the law, which, if passed, would be the first of its kind in the U.S.
September 26, 2022 – CFCC Faculty Director Shanta Trivedi and Richard Wexler published “Inadequate housing for foster children is only part of the problem,” an opinion piece in The Baltimore Banner.