The Children's Law Podcast – Details, episodes & analysis

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The Children's Law Podcast

True North Child Advocates

Government

Frequency: 1 episode/34d. Total Eps: 72

Welcome to the Children’s Law Podcast brought to you by True North Child Advocates. Our goal is to empower children’s lawyers to help abused and neglected children get home faster. Listen as we discuss practical tips, our unique permanency-focused practice philosophy, and topics of interest for any child welfare professional working to improve outcomes for kids.

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Apple Podcasts

🇨🇦 Canada - government
09/01/2026
#81
🇨🇦 Canada - government
08/01/2026
#54
🇬🇧 Great Britain - government
10/09/2025
#87
🇬🇧 Great Britain - government
09/09/2025
#57
🇬🇧 Great Britain - government
08/06/2025
#84
🇬🇧 Great Britain - government
07/06/2025
#56
🇺🇸 USA - government
27/04/2025
#89
🇺🇸 USA - government
26/04/2025
#64

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https://www.thetrevorproject.org
207 shares
https://traumahealing.org/
151 shares
https://www.davidambroz.com/
13 shares

https://www.instagram.com/hjdambroz
5 shares

https://twitter.com/daveambroz?lang=en
1 share

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Score global : 27%

Publication history

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I'm Not a Clinician, But...

mardi 8 avril 2025 • Duration 29:33

A LOT of the kids we're representing are being prescribed psychotropic medications - especially the older youth. John, Angela, and Deborah talk about ways children's attorneys can get more information and confidence in this area to effectively advocate for clients even if we don't have medical expertise:

The NIH says children in foster care are 6.8% more likely to be prescribed psychotropic medication than their non-foster care peers. As children's attorneys and not medical professionals, it is not our role to diagnose, but it is our role to make sure decision-makers have complete information, ask questions, and make sure everyone has done their due diligence before our clients are added to this very high number.
Some children need medicine but what's the full picture? Are the problematic behaviors related to a trauma response? Do they persist across all aspects of the child's life (home, school, etc.)? Are there other therapies or supports that should be used instead of or in addition to the medication?
Is everyone following the law? Because of the severity of side effects of some psychotropic medications and because some are not approved for use in children specifically, most states have detailed statutes, administrative rules, and/or operating procedures. Sometimes just holding the system accountable to the child by ensuring the law is followed is enough to protect your client.

Are 60,000 TPRs Necessary?

vendredi 14 mars 2025 • Duration 35:52

In this episode, Angela interviews Professor Vivek Sankaran, Director of the Child Advocacy Law and Child Welfare Appellate Clinics at the University of Michigan's School of Law. Professor Sankaran encourages stakeholders to question whether TPR is in the best interests of as many children as we think it is. He and Angela talk about his article, The ties that bind us: An empirical, clinical, and constitutional argument against terminating parental rights, which found over 60,000 TPRs were granted annually between 2016-2019, despite a declining foster care population. While recognizing TPR is necessary in some cases, he poses some thoughtful questions for others.

NACC: New Tools to Elevate Your Practice

lundi 8 juillet 2024 • Duration 20:54

In this episode, Angela talks with Shannon Felder, Training Director at the National Association of Counsel for Children. Listen to learn about upcoming training opportunities and ways to connect with fellow children's lawyers. And be sure to join us at the NACC conference in Salt Lake City August 12-14, 2024! We will be presenting at the preconference Children's Law Office Project Convening. We hope to see you there!
Click HERE to register
To learn more about NACC membership or to join, click HERE.

Objection! No One is Leading.

vendredi 24 mai 2024 • Duration 17:59

Have you ever seen a dependency case that looks more like a tennis match? The parties volleying back and forth, waiting to see if the parents will succeed? In some jurisdictions, everyone is doing their job, but no one is leading. In this episode, we want to encourage children's attorneys to take charge. We think one of the most consequential things you can do for your clients is to think of yourself as lead counsel. Listen to learn how you can boldly step into the role of lead counsel and achieve better outcomes for your clients.

Let's Talk Adoption

mardi 23 avril 2024 • Duration 14:23

Some of our child clients have been talking to John and Jim about adoption, which inspired an episode about how we think of adoption as children's attorneys:

It's important to understand all the things that come with and all the things that get taken away with adoption.
Federal policies and local practices seem to swing on a pendulum as to whether adoption is to be emphasized or strenuously avoided, but we focus on finding the best possible option for each singular client and keep it in our tool belts.
One way we think of the issue is that adoption is about the risk of harm from the continued pursuit of reunification versus the risk of harm due to the loss of their birth family. As a child's attorney, knowing your client and the dynamics affecting them will help you recognize when adoption might be the best strategy for the child. Thanks for listening and please share with others who might find the podcast helpful!

Placement Considerations for Children's Attorneys

vendredi 22 mars 2024 • Duration 25:39

Placement decisions happen fast and are made by the agency - usually without any input from attorneys representing children. The child's placement impacts the case A LOT so we wanted to do a podcast about the things we think about when it comes to placement.

It's the agency's job to find a placement right away, but evaluating whether the placement will ultimately facilitate permanency for the child is yours. If reunification seems likely, should the kids be with a couple that wants to adopt? If TPR looks probable, do you let a baby stay in a placement that separates her from her 11 year old sister?
Getting the home study and critically reviewing it can help identify omissions that will help keep the child safe or, alternatively, possibilities for placement that shouldn't be ruled out.
Talking to the child - both at the placement and away from the home - is always important. Listen and trust your instincts.

Children's attorneys don't always have a lot of options when it comes to impacting the child's placement. However, since the placement impacts your overall legal strategy it can't be considered in a vacuum. We hope our discussion gives you some ideas for your jurisdiction!

Can Singing in the Car Make You a Better Children's Lawyer?

vendredi 2 février 2024 • Duration 22:10

We talk about work culture and retention a lot in child welfare. Angela talks with Cathy Krebs, Director of the ABA's Children’s Rights Litigation Committee who thinks a new approach to these topics could lead to ways to improve representation. A few of the subjects covered were:

Burnout and self-care - Cathy tells a story of a child client who's attorney seemed so distracted and overwhelmed that the child decided not to "burden" the lawyer with what was happening in her life. The need for self-care is real, and doing anything from singing to cooking to meditation has benefit.
Mentorship - Attorneys with even a couple years of experience can help others who don't know the culture or may be working alone.
Community - If you're a solo practitioner or in a smaller children's law office, there are things you can do within existing resources to create a supportive network, like brown bag lunches or collaborating on systemic advocacy.

The ABA's Children's Rights Committee has resources on this topic and tons of others. Some of the studies mentioned include:

The Future of Children’s Lawyering
Practical Tips for Addressing Burnout
Using Reflective Case Consultation to Battle Burnout and Secondary Traumatic Stress
2021 Illinois Legal Aid Recruitment and Retention Study
What Draws Attorneys to Child Welfare Practice
The Case for a Centralized Office for Legal Representation in Child Welfare Cases

Takeaways from 2023

mardi 9 janvier 2024 • Duration 17:13

In this episode, Angela, John and Jim discuss a few key takeaways from 2023.

Messaging to Win Hearts and Minds

mardi 21 novembre 2023 • Duration 18:20

Sometimes you can move a case with legal arguments and procedural tools, but other times, you have to win hearts and minds. In our newest podcast, Jim, John and Angela share how learning to message in this way can help your child client.

Collaborative or Adversarial?

mercredi 1 novembre 2023 • Duration 13:21

Angela and Jim discuss the adversarial nature of the dependency system, and how to find a balance between a collaborative and adversarial approach to representing children.