May 2025

NACC Launches the

NACC has worked for nearly 50 years to establish children's right to counsel and ensure the rights of all children are recognized, protected, and championed.

The Children’s Justice Fund?strengthens our ability to uplift the rights and futures of children.?With your support, NACC can continue to lead necessary changes in the law, train legal advocates, and expand legal protections for young people. Together, we are building a future where every child’s rights are not only preserved but realized.

Stand with us.

Be a force for children's justice.

Preventative legal advocacy helps keep families together. Learn more through this ?NACC developed with the Barton Child Law and Policy Center.

NACC’s?Promoting Excellence Awards?are presented annually to individuals and institutions making significant contributions to the rights and well-being of children and families through high-quality legal representation.?NACC invites nominations for individual attorneys, organizations, and law students who demonstrate excellence in their advocacy efforts for children and families.?

This year, award nominations will be considered in four categories:

• Outstanding Legal Advocate
• Outstanding New Lawyer
• Outstanding Children’s Law Office/Agency
• Outstanding Law Student

Deadline for nominations is May 30.

?with NACC CEO Kim Dvorchak and Board President LaShanda Taylor Adams

May is National Foster Care Awareness and Mental Health Awareness Month

May is National Foster Care Month and National Mental Health Awareness Month. Youth in foster care need access to mental health supports to grow and thrive. Counsel for kids can advocate for youths' access to these vital services.

Join NACC on social media as we raise awareness about the importance of counsel for kids for youth in foster care and the importance of access to mental health services.

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May 30

10:30 am MST

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Join us on May 30 for a member webinar that explores the client-directed model of child representation, a powerful approach that centers youth voice and legal autonomy in child welfare proceedings.

What You’ll Learn:

·????? Core ethical responsibilities of client-directed attorneys

·????? Developmentally appropriate strategies to engage youth

·????? Best practices for advising and advocating for a child’s legal objectives

·????? How to elevate youth participation in court

·????? Practical guidance through real-life hypotheticals

·????? A look at the national legal landscape and emerging laws that support this model

?to reserve your spot and be part of the national movement supporting children’s legal rights and meaningful participation.

August 10

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Take your trial advocacy to the next level with Trial Skills for Child Welfare Attorneys—a dynamic, hands-on pre-conference training designed exclusively for child welfare legal professionals, including agency attorneys, prosecutors, parent attorneys, GALs, and children’s attorneys.

This intensive program brings the Red Book to life, distilling core concepts from Chapters 35 and 36 of the Red Book: Fundamentals of Child Welfare Law and Practice (4th Edition). You'll gain practical, immediately applicable strategies to sharpen your courtroom performance—from mastering direct and cross-examinations to navigating complex evidentiary issues with confidence and clarity.

Built specifically for attorneys who want to deepen their expertise and deliver stronger advocacy, this highly interactive training offers a rare opportunity to refine your skills in a supportive, expert-led environment.

Space is limited—reserve your seat now and elevate your impact in court and beyond.

Coming This Fall: NACC’s Flagship Training, Now On-Demand!

Get ready for Foundational Principles of Child Welfare Law & Practice—NACC’s signature Red Book Training, reimagined as a flexible, self-paced online course! Based on the 4th edition of the Red Book, this essential training strengthens your legal foundation and supports your path to Child Welfare Law Specialist (CWLS) certification. Explore core topics including legal structure, case progression, key issues, lawyering roles, and advocacy skills—on your schedule, at your pace.

Whether you're building a strong start or advancing your expertise, this course is your next step toward excellence in child welfare law.

Interested in licensing this training for your team or organization? Contact us at training@...

Bring NACC Training to Your State – Customized, Impactful, and Built for Your Practice

Elevate child welfare practice in your jurisdiction with a customized training experience from NACC. We partner with states and local jurisdictions to design dynamic, state-specific courses that strengthen legal advocacy for children, parents, and agencies—whether delivered onsite or online.

