Texas Lawyers for Children continues to post resources in the online resource center to assist attorneys and judges in managing child protection dockets during the coronavirus crisis. All resources are free to registered users and can be located by going to the menu bar and clicking Resources, Browse by Topic, Coronavirus. Click on a resource type, such as Forms, Links, or Articles and Papers. Below are recently-added resources:

FORM:

Motion to Resume Visitation by Colorado Office of Child's Representative.

ARTICLES AND PAPERS:

The Federal Government Rushes Through Legislation Designed to Help an Expanded Universe of Small Businesses by Carrington Coleman law firm - explains federal loan programs for small businesses.

A Joint Statement on Child Welfare Courts During a Public Health Crisis: Access to Justice and Advocacy are Critical Anchors During Uncertain Times by Children's Advocacy Institute, Children's Rights, Juvenile Law Center, National Association of Counsel for Children, National Center for Youth Law, & Youth Law Center - specific tips for child protection professionals.

Advocacy and Child's Attorney-Client Relationships During COVID-19: A Tip Sheet by National Association of Counsel for Children - specific tips for children's attorneys.

Letter From (Children's Bureau) Associate Commissioner Milner re: Child Welfare Court Deadlines, Safety, and Due Process by Jerry Milner, Assoc. Comm'r Children's Bureau, Administration on Children, Youth, and Families - guidance on complying with federal law and regulations.

Making an Emergency Plan with Transition Age Youth in Foster Care: A Checklist for Dependency Attorneys, Youth Providers, and Advocates by Youth Law Center - checklist for representing foster youth who are close to aging out.

Talking to Children About COVID-19 (Coronavirus): A Parent Resource by National Association of School Psychologists & National Association of School Nurses -guidelines for talking to children about coronavirus.

Advocating for Kids in Detention and Congregate Care Amidst COVID-19 Concerns by Cathy Krebs, J.D., American Bar Association Children's Rights Litigation Committee - resources for children in detention and congregate care.

At-Home Education and Learning Resources for Foster Youth During COVID-19 by Schwartz, Angie - resources for continued access to education.

Successful Video Visits With Young Children - National Council on Crime and Delinquency - tips for visiting with child clients by video conferencing.

LINKS
Clicking on Links will bring up a list of links to current Texas court closures and coronavirus web pages for state and national legal organizations.

On April 2, from 3-4:30 p.m. Central time, the National Association of Counsel for Children ("NACC") and the ABA Children's Rights Litigation Committee will present a webinar entitled "Zealous Advocacy During COVID-19: Practical Tips and Best Practices." This free presentation is open to all who register. In the words of the NACC -- "In the uncertain times of the COVID-19 pandemic, many aspects of life have dramatically changed -- schools, court hearings, social events. What has not changed, however, are the critical and urgent needs of youth involved in the child welfare system. Join advocates from around the country who will share guidance and practical tips to safeguard and advance the rights of youth in the child welfare system during COVID-19 and beyond. Practitioners will walk away with concrete tools to determine what ongoing and unique client needs present themselves during these times and how to maintain, modify, and increase zealous advocacy amid the pandemic." To register, click here.

The Child Protection Law Section of the State Bar is offering scholarships for its Third Annual Advanced Child Protection Law Course, which is being conducted on March 26 & 27 in Houston, with Bruce Perry, M.D., Ph.D., as the keynote speaker. You must be a section member to apply. Scholarships will be awarded on a first come, first served basis. For details about the conference and how to apply for a scholarship, click here.

On Tuesday, January 14, 2020, the National Association of Counsel for Children will offer a free webinar on its two new resources, the Family First Legal Guide and the Tool for Engaging the Legal Community in Family First Implementation. These resources will assist the legal community and child welfare agencies with implementing provisions of the Family First Prevention Services Act, federal legislation passed in 2018 with the goal of keeping children safely with their families and avoiding the trauma of entering foster care. The Legal Guide is written for attorneys, judges, magistrates, and court personnel, and provides an overview about how the Family First Act changes federal child welfare law, identifies opportunities to use the Act in legal advocacy and judicial decision-making, and offers guidance on supporting effective implementation in local communities. The Tool for Engaging the Legal Community can facilitate dialogue between child welfare agency implementation teams and the legal community to address potential unintended consequences and maximize positive impact for children and families. The webinar is titled New Legal Resources for Incorporating the Family First Act into Your Practice in 2020. It will take place from 1:00 to 2:30 p.m. CST on January 14. To register, click here.

