News and Events 2013
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2013 – CFCC’s Director, Professor Barbara Babb, and Professor David Wexler write chapter on “Therapeutic Jurisprudence.”
CFCC’s Director, Professor Barbara Babb, has co-authored with Professor David Wexler an article, “Therapeutic Jurisprudence,” which focuses on therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) and its implications for the justice system, including the role of judges, attorneys, court personnel, and services providers. The chapter appeared in the Encyclopedia of Criminology and Criminal Justice (Springer 2013). The piece explains that TJ calls for empirical research to determine whether outcomes resulting from the application of laws and behavior of legal actors have therapeutic (helpful) or anti-therapeutic (harmful) consequences, both intended and unintended.
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December 2013 - CFCC published the 7th issue of its Full Court Press E-Newsletter.
This 7th issue featured an article entitled, “Advocates for Youth Renew Commitment to Deinstitutionalize Status Offenders.” For more information, you can view the e-newsletter here.
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December 2-5, 2013 – In collaboration with the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC), CFCC held two trainings for professionals who work with families and children.
December 2-3 – “The Model Standards and Beyond: Custody Evaluations and Risk Management” with David Martindale, PhD, ABPP
December 4-5 – “Transforming Family Dynamics: Fundamentals of Parenting Coordination” with Debra K. Carter, PhD
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December 2013 - CFCC received a $50,000 grant for the Truancy Court Program (TCP) from the Charles Crane Family Foundation.
The Crane Foundation was the first TCP funder in 2004, allowing CFCC to launch the initiative, and has supported the program every year since then. CFCC is very grateful for the Crane Foundation’s commitment to the TCP and to improving the lives of children and families in Baltimore.
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December 3, 2013 – CFCC hosted a reception to launch the formation of the Maryland Chapter of the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC).
CFCC hosted a cocktail reception to announce the formation of a Maryland Chapter of AFCC. The Maryland AFCC will bring together local professionals involved in family court practice and services, foster collaboration among members, provide networking opportunities, and host local conferences on issues of interest to members. For more information on this new Maryland AFCC chapter, please contact Ali Dansker Doyle at Adoylelaw@aol.com. -
October 2013 - CFCC published the 7th issue of its Truancy Court Program E-Newsletter.
This 7th issue included features on:
- TCP Year in Review
- Reflections from CFCC Student Fellows
- Kids and the Arts Program Improves Attendance and School Engagement
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September 20 and October 4, 2013 - CFCC co-sponsored Family Law trainings with the Maryland Chapter of the American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers
This two-part program was geared to beginning family law practitioners and provides in-depth information and guidance on a broad spectrum of family law issues, ranging from initial client contact through trial. The program featured judges, masters, American Academy of Matrimonial Lawyers members, and attorneys from the Family and Juvenile Law Section of the Maryland State Bar Association. -
September 2013 – CFCC’s Student Fellow Bios page was updated for the Fall 2013 class
Get to know the 2013-2014 CFCC Student Fellows by visiting the CFCC Student Fellow Bios Page. -
August/September 2013 – CFCC will operate the Truancy Court Program in seven Baltimore City public schools and three Montgomery County middle schools during the 2013-2014 school year
Baltimore City’s 2013-2014 TCP Schools will be City Springs Elementary/Middle School, Vivien T. Thomas Medical Arts Academy, National Academy Foundation, Fort Worthington Elementary School, Walter P. Carter Elementary/Middle School, The Historic Samuel Coleridge Taylor Elementary School, and Elmer A. Henderson: A Johns Hopkins Partnership School. In Montgomery County, CFCC will operate the TCP in Roberto Clemente Middle, Argyle Middle, and A. Mario Loiederman Middle and will provide technical assistance for operation of the program at Francis Scott Key Middle. -
August 21, 2013 – Fall 2013 CFCC Student Fellows Program Begins
The Fall 2013 CFCC Student Fellows Program I (Law 888) will focus on cutting-edge approaches to family law and family justice system reform, including an examination of unified family courts, teen courts, and other problem-solving courts. Students also will be involved in one of CFCC’s many projects, including its popular Truancy Court Program. -
August 2013 - CFCC published the 13th issue of the Unified Family Court Connection.
This 13th issue focused on logistical and fiscal challenges faced by family courts nationwide. The newsletter included the following articles:
- “Legal Parentage of Both Parents in Same-Sex Couples Increasingly is Sanctioned Nationwide” by Nancy D. Polikoff
- “The Future Unified Family Court Will Expand to Handle Burgeoning Cases” by Judge Howard I. Lipsey
- “Oregon’s Unified Family Court is Doing More with Less Resources” by William J. Howe III and Judge Paul J. DeMuniz
For a paper copy of the newsletter or to be added to the mailing list, please email cfcc@ubalt.edu .
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July 2013 – 23 Schools Apply for the Truancy Court Program (TCP)
The TCP has received 23 applications for the 2013-2014 TCP from Baltimore City public schools. Given the strong support for and interest in the TCP, CFCC will continue to seek funding to operate the TCP in more schools in Baltimore. CFCC will announce the 2013-2014 TCP schools shortly. -
July 2013 – A chapter written by CFCC Director Prof. Barbara Babb has been newly published in Problem Solving Courts: Social Science and Legal Perspectives, edited by Richard L. Wiener and Eve M. Brank and published by Springer.
