May 2020
Full Court Press
is the newsletter of the University of Baltimore School of Law
Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC).
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Adapting to the New Reality of COVID-19
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By Barbara A. Babb
Just like everyone reading this, CFCC has spent the last three months adapting to the new reality of COVID-19. The closing of Baltimore City Public Schools, where we operate our Truancy Court Program (TCP), has impacted our work significantly. Figuring out how
to implement a program to improve attendance when schools are closed is a pretty big challenge! During our work on this task, however, we are reminded that the TCP is equal parts supporting children and families and improving attendance. The TCP has continued its role during this difficult time to help families with essential supports, such as food, housing, and preparing for the next school year.
CFCC Student Fellows, second and third year law students, also have received new assignments due to COVID-19. Of particular relevance, we highlight one student's report on the impact of the coronavirus on minority populations.
Our work during the pandemic has made us even more keenly aware of the fragile nature of the populations we serve. Some of our TCP families have struggled to feed their children or have become homeless during this crisis. I am proud that CFCC staff members and University of Baltimore law students have worked quickly and effectively to help where they can.
Barbara A. Babb is an Associate Professor, University of Baltimore School of Law, and the Founder and Director of the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts.
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CFCC’s Truancy Court Program:
15 Years of Challenges, Growth
and Accomplishment
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Revamping the Truancy Court Program For Now
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During a typical week, CFCC's Truancy Court Program Team (TCP Team) travels among five Baltimore City Public Schools to meet with students, parents/caregivers, teachers, and school administrators. The team facilitates at each school weekly table sessions presided over by volunteer Maryland judges and TCP Coordinator Spencer Hall, restorative circles led by TCP Mentor Arion Alston, and one-on-one meetings with students by TCP Attorney Katie Davis and/or TCP Social Worker Eileen Canfield.
Throughout each week, the TCP Team reaches out to TCP families and students – both in person and via e-mail, phone, and text – to encourage school attendance and academic success and to put in place various supports to help make that happen.
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The new normal for TCP school consultations: The TCP Team confers with Judge Miriam Hutchins
(upper right)
and Abby Baldwin
(center)
, Community School Coordinator, Academy for College and Career Exploration, about how to help TCP students and families during the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown.
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Focusing on Essential Supports
In response to Governor Larry Hogan’s decision to close all Maryland public schools on March 16, 2020, the TCP Team immediately went to work to identify ways to operate a school-based program while schools remain closed.
The TCP Team has ramped up e-mail, phone, and text outreach to TCP students and families to offer emotional support, as well as referrals, resources, and concrete products. Since March 16, team members have become experts on the COVID-19 response in Baltimore City.
The TCP Team has disseminated information and resources about free food distribution sites, hygiene supplies, access to physical and mental health services, virtual academic assistance, special education services, Home and Hospital services, housing, public benefits, and other needs. The TCP Team has encouraged families to pick up their students’ work packets from schools and has shared links for online academic resources. Team members have helped to ensure students receive district-issued Chromebooks and have access to online learning. The TCP Team continues to assist families who need immediate access to housing and to answer questions related to educational services, prospects for summer employment, and related issues.
The TCP's volunteer judges have enthusiastically stepped up to continue their vital role motivating students and holding them accountable, now meeting with students and school contacts by using video conferences during the TCP's virtual sessions.
Helping the Most Vulnerable Self-Advocate
Many TCP families are among Baltimore’s most vulnerable, afflicted with poverty, substance use, mental health concerns, and unstable housing, among others. Often, TCP families are overwhelmed by multiple problems and lack capacity to advocate for themselves. During the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, the TCP Attorney has worked with a gifted 7th grader who suffers from anxiety. Her mother cares deeply about education and wants her child in school more consistently in the future. The TCP Attorney has explained that a 504 Plan that recognizes the student’s struggles with anxiety might help, as well as a program, Home and Hospital, that provides academic instruction to students who miss school due to chronic illness. The mother continues to work with the TCP Attorney to apply for these supports. This is just one example of many that have occurred during this time.
As the school year winds down, the TCP Team is now turning its focus to the upcoming school year. What will it look like? Different in many respects, certainly.
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How Minorities Are Affected by COVID-19
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By Hadassah Bauerle
In the United States, the coronavirus has affected people differently, depending upon the resources they have. The poor in America are more likely to have underlying health conditions, making infection of the virus significantly more dangerous; are more likely to be working outside the home at essential jobs and relying on public transportation, making the likelihood of infection much higher; and are less likely to be insured. Each of these factors of inequality on its own is magnified further during this pandemic and creates disparate outcomes, according to Jon Zelner, a University of Michigan epidemiologist.
Where They Live, What They Do
According to U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, people of color are more likely to live in crowded housing situations, with several generations living in one home. They often live in densely inhabited areas, creating a higher likelihood for the spread of disease. Blacks and Latinos also are more likely to work at essential jobs, interacting with people outside of their immediate household and continuously being exposed to infection.