In December 2019 The Boston Globe and ProPublica published an investigation into states' compliance with the federal Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act. They found that no state fully complies with the act's requirements. A team of journalists spent four years collecting records and creating two national databases, one of which is a state-by-state compliance assessment. The news story contains a clickable map to see how each state measures up in protecting drug-affected infants, providing representation for abuse victims in court, and producing public reports about the children who die there. The story is available here.

The Texas Supreme Court Children's Commission is currently offering scholarships for qualifying attorneys to attend the State Bar of Texas' 2019 one-day Child Abuse and Neglect Workshop, as well as the 2019 National Association of Counsel for Children's 42nd Annual National Child Welfare, Juvenile & Family Law Conference and Red Book Training in Anaheim, California. The Commission is also offering scholarships for qualifying attorneys to attend another training from NACC, the third round of the NACC Red Book Online Training Course, which starts in September 2019. Please click here to see details about each of these scholarship opportunities. Please note: TLC is NOT the organization providing the scholarships, so if you have any questions, please contact the Children's Commission directly at children@txcourts.gov.

The new Child Protection Law Section of the State Bar of Texas, chaired by Texas Supreme Court Justice Debra Lehrmann, will be hosting its Second Annual Advanced Child Protection Law Course on March 28-29 in Dallas. This advanced course includes presentations involving 3 Texas Supreme Court Justices, a keynote address regarding the federal class action suit brought on behalf of Texas foster children, a prep session for the Child Welfare Law Specialization Exam, and many other timely topics. Early bird deadline for $25 off the registration fee is March 14, 2019. To view the conference brochure and access the link to register, click here.

On January 7, 2019, the Children's Bureau (which is the federal agency that provides funding for and monitors child welfare agencies across the country) changed its policy regarding use of Title IV-E funds for the costs of foster care. The Bureau is now allowing IV-E agencies to claim as an administrative cost (to be paid at the rate of 50%) the cost of legal services for attorneys for children who are candidates for foster care or who are in foster care and for the children's parents. Previously, these funds could only be used for attorneys representing the Title IV-E agencies. The Bureau made this change in its Child Welfare Policy Manual, which contains questions and answers that apply to the child welfare programs, by deleting Question & Answer 8.1B#18 and replacing it with Question & Answer 8.1B#30. This means that federal funding is now available for legal services not only in the TMC phase of the case but also for children in the permanent managing conservatorship of the State. To view the new policy, click here.

The Texas House Human Services Committee and the House Public Health Committee will conduct a joint hearing on Thursday, August 9, at 9:00 am, in Room E1.030 concerning mental health issues of children in the Department's care. The hearing will focus on the interim charge that includes anaylzing "the prevalence of children involved with Child Protective Services (CPS) who have a mental illness or substance use disorder," and "increasing the number of appropriate placements designed for children with high needs; and ensuring Texas Medicaid is providing access to appropriate and effective behavioral health services." The committees will also hear invited testimony about "residential child care facilities...[and] recent complaints received regarding treatment of children at these facilities...." To view the hearing notice, click here. To view the hearing live, click here. To view a video recording of the hearing after it has ended, click here.

Baker McKenzie is hosting the Inaugural Texas Children's Rights Summit in Houston on June 12, 2018. The Summit is intended to discuss the legal needs of children and features numerous leaders in the field of children's rights. Topics include the impact of trauma, immigration issues, education issues, pro bono practice, and the ethics of child representation. Attorneys from in-house counsel's offices of major corporations will be attending as well, and child advocacy organizations will have the opportunity to ask for pro bono help for special child advocacy projects from these attorneys during an interactive session. Registration is FREE!! To view the agenda, click here. To register, click here.