Professor Babb’s chapter entitled, “Unified Family Courts: An Interdisciplinary Framework and a Problem-Solving Approach,” appears in a recently released book, Problem Solving Courts: Social Science and Legal Perspectives, edited by Richard L. Wiener and Eve M. Brank and published by Springer. For more information on the book and how to purchase a copy, please visit the Springer Publishers website.
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July 2013 - CFCC received $68,265 from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office to operate our Truancy Court Program in Montgomery County
CFCC received $68,265 from the Montgomery County State’s Attorney’s Office to operate our Truancy Court Program in three Montgomery County public schools and to provide technical assistance to one school for the 2013-2014 academic year.
We at CFCC are particularly pleased with this funding, which is an outgrowth of the federal earmark grant CFCC received a few years ago and with which we launched the TCP in Montgomery County. Montgomery County State’s Attorney John McCarthy and several of his Assistant State’s Attorneys have been instrumental in assisting with the operation of the TCP and obtaining continued funding after the expiration of the earmark.
All of us at CFCC are grateful for this wonderful collaboration, which permits some of our CFCC Student Fellows to work closely with Mr. McCarthy’s office.
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June 24, 2013 - Truancy Court Program Principal’s Workshop
CFCC held a principals’ workshop for school administrators interested to apply for its Truancy Court Program for the 2013-2014 school year. More than 40 participants from over 22 Baltimore City public schools attended the workshop. Dr. Beshon Trusty-Smith, the Manager of Baltimore City’s Office of Attendance and Truancy, made opening remarks. To learn more about the TCP and the application for the 2013-2014 school year, please visit the Truancy Court Program webpage. -
June 2013 - CFCC received $83,751 from the Maryland Judiciary’s Department of Family Administration Special Projects Grant Program.
The grant supports the operation of the TCP in five Baltimore City public schools for the 2013-2014 school year.
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June 2013 - CFCC received a $15,000 grant from the Zanvyl and Isabelle Krieger Fund to to continue operating the Truancy Court Program (TCP) in Baltimore City for the 2013-2014 school year.
The Krieger Fund gift helped operate the Samuel C. Taylor Elementary School TCP for the 2012-2013 school year. 22 of the 27 participants (81 percent) there graduated from the TCP, and they averaged a 41 percent reduction overall in unexcused absences during the TCP. -
May 2013 – CFCC has a new name: Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts
In honor of a gift of $1 million to the University of Baltimore John and Frances Angelos Law Center by Sayra Meyerhoff, J.D. ’78, M.S. ’04, and Neil Meyerhoff, CFCC now is known as the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts. Ms. Meyerhoff serves on the UBalt Foundation Board of Directors and the School of Law Advisory Council. -
May 31, 2013 – CFCC Director Barbara Babb spoke about family justice system reform at the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC) 50th Anniversary Conference in Los Angeles, CA
CFCC Director Barbara Babb made a presentation on family justice system reform at AFCC’s annual conference, “Catching the Wave: Family Courts Engage with Transformative Change,” on Friday, May 31. Her presentation focused on issues confronting the family justice system and reforms based on therapeutic jurisprudence and a holistic approach to law. -
May/June 2013 – CFCC moved to the new John and Frances Angelos Law Center
CFCC faculty and staff joined their law school colleagues in the new John and Frances Angelos Law Center. The $114.3 million, 190,000-square-foot building provides a new, innovative learning space for the UBalt School of Law. The 12-story law center includes 15 classrooms, 29 large- and small-group study spaces, a 32,000-square-foot library and a 300-seat moot court room and event space. The building uses state-of-the-art equipment for heating and cooling, rainwater capture and re-use, and advanced classroom technology. For more information, please visit the School of Law’s webpage dedicated to this new and transformative building. -
April 4, 2013 – CFCC’s 5th Annual Urban Child Symposium
This year’s Urban Child Symposium, “A Holistic Approach to the Urban Child’s Trauma: From the Eyes of the Beholder,” addressed the importance of considering exposure to childhood trauma when developing more effective means to address the problems that urban children and their families face. For more information, or to watch the podcasts of the event, please visit our Urban Child Symposium page. -
April 1, 2013 – The Daily Record published “UBalt Law’s Urban Child Symposium to Focus on Trauma” by Joe Surkiewicz
CFCC’s Fifth Annual Urban Child Symposium is the subject of an April 1 Daily Record feature. The article sets the stage for the symposium, entitled “A Holistic Approach to the Urban Child’s Trauma: From the Eyes of the Beholder,” slated for Thursday, April 4. The interdisciplinary symposium will address the importance of considering exposure to childhood trauma when developing more effective means to confront the problems that urban children and their families face.
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January 2013 - Maryland Law Review published Professor Barbara A. Babb's "Maryland's Family Divisions: Sensible Justice for Families and Children", a retrospective of the development of family courts in Maryland that honored the critical role played by Chief Judge Robert M. Bell.