November, 2010
Attorneys Offer Technical Assistance to New York City’s Administration for Children’s Services.
Barbara Shaklee and Christine Sullivan Wilson will travel to New York City in November at the invitation of its Family Court Legal Services, whose attorneys are the equivalent of Denver’s City Attorneys in child protection proceedings.
Unlike Colorado, New York laws do not provide for an expedited process for court cases involving abused and neglected children. During the summer, a contingent of FCLS attorneys visited Denver to examine case management practices under Colorado’s Expedited Permanency Planning laws.
Following their visit, the FCLS attorneys designed a pilot project to speed up permanency for children. Ms. Shaklee and Ms. Wilson will review and comment on the plan. They will meet with attorneys and judges and observe court proceedings in all five of the boroughs of New York City. They are enthusiastic about the opportunity to share their experience with the development of the expedited processes, and they look forward to discovering practices in New York that may improve Denver’s work for children and families.