Scholarships are available through the Supreme Court Children's Commission for judges to attend both the 81st Annual Conference of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ) and the National Association of Counsel for Children's (NACC) 41st National Child Welfare, Juvenile & Family Law Conference, including the Red Book Training (optional). The application deadline for the NCJFCJ scholarship is 11:59 pm on Wednesday, May 23, 2018, and for the NACC conference, the deadline is 11:59 pm on Wednesday, June 6. The NCJFCJ's 81st Annual Conference is July 22-25, 2018, in Denver, Colorado. The Texas Center for the Judiciary is partnering with the Children's Commission to provide 25 judicial scholarships for this conference. This scholarship covers up to $2,000, including the registration fee and travel expenses. To be eligible for this scholarship, applicants must hear civil child welfare and/or juvenile cases and must attend the Texas Center for the Judiciary's Annual Child Welfare Judicial Conference, to be held November 12-14, 2018, in Georgetown, Texas. For questions regarding the NCJFCJ scholarship, please email Heidi Penix at heidip@yourhonor.com.To apply for the NCJFCJ scholarship, click here. This year's NACC Conference is August 23-25, 2018, in San Antonio, including a pre-conference Red Book Training on August 22nd. The Children's Commission will provide scholarships up to $1000 in the form of waived registration fees and conference-related travel expenses. To be eligible for this scholarship, applicants must hear civil child welfare and/or juvenile cases and must complete a post-conference survey from the Children's Commission. For questions regarding the NACC scholarship, please email children@txcourts.gov. To apply for the NACC scholarship, click here. To learn more about both scholarships, visit the Children's Commission website by clicking here.

The deadline to apply to take the examination for board certification in Child Welfare Law by the Texas Board of Legal Specialization is May 7, 2018. The exam will be administered in October 2018. To view the standards and other information about getting certified click here. To access the online application click here.

The Supreme Court Children's Commission is providing free, hands-on trial skills training for less experienced attorneys handling Child Protective Services cases in Texas who want to improve their litigation skills. A fictional CPS case and live witnesses are partnered with top-notch instructors to coach attendees through all stages of trial. For purposes of the training, "less experienced" means that prior to applying, applicants who take court appointments will have completed an average of 2 to 3 contested Adversary Hearings and/or final termination trials as first chair, and applicants who represent DFPS will have completed at least 3 contested Adversary Hearings and/or 3-5 final termination trials as first chair. The course is being conducted in San Marcos, Texas on July 25-27th, 2018. Hotel costs will be reimbursed for those living outside of San Marcos. Space is limited to 21 attorneys who represent children, parents, or DFPS on the CPS docket. Registration is free. The Children's Commission will contact each applicant's appointing judge to confirm suitability for the training. Attorneys will be notified about acceptance into the training by May 1, 2018. The deadline to apply is 11:59 pm on Wednesday, April 11, 2018. For more information and to submit an application, click here.

The Texas Supreme Court Children's Commission is conducting a study of the legal representation provided to children and parents in child protection cases. The goal of the study is to capture the most accurate picture possible of how this legal representation is currently functioning and how it might be improved. To meet this goal, the study will survey key stakeholders, with different surveys for the different roles served in the child welfare system, including attorneys. The Commission will deliver a report of the study's findings to the Texas Legislature in September 2018. The survey will remain open until 11:59 pm on Friday, March 30, 2018. To learn more about the Legal Representation Study, click here. To access the survey, click here.

Texas Supreme Court Justice Debra Lehrmann has written a very compelling statement about the importance of the new SBOT Child Protection Law Section and the need to protect the rights of children. Justice Lehrmann is serving as the Chair of the new section. TLC believes that under Justice Lehrmann's outstanding leadership, the new section will elevate the practice of law in this field. To view Justice Lehrmann's powerful comments, click here. Also, don't miss the chance to become an inaugural member of the new Child Protection Law Section!! Your $20 dues will help the new section accomplish its mission to educate and empower the attorneys who are committed to representing our most vulnerable and important members of society. You can join through your SBOT "My Bar Page".