When you engage NACC to develop a custom course, you gain more than a training—you get a tailored, collaborative experience designed to meet your community’s unique needs. Here’s what to expect:

• An Incubator Session with local practitioners and judges to surface pressing legal and practice issues
• A Tailored Curriculum featuring your state’s statutes, rules, case law, and child welfare system nuances
• Interactive, Practice-Focused Delivery that boosts legal knowledge and equips attendees with concrete advocacy strategies

Whether you're training new attorneys, experienced practitioners, or judges, NACC builds engaging, jurisdiction-specific programs that empower your legal community to deliver high-quality representation.

?Ready to explore a custom training for your jurisdiction? Reach out to us at training@...?to start the conversation.

Federal Updates

• The Department of Justice ?~365 grants totaling over $800 million dollars. Several of these grants impact child welfare and related areas.?A 30-day appeal period is pending.
• ?(S.Amdt. 1661) was added to H.Con.Res.14 and states, "to create a point of order against legislation that defunds essential services for children, families, and seniors, including programs that feed hungry seniors like Meals on Wheels, Head Start and other child care assistance that allows parents to work and pay their bills, and programs that keep children safe from abuse and neglect, to give massive tax cuts to billionaires." The Amendment was rejected by voice vote.
• Following ?from the Eastern District of Texas District Court, the ?for LGBTQIA+ youth is no longer in effect.
• The Senate passed ?to designate April 2025 as "National Child Abuse Prevention Month."

NACC Joins Sign-On Letters and Endorsements

• : NACC joined a sign-on letter to Members of Congress urging them to reject damaging cuts and structural changes to Medicaid, SNAP, TANF, and SSBG. Combined these four programs represent nearly one-third of all investments in children.
• : NACC joined over 600 organizations in endorsing the Equality Act. If passed, the bill would prohibit discrimination based on sex, sexual orientation, and gender identity.
• NACC endorsed the American Indian and Alaska Native Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act.
• : NACC?joined several organizations in endorsing Senators Wyden, Markey, and King's resolution urging the Senate to call on HHS to uphold current practices that involve the public in rulemaking and to withdraw a proposal that would limit opportunities for public notice and comment.
• ?from budget reconciliation bill: NACC joined over 360 organizations to urge members of the Ways and Means Committee to protect and maintain full funding for SSBG.

Amicus

• K.W. v The City of New York et. al.: NACC and partners ?about the harms of removal and children's related constitutional rights
• The Alaska Supreme Court ?in the case of OCS v. Z.C, in which NACC joined partners ?in 2022.

Counsel for Kids Legislative Updates:

?(C4K) works throughout state legislative sessions to preserve and expand the right to counsel for youth.

The Missouri House and Senate passed ?(Companion to Senate Bill 43). The bill is awaiting the?Governor's signature. Beginning January 1, 2028 the bill?will require the appointment of legal counsel for children 14 and older who are subject to child protection court proceedings. An appointed guardian ad litem?(GAL) would transition to serve as a client-directed attorney at the child’s 14th birthday, unless a judge determines the child to have diminished capacity. The bill would also establish a “Coordinating Board” within the state supreme court responsible for establishing training requirements and standards of practice for GALs, children’s attorneys, and parent attorneys.??

The?Iowa Senate Health and Human Services Subcommittee held a public hearing on ?(renumbered from House File 373) establishing the right to client-directed counsel for all youth on April 3.?NACC Policy Counsel Natalece Washington testified in support of the bill.?The bill was held by the committee for future consideration in 2026, the 2^nd?year of the biennial session.?

The?Montana legislature established the right to counsel with ?(2023). Proposed legislation () would have removed the unqualified guarantee of counsel for youth, allowing the state to forego appointment of counsel when a child is appointed a CASA.?NACC’s C4K team joined stakeholders to oppose this rollback and submitted ?for the Judiciary Committee.?The offending language was successfully removed from the bill before the bill was passed by the House on April 4.

