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Online Home of The Barton Child Law and Policy Center of the Emory University School of Law

Barton Clinic Activities

Internships and Fellowships . Classroom Teaching . Presentations . Legislative Advocacy . Research

Teaching

Internships

2008 Emory Summer Child Advocacy Program

The Barton Clinic continued its national internship program in Summer 2008, accepting applications from law and social work schools across the country to work in Georgia. The internships were supported through a grant from the Children's Justice Act (CJA) obtained through the State of Georgia's Department of Family and Children Services.
  • Katie Andrews - Katie was assigned to the Supreme Court of Georgia Committee on Justice for Children. Katie's Report.
  • Jessica Cohen - Jessica was assigned to the Dekalb County Child Advocate Center. Jessica's Report.
  • Nichole DeVries - Nichole was assigned to the Children's Advocacy Centers of Georgia. Nichole's Report.
  • LaTashia Harris - LaTashia was assigned to the Atlanta Volunteer Lawyers Foundation. LaTashia's Report.
  • Courtney Jacobs - Courtney was assigned to the Special Assistant Attorney General Barrow & Dawson Counties. Courtney's Report.
  • Willa Kalaidjian - Willa was assigned to the Georgia Advocacy Office. Willa's Report.
  • Davida Silverman - Davida was assigned to the Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children. Davida's Report.
  • Jessica Smith - Jessica was assigned to the Barton Child Law & Policy Clinic. Jessica's Report.
  • Natalece Washington - Natalece was assigned to the Jackson County Juvenile Court Attorney GAL Division. Natalece's Report.
  • Philip Yarberough - Philip was assigned to the Fulton County Office of the Child Advocate Attorney. Philip's Report.

The reports written by our previous years' interns are now linked from our Internships Page.

More Information on the Barton Clinic Internship Program

More Information on the Barton Clinic Fellows Program

Classroom Teaching

Barton Clinic Course Overview and Requirements

Presentations

Legislative and Advocacy Activities

Use the form below to find your state and federal elected officials: (Courtesy of http://vote-smart.org/) Enter your zip+4 (xxxxx-xxxx):

2009 Session

  • 2009 Legislative Summary (6-page PDF) - Read our summary of child welfare and juvenile justice legislation considered and enacted by the 2009 Georgia General Assembly.
  • The Child Protection and Public Safety Act (SB 292) (2-page PDF) - The Child Protection and Public Safety Act, also known as Senate Bill 292, would comprehensively modernize and streamline O.C.G.A. Title 15. The bill rewrites Georgia's juvenile code to improve the manner in which courts interact with children. The bill's lead sponsor is Senator Bill Hamrick (R-Carrolton. Among the bill's 23 co-sponsors are Senator Seth Harp (R-Midland), Senator Robert Brown (D-Macon), Senator Don Thomas (R-Dalton), Senator Emanuel Jones (D-Decatur), Senator Renee Unterman, (R-Buford) and Senator Nan Orrock (D-Atlanta).

    The Barton clinic has prepared two summaries of SB 292, one short and one detailed.

    For further reading

    In 2008, the Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic commissioned several white papers on selected areas of juvenile justice and child welfare reform. The papers focus on proposed reforms that were included in the State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division Proposed Model Juvenile Code (YLD-PMC). Several of these recommended reforms are contained in SB 292, while others, such as raising the age of juvenile court jurisdiction for delinquency to 18 years of age and automatic transfer reform (repealing SB 440), did not make it into the final bill. Nonetheless, these reforms remain a focus for many child advocates, including the faculty and staff of the Barton Clinic, and provide a fascinating topic for further reading. The white papers are available for download as PDFs below.

