Upcoming Events

Check the calendar for information about current Section events.

Welcome

Welcome to the Juvenile Law Section of the Oregon State Bar. We currently have 311 members strong and invite you to join us. Dues are only $25 per year. Click here for more information.

The purpose of the Juvenile Law Section is to promote the objectives of the Oregon State Bar by improving the administration of justice in the field of family and juvenile law and by bringing together members of the Oregon State Bar concerned with family and juvenile laws and in reforms and improvements in such laws through legislation or other means.

News and Announcements

Pending Legislation (February 14, 2012)

Click here for the official memo from the Bar with bills they believe the juvenile section members may have an interest in following or providing an opinion.

In addition to the email from the Bar, there are other bills pending that you may or may not be interested in as they could possibly have an impact on either dependency or delinquency law. Click here to view those bills.

From the desk of Hon. Nan Waller (December 10, 2011)

Greetings:

Through the Safe & Equitable Foster Care Reduction Partnership, we procured several hundred slots for DHS staff, attorneys, Judges, Tribes and community partners to take an on-line Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA) course.

We are offering this opportunity as part of our commitment to safely reduce disproportionality of American Indian/Alaskan Native children in foster care. We very much appreciate the dedication of all members of the child welfare/juvenile court community to this effort by taking thetime to complete the ICWA course.

The course is designed to help staff involved in the out-of-home placement of American Indian children understand and comply with theICWA so that each person has the same, accurate information about ICWA rules and cases. The course presents key provisions of ICWA, as well as recommended performance steps associated with effective practice for state, county, and tribal child welfare workers. In addition,the course gives general information about American Indian and Alaskan Native cultures. At the end of the course, there is a short test. When you pass the test, you will receive a Certificate of Completion.

The course, offered through the National Indian Child Welfare Association (NICWA), is accessed after completing a short internet survey. Once you complete the survey, you will be sent a login and password directly from NICWA. Click here to complete the survey and register.

We are thrilled to offer over 1,000 people this opportunity. If you have questions about the course, please consult www.nicwa.org. For other questions, please speak with your supervisor.

Thank you for the good work you do for children and families.

Best,

Nan Waller

Chief Family Court Judge
Statewide Convener, Safe & Equitable Reduction Partnership

New FREE Practice Brief for Children's and GAL Attorneys (February 1, 2011)

Engaging Noncustodial Fathers in Child Welfare Cases: A Guide for Children's Attorneys and Lawyer Guardians ad Litem: This practice brief offers attorneys a new tool to advocate on behalf of children by reaching out to their fathers. It provides tips on identifying and locating the fathers of children who enter the child welfare system. It also helps attorneys assess fathers' capacities to be a placement or other resources for their children. Attorneys learn how to involve paternal relatives in case planning, and recognize how fathers learn and seek help differently than mothers, among other things. Click here for a free copy of this brief.

Video of CLE by Judge Maureen McKnight (February 1, 2011)

Judge McKnight delivers a detailed UCCJEA presentation to juvenile court practitioners. The attached materials include a thorough look at the UCCJEA, with a focus on application in the juvenile dependency system. The presentation includes a step by step analysis for tackling challenging UCCJEA issues within the juvenile court context. In addition, Judge McKnight poses several dependency-specific UCCJEA hypothetical questions in a Q&A format.

Video
Presentation Materials
Jurisdictional Analysis
MCLE Approval of Credits

Lawyer to Lawyer Program (February 1, 2011)

Are you an experienced juvenile lawyer? Do you get occasional calls from other lawyers seeking information about handling a juvenile case? Would you be willing to accept a call through the bar's Lawyer to Lawyer program from a less experienced juvenile lawyer?

Are you relatively new to the practice of juvenile law? Would you like to be able to contact an experienced juvenile lawyer occasionally to discuss a juvenile issue? The bar's Lawyer to Lawyer program might be able to help.

The Executive Committee of the Juvenile Law Section would like you to get together.

At the bar's website there is a description of the Lawyer to Lawyer Program and a registration form for resource lawyers. http://www.osbar.org/resources/lawyerservices.html#ltl

The Oregon New Lawyers Division of the bar also sponsors a program pairing new lawyers with more experienced lawyers. If you are interested in participating in this program complete the questionnaire found at http://www.osbar.org/onld/mentorprogram.html. This program matches lawyers only once a year - in January. So, act quickly to participate.

2009 OSB President's Public Service Award (February 1, 2011)

The Juvenile Law Section is pleased to announce that its nominee the Honorable Nan G. Waller will be receiving the Oregon State Bar's 2009 President's Public Service Award.

