|
A quarterly update from Frank Cervone, Esquire, the Executive Director of the Support Center for Child Advocates.
November 2010
by Frank P. Cervone
"...The more you look at the child in all of her needs and experiences, the more you see other dimensions that might need attention and other rights that need to be addressed
"
Adapted from symposium remarks on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the Children and Family Justice Center at Northwestern University School of Law, October 8, 2010.
As we consider the next 20 years of “whole child representation,” I’d like us to be self-reflective while focusing on the representation we deliver to children and families.
If the first 50 years of our work were about being there, the next decades may be about the quality of our presence and the quality of our outcomes. The right to counsel in the 1967 U.S. Supreme Court case in re Gault was satisfied by having a lawyer in the room. Just showing up used to be good enough. In whatever way we now meet the child in the justice system, in whatever way we get into their lives, I suggest that we recognize that we are called to serve the whole of that child and to serve that child well. Arne Duncan, US Secretary of Education, recently observed that “a well-rounded curriculum is a necessity, not a luxury.” So too is well-rounded lawyering a necessity.
So, what does it mean to “see a child as whole?” I am reminded that ‘the more you look, the more you see.’ In child protection work, we get into kids’ lives because of an abusive incident or a situation suggesting neglect. That’s our entrance point. But the more you look at the child in all of her needs and experiences, the more you see other dimensions that might need attention and other rights that need to be addressed, including the right to be in school and in an education program that is best for her. The right to graduate. The right to treatment that is effective, targeted and grounded in sound science. The right to be safe and free from harm. The right to have someone in her life who she can trust. The right to family.
+ Read more July 2010
by Frank P. Cervone and Carol E. Tracy
"The community has a need. The solution: give back the money!"
As more information is made public about the dealings leading to the construction of a new Family Court in Center City, the need for the courthouse has been overshadowed. It is apparent that short cuts have been taken, and that conflicts of interest exist. The project now teeters on the edge of failure because of apparent self-dealing by the court’s lawyer and ultra-high costs associated with real estate development. That court administration should have been more responsible, and either more or less involved, are interesting critiques that seem off the mark. The community has a need. The solution: give back the money!
+ Read more
November 2009
"Too many children fall through the cracks. We have to look out for each other."
The death of Charleeni Ferreira tells an incredible story. Parental abuse undetected for years. Siren calls of suspicion from school nurses who were then mistrusted. A child not comfortable enough or perhaps too traumatized to reveal her sad secret. Her story and one other reveal some answers.
Last month I had occasion to visit with a family whose child was subject to a protective action in Philadelphia’s Dependency Court. A four-year-old boy had been found wandering on his neighborhood street at night. While the family members disputed the time of the events, the mother explained that she had put her child to bed, and then left the house to visit friends on the block. She thought the boy was sound asleep in his bed, when he had actually awakened and walked out the front door.
Both the boy’s mother and the maternal grandfather said they knew the neighbor who had found the child and made the report to the children and youth agency … and they were OK that she had reported the case! “Too many children fall through the cracks. We have to look out for each other,” the grandfather observed. The judge and social workers agreed that the young parent needed supports, but that her children were safe and well.
OK with a child neglect report against you? In all my years in child advocacy, I had never heard such a refreshing response.
+ Read more
March 2009
"There is no substitute for a trustworthy leader, but sometimes one must act despite the actions or inactions of the boss."
In two massive violations of public trust, attention focuses on the key bad men. On Wall Street, Bernard Madoff goes to jail for a decades-long fraud on thousands of investors. In Luzerne County, PA, two judges took millions to sell out juvenile offenders and other litigants in their courts. I want to know about their supply chain: Where were the lawyers, probation officers and court staff in Luzerne? Where were the traders, office administrators and accountants?
+ Read More
December 2008
We almost wish this had been a whodunit.
But we know who did it. The real question was: How could they?
- In re County Investigating Grand Jury XXII: Report of the Grand Jury
The “other shoe” finally fell this past summer in the two-year Philadelphia Department of Human Services (DHS) leadership crisis, as Philadelphia District Attorney Lynne Abraham issued a grand jury report and indictments of nine people, including two DHS workers, in the inexcusable death of Danieal Kelly. The report cited glaring deficiencies in social work practice afforded to this helpless, disabled 14-year old child, including:
+ Read More |