    The lead partners of the JUSTGeorgia coalition are the Barton Clinic, Georgia Appleseed, and Voices for Georgia's Children. For more information about JUSTGeorgia and to join the coalition please visit the website at JustGeorgia.org.
  • Youth Development and the Juvenile Justice System (2008) (12-page PDF) - Dr. Don Bower, PhD and Rachel Hagues, MSW - Department of Child & Family Development, University of Georgia
    One area of ongoing debate amongst policy makers is when does childhood end and adulthood begin. While this question may be addressed by various developmental markers such as age or cognitive abilities, the issue can be particularly contentious in the area of juvenile justice reform. In the midst of such policy debates, providing accountability and appropriate consequences to young offenders sometimes becomes synonymous with their cases being handled by the adult criminal justice system, often without due consideration of what the science of child development can teach us about the effectiveness of the juvenile justice system versus the adult criminal justice system for youths and adolescents. This paper was written to assist Georgia's lawmakers as they wrestle with this important issue.
  • A Child's Right to Counsel in Juvenile Court Proceedings (2008) (9-page PDF) - Melissa Carter, JD, Deputy Director, Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children; and Kirsten Widner, JD, Post Graduate Fellow, Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic, Emory University School of Law
    Representation of children is a complex issue that raises many questions: Do children or youth involved in juvenile court cases need lawyers? Do children have a right to legal counsel? Are children capable of directing their own representation? Does the benefit of counsel depend on the nature of the proceeding? Yet these individual questions are much more straightforward than the analysis of a child's right to counsel under Georgia's existing statutory and case law. As a result of inconsistent, unclear and sometimes conflicting guidance in the state's body of law, children's right to counsel in Georgia is mired in controversy. This white paper explores the constitutional and best practice arguments for a child's right to counsel in delinquency cases and deprivation cases and includes recommendations to Georgia policy makers for statutory reforms related to child representation in juvenile court.
  • Prosecution in Superior or Juvenile Court: The Proposed Model Code's Approach (2008); A primer on history, policy, effectiveness, and related research (24-page PDF) - Tom Rawlings, JD, Director, Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children
    For the Georgia Legislature to consider substituting the harsh penalties and adult prosecutions of juvenile offenders set up by 1994's Senate Bill 440 ("SB 440") for the presumption that the vast majority of juveniles should be processed in juvenile court, lawmakers must be convinced both that the approach of SB 440 is not a time-honored "tradition" and that practical experience as well as legal and scientific principles show that prosecution in juvenile court is preferred. This white paper begins with the history of juvenile law in Georgia, tracing the efforts of our lawmakers to give juveniles the benefits of accountability and mercy. It goes on to question whether SB 440 has had a positive impact on the citizens of Georgia and has constituted a wise use of taxpayer resources, and it discusses some of the more recent legal and scientific developments suggesting it may be time for a change. Finally, this paper concludes with recommendations for further studies that would help policymakers better understand just how SB 440 has functioned and help them determine whether a new approach is needed.
  • Reinstatement of Parental Rights: An Important Step Toward Solving the Problems of Legal Orphans (2008) (4-page PDF) - Melissa Carter, JD, Deputy Director, Office of the Child Advocate for the Protection of Children; and Kirsten Widner, JD, Post Graduate Fellow, Barton Child Law and Policy Clinic, Emory University School of Law
