Humility as an Act of Compassion

Join us for the second of a four-part webinar series where we delve into a vital yet often overlooked aspect of child welfare work: the wellbeing of the professionals behind the scenes. Humility as an Act of Compassion is a webinar designed for child welfare lawyers to explore the essential role of humility in our practice. This facilitated podcast-style conversation will highlight the importance of recognizing our knowledge gaps, understanding and mitigating our own biases, and navigating the subjective nature of the best interests standard. We will also examine the difference between compassion and benevolence, emphasizing how genuine compassion and connection drives effective advocacy.

Participants will gain a renewed perspective on humility as a strength, practical tools for self-reflection, and actionable strategies to enhance their compassionate advocacy in child welfare cases. This webinar is ideal for legal professionals committed to improving their practice and making a positive impact on the lives of children and families. Join us for this session and learn how embracing humility can lead to more compassionate and effective child welfare practice.

Presenters:

Sheri Freemont, JD, proudly serves on the Board of Directors for the National Association of Counsel for Children. She is the managing director of the Judicial and National Engagement consulting team at  Casey Family Programs, aiming to support judges and lawyers nationally to apply gold standard principles for children and families in the child welfare system.

Vivek Sankaran, JD, CWLS, directs the Child Advocacy Law Clinic and Child Welfare Appellate Clinic at the University of Michigan Law School and co-founded LawLifeProfs, which promotes wellbeing and compassion in legal spaces.

Sheri and Vivek are graduates of the Applied Compassion Certification Program through CCARE (Center for Compassion and Altruism Research and Education) at Stanford University, where they are developing materials, workshops, and retreats to support compassion for lawyers in child welfare practice.

Shrounda Selivanoff, BAS, is the Social Service Manager at the Washington State Office of Public Defense Parent Representation Program.  She brings a fierce and passionate voice advocating for systemic change for parents and their children involved with the child welfare system. She was previously involved with the system due to tough life challenges.

Shrounda’s child welfare experience birthed an advocate seeking to destigmatize parents and to elevate the need for our society to value the diversity and uniqueness of families. Shrounda’s work is focused on centering parent perspectives to support their families. Shrounda relentlessly pursues policy and system change toward preserving and strengthening families with a North Star, empowering and valuing parents as partners, and keeping families together. She keenly understands the power and impact of preserving families and the critical need for individual and collective transformation for this to occur.                                                  

CLE

California (60-minute hour)

This participatory activity has been accredited by the State Bar of California for a maximum of 1.5 hours of Wellness Competence credit. Live and on-demand viewing are both participatory activities since NACC confirms duration of attendance. Attorneys must sign in for CLE. Credits will be reported within 60 days of participation.

Colorado (50‐minute hour)

This course is accredited by the Colorado Board of Continuing Legal and Judicial Education for a maximum of 1.8 units of General credit. Attorneys must sign in for CLE. Colorado is a self-report state.

Attorneys in all other jurisdictions must seek CLE accreditation individually if desired.