Judge Waller began her professional career with Montana Legal Services and then through the 1980s was an attorney at the Metropolitan Public Defender's Office. She worked as a Juvenile Court Referee in Multnomah County from 1989 through 2001. In December 2001, she was appointed to the Multnomah County Circuit Court and then in 2007 became the Chief Family Law Judge.

Judge Waller has presented at numerous legal education programs, training sessions, and served on the Multnomah County Commission on Children, Families, and Community from 1991 through 2008 and the Detention Reform Committee from 1992 through 1993. She chaired the Multnomah County Level 7 Youth Planning Committee and from 1994 to 1995 she also participated in the Governor's Task Force on Juvenile Justice, as well as the Multnomah County Juvenile Justice Budget Advisory Committee. She was a recipient of the Chief Justice's Juvenile Court Champion Award in 2001 and chaired the Child Welfare Advisory Committee and Wraparound Oregon in 2004. Judge Waller has participated with groups such as the Oregon Youth Authority Advisory Committee, the DHS Child Safety Work Group, the Attorney General's Under Age Drinking Task Force, she is a member of the Oregon Core Team of the National Governors' Association Policy, the Academy on Safely Reducing Children in Foster Care, and she's been appointed by Governor Kulongoski to a number of statewide initiatives on which she still serves: the Oregon Statewide Children's Mental Health Wraparound Initiative Advisory Committee and the Statewide Convener for the Casey Safe Reduction of Foster Care Initiative.

Judge Waller continues to serve on the local Public Safety Committee, the Committee Action to Reduce Substance Abuse Leadership Counsel, the Juvenile Justice Counsel and Child Welfare Counsel, the Governor's Taskforce on Child Welfare Racial Equity, and the Judicial Work Group, which involves all three branches of government to address system improvements.

Nationally, Judge Waller has represented Oregon and Multnomah County on the National Counsel of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Crossover Committee and the National Counsel of Juvenile and Family Court Judges Court's Catalyzing Change Call to Action Work Group.

In addition to her extensive involvement in community matters, she has been a mentor to many attorneys and inclusive in her efforts to lead from the bench. Judge Waller has been notable in her compassion for parents and her sensitivity to the needs of all children, particularly those without permanent families.

The Juvenile Law Section is honored to have Judge Waller selected to receive the OSB President's Public Service Award. Judge Waller will be presented that award that the Oregon State Bar Annual Awards Dinner on Wednesday, December 2, 2009, at the Benson Hotel in Portland, Oregon. If you would like to attend that dinner, contact Karla Houtary, OSB Community Relations Specialist, khoutary@osbar.org.

Materials from the 2008 Oregon Child Advocacy conference (February 1, 2011)

Downloadable audio recordings of presentations from the 2008 Oregon Child Advocacy conference, Putting the Puzzle Together: Cooperation, Conflict and Collaboration Among Juvenile Courts and Child Welfare Agencies, is now available at the conference website:

http://www.law.uoregon.edu/org/child/2008conference.php.

You can also view the powerpoint slides of speakers who used them and download a series of articles by the conference keynote speaker, Hon. Len Edwards, Center for Families, Children and the Courts, California Administrative Office of the Courts.

For more information about the Child Advocacy Project, visit its website at http://www.law.uoregon.edu/org/child/.

Follow up to February 2008 "Eyes on the Child" CLE (February 1, 2011)

One of the presentations at the February 8, 2008 Juvenile Law Section CLE "Eyes on the Child" was a panel discussion on preserving and pursuing tort claims for children. At the conclusion of the panel presentation there was insufficient time for panel members to answer all of the questions that were raised. One of the attorneys in attendance, Mark Taleff, addressed his questions in writing to the panel members and to the Office of Public Defense Services. With his permission his letter and the responses he received are attached below for the benefit of those who may have had similar questions. Click here to view Mr. Taleef's letter.

Roper v. Simmons (February 1, 2011)

Question: Does the execution of an offender who committed the crime at the age of 16 or 17 constitute cruel and unusual punishment in violation of the Eighth Amendment?

Click here to view the amici curiae brief in support of respondent.

The National Guidelines for Sex Offender Registration and Notification — Proposed Guidelines, May 2007 (February 1, 2011)

Click here to view the proposed guidelines.

New Website (February 1, 2011)

We recently redesigned and updated the Section's website. Feel free to contact our webmaster with any questions or comments.

info@osb-jl.org
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