    The 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA) attempted to eliminate the phenomenon of foster care drift. ASFA's tight timelines have helped move many children to safer and more permanent families more quickly, but the law also is responsible for the unintended consequence of creating a new population of "legal orphans." The Proposed Model Code for Georgia (PMC), recently released by the State Bar of Georgia Young Lawyers Division Juvenile Law Committee, prescribes a remedy to the problem of legal orphans worthy of thoughtful consideration by the child advocacy community, the public, and state legislators. If enacted, it would create a process by which children can seek to have their parents' legal rights restored following an involuntary termination of parental rights if certain conditions are met.
  • Adding Emotional Abuse to the Georgia Juvenile Code (2008) (9-page PDF) - Recent studies show that emotional abuse can have long term impact on the physiology of a child's brain, and seriously impair the child's ability to develop healthy relationships even into adulthood. Definitions of emotional abuse vary, but commonly include an injury or potential injury to a child's mental and emotional health or development, evidenced by the child's inability to function at his or her normal range of performance and behavior. Under the current Georgia juvenile code, parents or caretakers are required to provide a child with the proper "care and control necessary for the child's physical, mental or emotional health or morals." However, the current juvenile code and Georgia case law do not provide any further definition or explanation of what is required to protect a child's mental or emotional health or of how to determine when a child's emotional heath is at risk. This paper explores adding a definition of emotional abuse to the Georgia Juvenile Code.
  • HB 123 Summary and Analysis (3-page PDF) - HB 123 expands the definition of child molestation to include transmitting certain images. The bill also establishes venue in Georgia when the child molestation involves a child who resides in Georgia and when images of immoral or indecent acts are transmitted from Georgia to a child who resides within or outside Georgia.
  • HB 228 Summary and Analysis (9-page PDF) - HB 228 dismantles the Department of Human Resources, reorganizes the Department of Community Health, and creates a new Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities that houses the functions of the current Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addictive Diseases (MHDDAD). The Department of Human Resources (DHR) becomes the Department of Human Services and would retain the Division of Family and Children Services and Aging. The Division of Public Health and some of the functions of the Office of Regulatory Services move from the former DHR to the Department of Community Health.
  • HB 245 Summary and Analysis (2-page PDF) - HB 245 reduces the short term program (STP) from 60 days to 30 days. The bill is part of the legislative package of the Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and they estimate the provision will save DJJ $7 million. The bill includes a sunset provision to automatically restore the 60 day program in 2011.
  • HB 246 Summary and Analysis (2-page PDF) - HB 246 would require that a risk assessment be completed during the intake process for all children being considered for detention to determine whether or not detention is warranted.
  • HB 254 Summary and Analysis (4-page PDF) - HB 254 requires that the Department of Human Resources (DHR) exercise due diligence to identify a parent or adult relatives of a child removed from the custody of his or her parents within 30 days after the removal of a child. Additionally, DHR would be required to provide all identified adult relatives of the child with timely notice. Finally, courts would be allowed to make permanency placements in accordance with the best interest of the child instead of following a mandated list of preferential permanent placements.
  • HB 582 Summary and Analysis (3-page PDF) - HB 582 would mandate a minimum age of 18 years old for the prosecution of the offenses of prostitution and masturbation for hire. The bill would codify that prostituted children are victims of adult exploiters rather than offenders.
  • SB 69 Summary and Analysis (2-page PDF) - SB 69 requires that mandatory reporters alert the Department of Human Resources when they identify a victim of child sexual exploitation. SB 69 achieves this goal by expanding the current definition of child abuse to include all child victims of sexual exploitation and requiring mandatory reporters to report them as abused children. This expansion of the definition of child abuse makes the treatment of child victims of sexual exploitation consistent with the treatment of other sexually abused children.

