School: Gonzaga University School of Law

I cold-called Michelle Barclay…all the way from Spokane, WA. I glanced over the list of potential employers and thought, "Why not start with the Supreme Court of Georgia?" She was heading out the door for vacation, but my concerns about application deadlines persuaded her to chat with me for a few minutes.

I saw the Barton Clinic program advertised online and wanted to propose an independent research project involving emancipating foster youth and higher education. I looked up "post-secondary education" and "foster children" in the Georgia Code index and stumbled upon O.C.G.A. § 20-3-660: a law providing funding for post-secondary education related expenses to a broad group of youth currently or formerly in the custody of the state. I was curious as to whether the law was working and how the youth were being served. Fumbling through my stream-of-consciousness dialogue, I proposed to undertake some sort of Studds Terkel-esque research project where I would simply ask the stakeholders - former foster youth, current foster youth, DFCS workers, ILP coordinators, child advocates, policy gurus, etc. - in the Georgia welfare system what they knew about the implementation of the law and how they thought it was working. Luckily, Michelle was on board. She agreed to the research proposal and my summer plans were set. Four months later, I boarded a plane in Seattle; next stop, Atlanta.

During the ESCAP training, I was able to attach a face to Michelle's name. She gave a presentation on the history of child welfare. Quickly after introducing herself, she asked, "Is protecting our children society's most important responsibility?" The question was far from rhetorical; it was intended to be a conversation starter. Throughout the summer, Michelle constantly put little bugs in my ear, such as the one serving as our informal introduction.

I also met Melissa Carter and Beth Locker during the training. As former Barton Clinic Fellows, they were eager and prepared for my arrival and passed on a wealth of suggested readings related to my proposal. It turns out this was a sign of things to come; throughout the summer, Melissa & Beth opened their doors to my relentless harassment and pestering.

I imagined spending the first couple of weeks familiarizing myself with the subtleties of Georgia's juvenile code. Juvenile Court Judge Vincent Crawford had different plans. Anthony Reeves, another intern in the office and a former foster youth, and I joined Judge Crawford in giving a presentation entitled, "Know Your Legal Rights" to a group of emancipated and soon-to-be emancipated foster children at the Institute of Higher Learning, Celebration of Excellence. The opportunity provided a great opportunity to meet the people I planned to interview throughout the course of the summer.

After the presentation, I focused in on my paper. I began writing and researching, editing and interviewing. I took trips to the archives, courthouses, DFCS offices, and homes of foster children all across Georgia to gather information on the project. While Georgia fails to document any sort of legislative history, Georgia's stakeholders were able to provide a solid foundation for the history of the implementation of House Bill 272.

I was also included on some of the committee's on-going projects. We traveled to counties to do court assessments and facilitate summits. The court assessments consisted of reviewing case files and listening in on a handful of deprivation proceedings to evaluate whether or not the practices of the individual courts muster up with IV-E requirements. The summits provided counties the opportunity to come together and brainstorm on how they can better serve their youth. Caseworkers, CASA's, attorney's and judges were among the attendees dedicated to deepening their understanding of how to protect Georgia's children. The projects consisted of long hours of intense work, but also gave me a snapshot of Georgia as we traveled across the state.

The end of the summer is here. My paper is bordering on "complete." What's more to say? I've scratched the surface in conveying my admiration of my mentor and the generosity of my other supervisors, Beth and Melissa. I enjoyed the trainings, conferences and office antics that made the 10 week program fly by. I'm grateful to the Barton Clinic for providing child advocates with a program to strengthen our resources and gain invaluable experience, all the while networking with a wonderful community of people that have dedicated their lives to advocating on behalf of children in foster care.