Upcoming Programs

Babies Can't Wait: How Children's Court Can Address the Mental Health Needs of Maltreated Infants & Toddlers
November 13, 2009
Sheraton Albuquerque Uptown Hotel
In this program intended primarily for judges and lawyers, Dr. Charles Zeanah, Director of the Tulane Infant Team, and Dr. Julie Larrieu, the Team’s Supervising Psychologist, will explain the impact of early abuse and neglect on infants' brain development and attachment and the use of Infant Teams to assess infants and toddlers, provide coordinated and timely treatment to the infant and the family, and inform decision-making in child welfare cases. Oregon Children's Court Judge Pamela Abernethy will then join local experts in describing the existing legal framework for meeting the mental health needs of infants and toddlers while also protecting parents' rights. Finally, we will hear from Judge Abernethy about changes that can be made to improve outcomes for infants and toddlers without the creation of a formal Infant Team. Brochures will be available in August. Download the brochure (PDF:220k).

REGISTER NOW! 2010 Children’s Law Institute
January 13-15, 2010
Hotel Albuquerque
Register online now

Past Programs

Separation and Attachment — April 3, 2009
Concepts and Strategies In and Out of the Courtroom
At this day-long training program sponsored by the Corinne Wolfe Children's Law Center, guardians ad litem and attorneys for youth in foster care gathered to learn concepts and strategies for use in and out of the courtroom to support their child client and include the child's voice. A highlight of the training was a moving and informative presentation by a former foster youth and her attorney. Participants also learned about attachment, options for maintaining connections with incarcerated parents, the challenges of transitioning to adulthood, and ethical considerations when shifting from GaL to Attorney.

Child Abuse and Neglect: Essential Information for Practicing & Presiding in Child Welfare Cases — April 23 & 24, 2009
This core curriculum was developed under a Court Improvement Project grant for judges and attorneys presiding or practicing in Children’s Court. Over two days, our expert faculty of children’s court judges, attorneys, a forensic pediatrician, and investigative and treatment social workers provided a comprehensive survey of the law, practices, and principles involved in child welfare cases.

One Child, Two Systems, Multiple Disciplines: Building Understanding to Help Children — February 6, 2009
Victor Vieth, Director of the National Child Protection Training Center, and other national faculty presented at a daylong, CJAAG-funded program addressing matters of common concern to professionals and volunteers who work in the criminal justice and child protection systems. This well-attended program was co-sponsored by the New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs and the Corinne Wolfe Children’s Law Center.

16th Annual Children’s Law Institute — January 7-9, 2009
Held annually, the New Mexico Children’s Law Institute has become one of the largest children’s law conferences in the country. The 2009 Children’s Law Institute drew nearly one thousand people from around New Mexico. Attendees included judges, young people, attorneys, social workers, Juvenile Probation Officers, CASAs, citizen review board members, foster parents and community providers. This year’s program focused on Trauma: Foundations for an Effective Response and featured Dr. Bruce Perry of the TraumaAcademy and Charlie Appelstein, author of No Such Thing As a Bad Kid, as the keynote speakers.

Core Curriculum for Judges and Lawyers — April and November 2008
On April 3-4, almost 50 judges and attorneys participated in the field test of a new program, Child Abuse and Neglect: Essential Information for Practicing & Presiding in Child Welfare Cases. The program was repeated for 30 additional practitioners in November, 2008, and will be held again in April 2009. Funding permitting, the program will be offered once or twice each year to allow all judges and lawyers who work with children and families in the child welfare system to benefit from this comprehensive overview of fundamental principles and practices.

Educational Advocacy for Children and Youth in Foster Care — Fall 2008
To improve educational outcomes for children and youth in foster care, the CLC held regional cross-training programs on educational advocacy in 5 locations around the state this fall (Albuquerque, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Carlsbad, and Gallup). The programs were co-sponsored by the NM Court Improvement Project and the Children, Youth and Families Department and attended by child welfare judges and attorneys, CYFD workers, CASA and CRB volunteers, counselors, educators, and foster parents.

