- More funding is needed to sustain the Family Unity Project in New York City, a program providing representation to persons facing possible deportation in immigration courts, according to this article in the New York Times. The report notes the program has had a dramatic impact on client outcomes, a case that may be bolstered by the publication of this report by NERA economic consulting which suggests the price of providing counsel to every person in immigration court would be more than offset by the savings in incarceration, and by this report by Lenni Benson and Russell Wheeler which estimates that appointed counsel would save about 87,000 hearings and 115,000 hours of court staff time per year. This article also appeared in the New York Times on the 'Safe Passage Project', a project targeting young people.
- The proceedings of the 2010 National Public Defense Symposium were just published for free online in this special issue of the Tennessee Journal of the Law and Policy. The materials include a national update on public defense litigation, two papers on dealing with excessive caseloads, and some pieces on capital representation.
- A 'Family Law Update' CLE will be held June 21 in Rochester, co-sponsored by the Monroe County Public Defender's Office and the New York State Defenders Association. The deadline for registration is June 13. For more details click here.
- The use of video links for court appearances is being discussed in St. Lawrence County, though with mixed reactions, as reported here in North Country now.
- States should improve their oversight of the use of psychotropic medication for children in foster care when the care of children is delegated to a 'managed care organization' (MCO) according to this new report from the Government Accountability Office. The report builds on this 2011 report which suggested foster children receive more medication than non-foster children on Medicaid, and two Information Memoranda (located here and here) containing guidance on enhancing the medical, social and emotional well-being of foster children. This paper by Angela Burton offers more information on the overprescription of medication to foster children.
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