UC Berkeley Launches Family Defense Clinic to Aid Marginalized Parents

December 19, 2024

In 2025 or 2026, UC Berkeley’s School of Law will inaugurate a groundbreaking initiative: the Family Defense Clinic. This innovative clinic will be the first of its kind on the West Coast, offering law students the opportunity to support parents who face the potential removal of their children due to allegations of abuse or neglect. The establishment of the clinic is driven by a concerted effort to address significant gaps in legal services for indigent parents, especially those belonging to marginalized communities. Such systemic shortcomings have long plagued the child welfare system, leading to disproportionate impacts on economically disadvantaged families.

Visionary Founders and Their Mission

The three visionary individuals behind this initiative are Justine DeSilva, Ariane Walter, and Greta Sloan, who collectively founded the UC Berkeley Family Defense Project in 2022. Their commitment to aiding parents in the Bay Area’s child welfare system inspired the full-fledged clinic that aims to train future lawyers to represent low-income parents threatened by child removal by state intervention. Notably, this initiative also endeavors to provide comprehensive assistance beyond immediate court proceedings, addressing a broader range of challenges such as basic needs and record expungement.

Pioneering attorney Martin Guggenheim, a prominent figure in family defense law, states that this effort is of paramount importance. Nearly three decades ago, Guggenheim founded the first family defense clinic at New York University School of Law. His interdisciplinary model, combining legal representation with support from social workers and parent advocates, has proven to reduce the time children spend in foster care and enhance holistic legal support for families. Guggenheim views Berkeley’s initiative as not just a training ground for future lawyers but also a means to serve the local community, especially catering to those who have been chronically underserved.

Addressing Disparities in the Child Welfare System

California data reveal that Black, Indigenous, and low-income families are disproportionately represented in the state’s child welfare system. In Alameda County alone, where UC Berkeley is situated, Black children constitute about 10% of the population yet represent a staggering 43% of open dependency cases. Despite being paired with court-appointed attorneys, indigent parents often find the legal assistance inadequate, as it tends to be narrowly focused on foster care proceedings. Their broader needs, often rooted in economic instability and systemic biases, remain unaddressed.

The UC Berkeley Family Defense Clinic aims to rectify these limitations by providing a more extensive support system for parents. Although the exact structure of the clinic is still under development, it will likely entail a semester-long seminar on child welfare policies and hands-on fieldwork supervised by clinical professors. The students will assist parents grappling with trauma, substance abuse, mental health issues, and the daunting threat of losing their parental rights. Their tasks are expected to include advocating for parents during Child Protective Services (CPS) investigations, connecting them with social services, and facilitating administrative proceedings to clear records of alleged maltreatment.

Filling a Critical Gap in Legal Education

Alexandria Cinney from the American Bar Association’s Center on Children and the Law highlights the rarity of law school programs dedicated to parent defense. Nationally, only about eight such programs exist, compared to over 60 that prepare students to represent children. This substantial disparity underscores the critical need for initiatives like Berkeley’s Family Defense Clinic, which fills a significant gap in legal education and advocacy. Bridging this gap is essential to ensure fair representation for all parties involved in child welfare proceedings.

The creation of the Family Defense Clinic at UC Berkeley is also a direct result of concerted advocacy by former law students. Greta Sloan, Justine DeSilva, and Ariane Walter started the Family Defense Project in 2022 to bolster support for Bay Area parents involved in the child welfare system and to encourage peers to pursue careers in parent defense. Over the course of three cohorts, students in this project have assisted parents under investigation, conducted know-your-rights training sessions, and researched systemic biases in the child welfare system based on race, socioeconomic status, and other factors. These efforts have raised awareness about family defense within the law school and inspired some students to shift their career goals towards this critical area.

Broader Implications for Social Justice

Sloan, now working with Bronx Defenders in New York, elaborates on the intrinsic connection between parent representation and broader issues of racial, economic, and reproductive justice. Sloan emphasizes that the systemic injustices facing families of color, such as unstable housing, rising child care costs, and mental health challenges, are often misinterpreted as grounds for child removal. The Family Defense Clinic aims to shine a light on these civil rights violations, advocating for holistic support and equity for affected parents. This approach seeks to dismantle prejudiced frameworks within the system and promote reformations that benefit disadvantaged communities.

UC Berkeley’s School of Law already operates six other clinics that offer hands-on learning experiences in various legal fields, including environmental protection and death penalty rights. Dean Erwin Chemerinsky has announced plans to expand further by adding five more clinical professors and three new clinics over the next five years. These expansions reflect the institution’s continued commitment to practical legal education and addressing emerging societal issues through a proactive approach.

Interdisciplinary Approach and Community Impact

In 2025 or 2026, UC Berkeley’s School of Law plans to launch an innovative Family Defense Clinic, marking a significant milestone as the first such clinic on the West Coast. This pioneering program will offer law students the chance to assist parents at risk of losing their children due to accusations of abuse or neglect. The creation of this clinic is a response to notable gaps in legal support for low-income parents, particularly those in marginalized communities. Historically, these systemic deficiencies have plagued the child welfare system, resulting in disproportionate and adverse effects on families with limited economic resources. By addressing these gaps, the clinic aims to provide a crucial lifeline for parents who lack adequate legal representation, thereby helping to create a more equitable child welfare system. This initiative underscores UC Berkeley’s commitment to social justice and advocacy for vulnerable populations, making a meaningful impact on both the students and the communities they serve.

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