2008 Session

  • Suspending Reason: An Analysis of Georgia's Off-Campus Suspension Statute (70-page PDF) - The article discusses the policy and legal implications of a Georgia statute permitting the suspension and expulsion of students for behavior that occurs away from school grounds. Despite legislative intent that the statute be used only in extraordinary circumstances, in the four years since the statute has been enacted more than 1,300 of Georgia's children have been removed from school under this provision. The article concludes that such removals fail to ensure school safety, have long-term negative consequences for our children, and disproportionately impact youth of color and students with disabilities. Accordingly, the article recommends that the statute be repealed in its entirety or, in the alternative, that the statute be amended to provide clearer parameters for enforcement.
  • House Bill 525 Summary and Analysis - HB 525 would require the electronic recordation of all custodial interrogations of juveniles, with certain exceptions. The bill would also require the preservation of such electronic records, as well as the specific training of law enforcement in methods of electronic recordation.
  • House Bill 832 Summary and Analysis - HB 832 would require courts to notify superintendents or designees if any child in their school district is charged with or adjudicated delinquent for an act that would be considered a felony or misdemeanor if committed by an adult. The bill would require the same notification if any person under the age of 21 and attending a secondary school is convicted of a felony or misdemeanor.
  • House Bill 1213 Summary and Analysis - HB 1213 would modify the incest statute, Chapter 6 of Title 16 of the O.C.G.A., to neutralize all references to gender and to expand the set of sex acts defined as "incest."
  • Senate Bill 37 Summary and Post Humphrey v. Wilson Analysis - SB 37 would permit the modification of sentences of teenagers who received mandatory minimum sentences upon being convicted of sex offenses based on mutual sexual activity. The permitted modifications would reflect the sentencing such teenagers would receive today, after the introduction of the "Romeo & Juliet" exceptions in 2006.
  • Senate Bill 119 Summary and Analysis - SB 119 would add language to Titles 17 and 24 of the O.C.G.A. in order to provide a victim of a crime and members of the victim's immediate family the right to be present in the courtroom during the trial process.
  • Senate Bill 481 Summary and Analysis - SB 481 would amend Chapter 12 of Title 16 and Chapter 18 of Title 50 of the O.C.G.A. in order to restrict access to certain evidence pertaining to the offenses of sexual exploitation of children, electronic furnishing of obscene materials to minors, and electronic or computer pornography. The restrictions of SB 481 would apply to any evidence depicting a minor or a portion of a minor's body engaged in sexually explicit conduct.
  • Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children in Georgia: Service Delivery and Legislative Recommendations for State and Local Policy Makers - The exploitation of children through prostitution is big business in Atlanta, and changing this situation has been a priority for Atlanta Mayor Shirley Franklin throughout her time in office. In 2005, the Mayor’s office published a paper titled Hidden In Plain View which explained the problem of commercial sexual exploitation of young girls in Atlanta, brought the importance of addressing the issue home by providing stories of real victims, and identified Atlanta’s strengths and areas of need related to this problem. Our paper builds on that foundation, but expands the scope to include all child victims, including boys, across Georgia. It examines approaches taken by other jurisdictions to address the commercial sexual exploitation of children, and makes legislative and policy recommendations for addressing the problem in Georgia.
  • Secure Detention of Status Offenders: Legislative recommendations to ensure Georgia's compliance with federal law and to better serve Georgia's children - This paper outlines simple legislative approaches that would ensure Georgia's compliance with the federal mandate of reducing the secure detention of status offenders. These recommended changes would better serve Georgia's children by improving practices in the juvenile justice system and moving children out of locked facilities and into the treatment and rehabilitation services they need. In addition, the changes would help Georgia avoid potential federal penalties for non-compliance with the JJDPA's deinstitutionalization mandate.

2007 Session

  • Senate Bill 37 Summary and Analysis - SB 37 would permit the correction and modification of sentences of some teenagers who were convicted of sex offenses after engaging in mutual sexual activity and subsequently received mandatory minimum sentences prior to a 2006 change in the law.
  • Senate Bill 88 Summary and Analysis - SB 88 would provide for the creation, authorization, procedure, revocation and termination of a power of attorney from a parent to a grandparent for the care of a grandchild. The bill also provides for the creation of a program to provide a subsidy to certain grandparents raising grandchildren under certain circumstances.
  • House Bill 155 Summary and Analysis - HB 155 would require criminal background checks for DHR providers who operate a personal care home, private home care, child welfare agencies, child care institutions, child-placing agencies, and maternity homes.  This background check would be conducted as part of the licensure process.
  • HB 303 Summary and Analysis - HB 303 would amend Chapter 11 of Title 15 of the O.C.G.A. as it relates to the extension of the duration of a court custody order when a motion for custody extension is filed by DFCS.  HB 303 would extend the duration of the temporary custody order to one or more periods of twelve months with no stated maximum.
  • HB 50 Summary and Analysis - HB 50 would amend Chapter 3 of Title 39 of the O.C.G.A. regarding the Interstate Compact on Juveniles.  Specifically, the compact would facilitate cooperative supervision of delinquent juveniles on probation and parole and would ease the return from one state to another of delinquent children who have escaped or children who have run away.
  • The Full FY2008 Georgia Governor's Budget Report - We have pulled out the table of contents and broken up this 369 page, 16MB, document into bitesize pieces for easier access.

Our previous years' legislative and advocacy efforts are now linked from our Legislative Page.

Research Activities


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Emory University School of Law, Gambrell Hall, Atlanta, GA 30322, (404) 727-6664.