Foreword

• Author: Donald N. Duquette,Maurice Portley
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/jfcj.12090
• Published date: 01 March 2017
• Date: 01 March 2017

Foreword

The Child Advocacy Law Clinic (CALC), at the University of Michigan Law

School, marked its 40

th

year in 2016. In 1976, CALC became the first law school clinic

specializing in child abuse and neglect and the lawyer’s role in representing the child,

parent and the state agency. Over these decades, CALC has participated in many efforts

to improve the lives of children who need protection because their parents or families are

unable to care for and protect them.

Over 400,000 children are in the foster care system at any given time. Regardless

of ideology, most agree that the system, which is ever changing, continues to be in need

of a significant overhaul to better meet the needs of children and their families. Across

the country, foster care systems have been the subject of federal lawsuits, have repeatedly

failed federal audits, and have been vilified by the media and commentators. In many

instances, the foster care system has failed children and the goal of permanency. As a

result, many have called for the creation of new systems to help children in foster care.

In observation of its 40

th

anniversary, CALC hosted the “Rethinking Foster Care

Conference” at the University of Michigan Law School in May 2016. Over 100 profes-

sionals, including practitioners, advocates, and national leaders from the child welfare

community, gathered to answer 2 questions —(1) If America’s foster care system was

built from scratch today, would it look like the system currently in place? and (2) What

should be the place of foster care in America’s child protection system?” The hope was

that this conversation, with a diverse group of leaders, could identify areas of agreement

and identify an agenda for action that could improve the experience of children in the

child welfare system.

The primary focus of this conference was rethinking the role of law and the courts.

Any involuntary child welfare intervention implicates fundamental liberties and the

interests of the child and the parents. No child enters or exits foster care without a court

order, but because the legal system should not be the principal response to child mal-

treatment in America, our conversation began by addressing what voluntary, preventive,

and supportive services should be available. Enhanced public health practices for children

and families hold the promise of protecting and nurturing children so that fewer of them

end up on the courthouse steps. Focusing our coercive, court-supervised, interventions in

the most severe cases, frees the courts to be more effective in handling the cases that need

intensive intervention.

CALC partnered with the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

(NCJFCJ) to share the outcomes of the conference in this special issue of the Juvenile and

Family Court Journal. The seven articles published in this “Rethinking Foster Care” issue

present new ideas, challenge previously held beliefs, and discuss opportunities for

improvement and reform. The NCJFCJ is in a position to continue this critical work to

achieve justice for children and families in the child welfare system. Special thanks to

Josh Kay, Clinical Assistant Professor of Law at the University of Michigan; Vivek San-

karan, Clinical Professor of Law at CALC; and the staff of the Juvenile and Family Court

Journal for editing the articles appearing in this special issue.

Juvenile and Family Court Journal 68, No. 1

©2017 National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges

5