11:30 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Old Judiciary Room, Connecticut State Capitol
210 Capitol Avenue
Hartford, Connecticut 06106

Lunch is available by 11:15 a.m. with the program beginning promptly at 11:30 a.m.

An Educational Opportunity for Invited Policymakers, Attorneys, and Advocates:

Connecticut recently changed how it appoints attorneys for children and parents in child protective services proceedings. A new Commission on Child Protection is charged with improving the quality of legal representation in these most important of all cases – those in which the safety and well-being of children and the integrity of the family lie in the balance. High quality legal representation can help ensure that these children get the help they need, families get the support necessary to avert foster care placements whenever possible, and children who must be removed from their families can achieve permanence in their lives as quickly as possible.

Join us as we hear from experts who will discuss “best practice” models of legal representation that are being used in other states and ways to enhance Connecticut’s current system.

Speakers and Presenters:

Michele Cortese, Deputy Director and Vice President, Center for Family Representation, New York City
Shelley Geballe, President and Cofounder, Connecticut Voices for Children

Mark Hardin, Director, National Child Welfare Resource Center on Legal and Judicial Issues, American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law, Washington, D.C.

Robert F. Harris, Cook County [Illinois] Public Guardian

Cameron Iacovelli, Connecticut Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative participant

Honorable William J. Lavery, Chief Court Administrator, State Connecticut of Connecticut

Andrew McDonald, Connecticut State Senator

Sania Metzger, Director of Policy, Casey Family Services, New Haven, Connecticut

Douglas J. Monaghan, attorney in private practice, Connecticut

Carolyn Signorelli, Chief Child Protection Attorney, State of Connecticut

Raymond L. Torres, Executive Director, Casey Family Services, New Haven, Connecticut

Sponsors:
“Their Day in Court” is sponsored by the Annie E. Casey Foundation/Casey Family Services, Connecticut Voices for Children, Connecticut Senate President Pro Tempore Donald Williams, the Center for Children’s Advocacy, the Connecticut Bar Foundation James W. Cooper Fellows, the Connecticut Commission on Child Protection, the Connecticut Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative, and the Connecticut Office of the Child Advocate. Technical assistance for this event is provided by the Connecticut Judicial Branch’s State Court Improvement Program.

RSVP/More Information
Please RSVP by Wednesday, November 11, 2006
policy@caseyfamilyservices.org
203.401.6970