Child Advocacy Training Institute — October 15-17, 2008
The New Mexico Coalition of Sexual Assault Programs and the CLC sponsored a nationally renowned intensive trial skills training program for attorneys in child welfare cases. The training was provided by the National Institute of Trial Advocacy, held at the UNM School of Law and funded by the NM Children’s Justice Act Advisory Group.

Juvenile Forensic Evaluations: Competency to Stand Trial and Treatment Amenability — May 30, 2008
In collaboration with CYFD and ValueOptions New Mexico, the CLC sponsored a day of training for Children’s Court judges, prosecutors and public defenders with Dr. Thomas Grisso, a nationally recognized expert in adolescent development and the juvenile justice system.

Youth Attorney Roundtable — April 14, 2008
Co-sponsored by the CLC, the New Mexico Court Improvement Project, Advocacy Inc., and Pegasus Legal Services for Children, the Youth Attorney Roundtable was a participatory dialog about the Youth Attorney model of representation in New Mexico. Over the course of the day, participants learned about this model, identified the strengths and challenges of direct representation of youth, considered the ethical issues raised by such representation, and discussed practical ways to improve the model.

Protecting Our Children & Families: Effective Court Orders & IV-E Eligibility — March 28, 2008
This symposium aimed to inform tribal leaders, judges, attorneys, advocates, and social workers, about the benefits, challenges, and requirements of entering into agreements with the State for IV-E foster care funding. Judge William Thorne, a former tribal court judge and currently on the Utah Court of Appeals, was the keynote speaker. The CLC cosponsored this event with the Bureau of Indian Affairs, CYFD, the American Indian Law Center, Inc., Casey Family Programs, Navajo Nation Division of Social Services, and the Indian Child & Family Resource Center.

Delinquency Program for Prosecutors and Defense Counsel
With funding support from the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, the CLC conducted a joint training for prosecutors and juvenile defenders on delinquency issues. This December 4, 2007 program was offered at the Hotel Albuquerque in conjunction with the 2007 NM Juvenile Justice Conference, which took place December 5-6.

Subtitled The Legacy of Gault: Professional Excellence in Delinquency Practice, the December 4 program recognized the importance of the practice of delinquency law on both sides of the aisle. Specific topics included: credibility and competency, ethical issues, and issues surrounding juvenile sex offenders, including implications of the Adams Walsh Act. Close to one hundred state and tribal prosecutors and defense attorneys from around the state attended the program.

Engaging Families and Preserving Connections: Best Practices in Children’s Court — Fall 2007
In its first set of regional cross-training programs, the CLC addressed best practices for engaging children, youth, parents, foster parents, extended family and community in court and treatment. The morning sessions focused on hearing the child’s voice in court and ensuring the foster parent’s right to be heard, while the afternoon sessions were on open adoption guidelines, best practices, and mediating post-adoption contact agreements. Three hundred people participated in the trainings held in Albuquerque, Roswell, Gallup, Santa Fe, and Las Cruces and co-sponsored by the Court Improvement Project and CYFD.

Regional Trainings on 2005 Changes to Children’s Code – Powerpoint Slides Available
The New Mexico Legislature passed most of the changes to the Children’s Code recommended by a 2004 statewide taskforce, including a number of changes to the provisions of the Code on delinquency, families in need of services, abuse and neglect cases, and adoption. The Legislature also passed a number of amendments to related laws, such as the Safe Haven for Infants Act and the laws on criminal record checks for CYFD employees and adults living in foster homes and proposed adoptive homes. All of these changes were the subject of day-long training programs that took place in Roswell, Las Cruces, Santa Fe, Farmington and Albuquerque in late June and early July, 2005. Open to the public, these programs drew a total of twelve hundred people. Anyone who missed them can take a look at Powerpoint presentations on the following topics:

• Overview and Miscellaneous Changes PPT
• Delinquency PPT
• Abuse and Neglect PPT
• Youth Attorneys PPT
• Adoption PPT

The materials are also available in hard copy from the Institute of Public Law, which houses the Children’s Law Center. Contact us for more information.