Children’s Law Office Project Convening 2025

NACC’s Children’s Law Office Project Convening provides specialized training for the leaders and managers of nonprofit children’s law offices, government agencies, and private firms providing children’s legal representation. This convening offers opportunities for senior leaders and emerging leaders to learn best practices in organizational representation of children and youth. Lunch included.

Session 1: The Power of Partnership: Judges and Lawyers Uniting to Transform Legal Representation of Children

Children’s lawyers have the power to transform the child welfare system one case at a time. But with high caseloads, low pay, inadequate training and support, what is a lawyer to do? In this session attendees will learn concrete ways to address common roadblocks and to empower children’s lawyers to provide the kind of representation that every child client deserves. The presenters will share how they utilized Title IV-E funding to transform representation of children in Chatham County, Georgia, and how this experience informed statewide improvement efforts. The presenters will deconstruct the process, so attendees learn a proven method of change. Attendees will apply the lessons to their specific roadblocks (large or small) and will leave inspired and ready to take action.

Presenters:

Hon. Thomas Cole – Chatham County Juvenile Court
Angela Orkin, JD – True North Child Advocates

Session 2: Show Me the Money: Effectively Using Program Evaluation to Secure Program Funding

The Nebraska Children’s Justice Programs have secured more than $13 million dollars over eight years to fund new and innovative attorney education programs. Program evaluation — the systematic process for assessing program implementation and impact — has been an essential tool for securing and maintaining program funding. Through evidence-based storytelling, program evaluation elevates program activities and impacts to communicate the value of a program. Public and private funders increasingly require program evaluation to demonstrate the program and funder’s impacts. In this session, the Nebraska Children’s Justice Programs’ program director and evaluator will discuss how they collaborate to obtain and sustain program funding.

Presenters:

Katherine Hazen, JD, PHD – Northeastern University
Michelle Paxton, JD – University of Nebraska

Session 3: Making Representation a Reality through Co-Design: Leveraging Lived Experience to Inform Policy and Secure Legal Representation for Foster Youth

In 2021, in collaboration with The Mockingbird Society, the SDMC successfully advocated for the passage of Washington State’s HB 1217, legislation that ensures legal representation for young people in foster care. This workshop will discuss the framework of the SDMC-developed co-design process, emphasizing how integrating the lived experiences of foster youth can inform and transform policy. Participants will gain insights into the co-design methodology, understand its application in legislative advocacy, and receive actionable steps to initiate similar advocacy efforts in their respective states. Participants will learn how to effectively incorporate lived experiences into advocacy strategies to influence legislation, as well as how to assess policy gaps, build coalitions, and navigate legislative processes to advance legal representation for foster youth.

Presenter: Samuel Martin, MPA, Lived Experience Expert – SDM Consulting (Co-Design Institute)