UMKC Child & Family Services Clinic (Law 752S)

Professor Mary Kay O’Mally

The goals of the UMKC Child and Family Services Clinic are to provide legal representation of the highest quality to children in foster care and their caregivers:

§ by collaborating with attorneys and other professionals in the community to identify cases in need of legal assistance;

§ by the provision of these legal services by law students, under the supervision of a clinic attorney, and

§ by the education and training of these students in law and procedures relating to child advocacy so that, upon graduation, they will be fully competent to handle court appointments to these cases.

Clinical Instructional Activities:

The general educational goals of the clinical program and its clinical courses include teaching students basic lawyering skills, such as interviewing, negotiation, case preparation, and trial and appellate practice; introducing students to the operation of the child welfare system and to the participants in that system; and developing in students an understanding and appreciation of issues of professional responsibility. Clinic students will spend the majority of their time on casework, learning from the experience of working in a professional role.

The clinic will be structured to prepare students for their casework and to provide them with support and supervision in the representation of their clients. All clinic students will attend a series of introductory classes that include readings, simulation exercises, and group discussions that will :

§ Provide students with an orientation to clinical practice and professional responsibility

§ Train students, through readings and simulated practice sessions, in basic lawyering skills such as interviewing and counseling, file review, interdisciplinary collaboration, and advocacy.

§ Educate students on the relevant substantive law and procedures.

Students will begin their case work early in the clinic experience, first in the role of observing procedures, and later, in actual representation. The clinical faculty will participate in and supervise the casework throughout the semester. Individual and group case review sessions will be used to monitor the students' client representation

Students may enroll in the clinical course for either one or two semesters. Clinical courses will be offered for academic credit on a pass/fail basis. Three credits will be awarded for the first semester a student is enrolled in the course, during which the student must attend all introductory classes. Three additional credits will be awarded in the optional second semester of the course when the student concentrates exclusively on casework and will be required to participate only in selective coursework. All students must attend all case review sessions. Students may not receive compensation for their work in the clinic. Students may not work for compensation in the same office in which they are also participating as a clinical student. Students may not participate in more than one clinic at a time. Students are cautioned against part-time employment while enrolled in the clinic. In order to screen for conflicts of interest, all students must disclose any part-time legal employment (whether paid or volunteer) they are or will be undertaking during the clinic year. Students must apply for Rule 13 certification for law student practice. Students may apply in the dean’s office. The applications may take up to eight weeks to be approved; thus, early application is critical if students are to be eligible to undertake courtroom representation upon beginning their field work.

Case Selection and Student Representation Activities:

Cases will be referred to the clinical faculty supervisor by the Children’s Division, the Family Court, the Office of the Guardian Ad Litem, members of the Kansas City pro bono juvenile law community, and private non-profit institutions and organizations serving families. The clinic instructor will select cases based on the priority of need presented by the case, the suitability for student participation, the compatibility of timing of legal services with academic calendars, and the educational value to the students of involvement in the case. The clinic’s highest priority will be to provide representation to those individuals who are situated to provide safe and permanent homes for children in crisis who would otherwise be unable to afford legal representation. The clinic is unlikely to undertake traditional domestic relations representation (e.g., divorces, child custody or child support actions). Student caseloads will be controlled carefully in order to create an optimal environment for learning and to assure the highest quality representation for the clients. On average, clinic students will be expected to devote approximately eight hours per week to their casework. However, workloads vary considerably during the semester in clinical courses with substantial commitments of time required when a case becomes particularly active.

Student representation activities while in the clinic may include:

§ Reviewing case files and undertaking appropriate research or investigation;

§ Collaborating with other professionals to develop long-range permanency plans for the child

§ Drafting pleadings and motions to be filed in a variety of courts, including Circuit Court, Family Court or Probate Court. The pleadings and motions might be to establish guardianship, paternity, or adoption or to represent children or their caregivers in a variety of juvenile court proceedings.

Study Links:

Text of the Federal Child Welfare Law (Titiles IV-B and IV-E), as Amended by the New Adoption and Safe Families Act

Guidelines for Public Policy and State Legislation Governing Permanence for Children (from Children's Bureau of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services)