Children and the Law: Protecting the Vulnerable in a Time of Crisis

The treatment of children in two distinct areas of the law—child welfare and juvenile justice—is fraught with difficulty even under the best of circumstances. But with the onslaught of the COVID pandemic, the regular challenges and the need to protect children have only been compounded. What has changed and how can child advocates respond? 

On Tuesday, Oct. 27, ALI CLE is offering a webcast seminar discussing the current law and how child advocates can work through the additional stresses placed on the child welfare and juvenile legal systems during the pandemic. Topics include:  

• How the law defines parental authority and responsibilities 
• Important thresholds in the areas of neglect and abuse 
• When and how the state can intervene 
• How the law defines a “child” 
• What rights a child in custody has 
• What Constitutional challenges youth encounter during a pandemic 
• How lawyers can best represent a child in the system 
• How courts are responding to the challenges presented by COVID-19 

The program features Elizabeth S. Scott of Columbia Law School, Clare Huntington of Fordham University School of Law, Kristin Nicole Henning of Georgetown University Law Center, and Marsha Levick of the Juvenile Law Center. All participants serve on ALI’s Restatement of the Law, Children of the Law project.  

ALI members enjoy complimentary access to a vast database of ALI CLE courses through the LawPass portal. Members should first sign in to this website and click on “CLE FOR MEMBERS” on the ALI.org Members page.  

This course is also available for free to all legal services and child advocacy organizations, and any of their partners or others (including students) who may be interested in this topic or advocating for children. Please contact communications@ali.org for more information. 

Nonmembers can visit ALI CLE for more information and to register.

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