The data regarding infection reflects these racial considerations. In New York City, Latino and Black residents are dying at twice the rate as white residents. In Chicago, 72% of deaths are Blacks, even though African Americans make up only 29% of the city’s population. Furthermore, 52% of those who have tested positive in Chicago are Black. In New Mexico, 25% of positive cases are Native Americans, even though they make up only 6% of the state’s population. In Maryland, 52% of coronavirus-related deaths are African Americans, despite making up only 31% of the state’s population.
Income Disparity and Related Health Conditions
Another factor that impacts health disparities in the U.S. is income. Americans who struggle financially also struggle to stay healthy. Americans living in poverty work at jobs they cannot do from home, and they also cannot afford to limit work as a way to avoid exposure. Those with low income may not seek treatment as quickly and may suffer greater consequences as a result of the infection.
Underlying health conditions can make coronavirus more dangerous because the disease taxes organs that are already burdened. Seventy-five percent of coronavirus patients who have required ICU treatment in America have had preexisting health conditions such as diabetes, chronic lung conditions, and heart disease. In America, African Americans are much more likely to have underlying heart conditions than any other group. Blacks are also more likely to suffer from diabetes, coronary diseases, high blood pressure, and other medical conditions. Because African Americans have higher rates of chronic medical conditions, they are more likely to become sick and have more severe reactions to coronavirus.
Need to Address Disparities
Although the coronavirus can strike anyone and has devastating effects on people regardless of age, gender, or racial groups, the Americans most at risk of contracting the disease and being disproportionately negatively impacted are those who are poor and people of color. It is crucial that lawmakers and leaders continue to address the needs of these vulnerable citizens, who are severely affected as the virus continues to spread throughout the country. Furthermore, due to the distrust of white leadership, it is important that Black community leaders rise up and encourage the community to take necessary precautions to protect themselves against infection and the spread of the coronavirus.
Hadassah Bauerle is a CFCC Student Fellow, Class of 2019-2020.
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Noteworthy
Presentations, Collaborations, and Events
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October 8, 2020 —
20th Anniversary Celebration of CFCC
and
15th Anniversary Celebration of CFCC’s Truancy Court Program
. For more information, contact
cfcc@ubalt.edu.
October 9 to 10, 2020 — CFCC will cohost the prestigious
Therapeutic Jurisprudence Scholars' Convening
with the International Society for Jurisprudence (ISTJ). The convening allows experts in the field of therapeutic jurisprudence (TJ) to present and collaborate on works in progress. Practitioners new to TJ are also welcome to attend. Contact
cfcc@ubalt.edu
for more information.
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Increase Skills in Psychology, Child Development,
and Mental Health Matters for Family Law
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The Fall 2020 classes of
The University of Baltimore School of Law Post-J.D. Certificate in Family Law
will focus on:
- Psychology, Child Development, and Mental Health in Family Law Matters
- Financial Foundations for Family Lawyers
Application deadline:
Aug. 1, 2020
This 16-credit certificate program features an in-depth, interdisciplinary, and practice-focused curriculum that prepares attorneys for the full range of issues in the fast-growing practice of family law.
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The University of Baltimore School of Law Post-J.D. Certificate in Family Law is
now offered exclusively online.
Connect and learn the ins and outs of practicing law from top attorneys in Maryland!
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Authors
Barbara A. Babb and
Judith D. Moran envision the family court as a “care center" and make a compelling case that reforms to the family justice system are necessary to achieve positive, long-lasting outcomes for families and children.
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CFCC's
Truancy Court Program Toolkit, Second Edition provides a step-by-step guide on how to start and maintain an effective truancy reduction program. The
Toolkit can be adapted to suit individual schools or entire jurisdictions.
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About CFCC
The Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC) promotes policies and practices that unite families, communities, and the justice system to improve the lives of children and families and the health of communities. CFCC advocates the use of therapeutic jurisprudence, the understanding that the legal system has an effect on behavior, emotions, and mental health, and an ecological or holistic approach to problem-solving.
CFCC is led by Barbara A. Babb,
Associate Professor of Law at the University of Baltimore School of Law; Founder and Director of the Sayra and Neil Meyerhoff Center for Families, Children and the Courts (CFCC); Director of the Post-J.D. Certificate in Family Law program at the University of Baltimore School of Law; and Editor-in-Chief of
Family Court Review,
published by the Association of Family and Conciliation Courts (AFCC).
CFCC Staff and Contributors
Rebecca Stahl, CFCC Deputy Director; Michele Hong, CFCC Program Manager; Arion Alston, Truancy Court Program Mentor; Eileen Canfield, Truancy Court Program Social Worker; Katie Davis, Truancy Court Program Attorney;
Spencer Hall, Truancy Court Program Coordinator;
Katrice Williams, CFCC Program Administrative Specialist.
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Connect with us.
410.837-5750 or cfcc@ubalt.edu
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