Child Advocacy Clinic
Spring term, Block L
W 5:00 PM - 7:00 PM
Ms. Jessica Budnitz
2 classroom credits LAW-32080A Spring
3 or 4 required clinical credits LAW-32080C Spring
2 optional clinical credits Winter
The CAP clinic is designed to educate students about a range of social change strategies and to encourage critical thinking about the pros and cons of different approaches. The course includes both a classroom and fieldwork component. A variety of substantive areas impacting the lives of children will be addressed, with a focus on child welfare (abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption), education, and juvenile justice. The course is relevant for students with a particular interest in children's issues but also for those more generally interested in law reform and social change.
Enrollment Options: Students have two options, which correspond to different course listings: Child Advocacy Clinic (Spring only) or Child Advocacy Clinic (Winter/Spring). All students will be required to take 2 Spring classroom credits. Additionally, all students will engage in part-time clinical work during the Spring term, registering for 3 or 4 Spring clinical credits (which roughly translates to 15 or 20 hours of work each week). Winter/Spring students will engage in full-time clinical work during the Winter term, in addition to their part-time Spring clinical work.
Enrollment Procedures: Enrollment for this clinical course will occur during Clinical course registration. Refer to the Office of Clinical and Pro Bono Programs website at http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/clinical/ for Clinical course registration dates. Please note that the Child Advocacy Clinic has EARLIER drop/add deadlines than other clinical sections. Students in the Winter/Spring clinical have an add/drop deadline of Tues., Nov. 6, 2007. Students in the Spring-only clinical have an add/drop deadline of Wed., Dec. 5, 2007.
Once enrolled in the clinic, students will be provided a description of the various fieldwork options, and students will be placed to the degree possible in accord with their preferences. Visit the Child Advocacy Program (CAP) website at http://www.law.harvard.edu/academics/cap/clinic/in dex.php for a list of CAP clinical placements offered in 2006-07 and 2005-06.
Fieldwork Component: Students will be placed in a wide array of fieldwork settings, ranging from organizations providing individual advocacy, to those promoting systemic change through impact litigation and legislative reform, to grassroots organizing initiatives. Some students will work for reform from within the system and others from outside. Students will work on different types of projects such as: developing legislative reform proposals, participating in mediations, doing in-court advocacy work, drafting legal briefs, analyzing social science and psychological research, leveraging the media and writing op-ed articles, investigating new policy initiatives. For instance:
- In the child welfare area, students may work at the state agency charged with protecting children from abuse and neglect, with private lawyers representing children in the foster care system, with a model early home visitation program focused on supporting fragile families, or with the district attorney's office prosecuting parents accused of child maltreatment.
- In the education area, students may work with a program that weds social science with the promotion of policy reform, with a project advocating for the special needs of children exposed to violence, or with the state agency charged with overseeing schools on issues such as charter schools, school finance, assessment and accountability, student rights, and school discipline.
- In the juvenile justice area, students may work on legislative and policy initiatives aimed at improving the justice system for youth of color, on a new initiative providing alternatives to detention, or with a model juvenile defender organization.
- Many placements cut across substantive areas. Students may work as a law clerk in the juvenile court, with a state legislative committee focused on child welfare and education, or with a medical-legal collaborative aimed at improving child well-being.
Winter Term Fieldwork Option: The Winter Term opens up the possibility of placement with exciting organizations throughout the U.S. and even internationally. Most Winter-Spring students will be placed in a distant placement for the Winter Term, and then return to continue their fieldwork in the form of a research and writing project in the Spring. A small number of Winter-Spring students will be placed locally, working full-time in the Winter and then part-time at the same organization in the Spring.
Classroom Component: During the Spring term, students will bring their varied fieldwork experiences into the classroom so that all can learn from the rich combination of clinical experiences and debate the value of different approaches. Each student will give one presentation during the term - often in combination with the fieldwork supervisor - describing his/her clinical work, his/her organization, and how his/her project fits within the organization's larger child advocacy agenda.
Course Requirements: Regular attendance and active participation in discussion is required. Grading will be based on a combination of each student's presentation and related packet, contributions to class discussion throughout the term, and clinical fieldwork.
Relationship to Other Child Advocacy Program Courses: This course is part of the Child Advocacy Program (CAP), whose other courses are: (1) Child, Family, and State; (2) The Art of Social Change: Child Welfare, Education, & Juvenile Justice; and (3) Future of the Family: Adoption, Reproduction and Child Welfare seminar. Enrollment in these other CAP courses is encouraged. While there is no prerequisite for the Child Advocacy Clinic, in the event that it is overenrolled, preference will be given to students who have taken or are currently registered for other CAP courses.