Last session the New Hampshire?legislature passed ?guaranteeing the right to counsel for youth in residential institutional care. This session ?was made to delay the phased-in implementation of this limited right to counsel for 2 years.?Advocates successfully challenged the proposed delay and secured a lesser delay of 6 months.

NACCLR and State Coordinator in the News

• Kansas State Coordinator Kerrie Lonard?is quoted in ""
• ?member?Kristen Nicole Powell?wrote an article, "."

Partner Resources

• Webinar Opportunity: . The webinar is on Wednesday, May 7, 2025, at?11 am MT.
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Are you ready to enhance your practice? Become a certified .

Get your copy of the Red Book

NACC is proud to publish??also known as “the Red Book”.

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The fourth edition includes new topics and contributors:??

• Case details: from investigation to appeals?
• Focus on racial and LGBTQ+ justice?
• Focus on dual-status youth and parents/children with disabilities?
• Systemic, preventive, and multidisciplinary advocacy?
• And much more!?

Red Book - Imperfect Condition - Almost Gone!

Don't judge a book by its cover!

If you don't mind a Red Book that's a little broken in, order an?and save. All the same content, with minor wear or damage to the cover.

Children's Law Office Guidebook - 2nd Edition

NACC published the latest edition of the .?The Guidebook includes contributions from 55 law office leaders and senior staff and demonstrates the growth and development of the field.?This is an essential resource for law office leaders!

Early registration is now open!

Save $100 off the regular registration rate when you register now for the ?Catalysts for Change: Innovating Advocacy though Power Sharing and Transformational Leadership.

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Onsite in Cleveland

Monday, August 11 - Wednesday, August 13, 2025

Preconference Sunday, August 10, 2025

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Online in November

Wednesday, November 12 - Friday, November 14, 2025

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Pre-conference

Sunday, August 10, 2025

NACC’s Red Book Training is our signature training, designed to provide a comprehensive overview of child welfare law and practice as well as to assist attorneys in preparing for the Child Welfare Law Specialist (CWLS) certification exam.

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Pre-Conference Red Book Training Tier 2:

Sunday, August 10, 2025

Take your trial advocacy skills to the next level with Red Book Training Course Tier 2: Trial Skills for Child Welfare Attorneys – an exclusive training designed to elevate trial practice for child welfare attorneys, including agency attorneys, prosecutors, parent attorneys, GAL attorneys, and children’s attorneys. ?Space is limited.

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Sunday, August 10, 2025

Back for a second year is our free Self-Compassion Hike experience offered by our friends at Casey Family Programs. This experience will be a safe and stress-free way to spend an evening while at Conference. Our sponsors arrange everything, including transportation to a tranquil location where we can enjoy and experience nature of the area, a boxed-dinner, and a brief discussion on the benefits of nature experiences and connecting with our colleagues. Space is limited for this free event.

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Book your room

Our ?at the Hilton Cleveland Downtown is open and taking reservations.?Do not delay!

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Sponsor, Exhibit, Advertise

Sponsorship, Advertising, and Exhibiting are excellent ways to promote your organization, products, and services to a wide range of multi-disciplinary legal professionals serving children and families. Visit the ?for more details and to apply.

Check out NACC’s Resource Center! Filter by topic area, resource type, and view NACC’s Information Hubs:??

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National and State Listservs: Join the conversation with child welfare practitioners across the country by . Ask your peers questions about cases, policy, and share success stories and challenges.

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Publications and Journals:??

• Prior issues of our quarterly law journal,
• Prior issues of this newsletter, ?

Training, Webinars, and Practical Skills: ??

• Members-Only Webinars: View .?
• : View past conference session handouts and materials

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Want to join the NACC listserv? Need help logging in? Email Membership@...?

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Join the conversation on social media!?

#ChildRep2025 #NACC2025 #Counsel4Kids

#ChildWelfareLawSpecialist?#CWLS

#PromotingExcellence #BuildingCommunity #AdvancingJustice?

National Association of Counsel for Children |

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