A Report Written by Intern

Natalece Washington
Barton Clinic Summer 2008 Intern Report I ntern: Natalece Washington Assignment: J ackson County
J uvenile Court Attorney GAL Division
School: University of Georgia School of Law

As an intern in the Juvenile Court of Banks, Barrow, and Jackson
Counties I worked with a Child Advocate Attorney who is appointed
by the court pursuant to statute O.C.G.A. 15-11-6 (b) that requires that
all children in Juvenile Court be represented by council and 15-11-9 (b)
that requires a Guardian ad litem to be appointed in order to protect the
interest of the children whose interests may be in conflict with their parents
interests. The Judge presiding over the Piedmont Judicial Circuit has enacted
a standing order that requires a staff attorney who is assigned to the courts
Child Advocate Division to serve as an attorney- Guardian ad litem in all
deprivation actions of the Juvenile Courts of Banks, Barrow, and Jackson
Counties. At the start of the internship I identified the main goals of the
Child Advocate Attorney. First, we investigate the childs or sibling groups
situation. Next, we advocate in court hearings for what we have found to be
in the best interest of the child. Finally, we monitor the childs ongoing best
interest for as long as they remain in care or as long as they are in a
placement that must be reviewed by the court periodically.
Generally, in our office the child advocate attorneys follows the Best Interest
model. This means that it is our strategic goal to always secure outcomes
that are in the childs best interest. During my internship, I only experienced
one instance of conflicting roles. A teenagers desires were in conflict with
the Child Advocate Attorneys best interest recommendation. Because of this
conflict another attorney was appointed to follow the client-directed model of
representation and represent the childs wishes. I learned that this happens
rarely and that this situation was unique because of the childs age and
competence.
Early into the summer I learned the models of representation to achieve the
goals of the child advocate. However, there were many practical aspects of
the task of child representation that could only be gained from work in the
field. Efficiency, camaraderie among professionals in the Juvenile Court, and
lawyering skill and savvy to work with an ever-changing group of babies,
toddlers, pre-teens, and teenagers are the essential practical components of
child advocacy.
The Juvenile Courts efficiency is a top priority in the Piedmont Judicial
Circuit. One method the judge uses to ensure efficiency is the Pre-Trial
Conference. This is a time for all parties to come together to decide on the
particulars of an Adjudicatory hearing. Another effort to maintain court
efficiency is timely appointment of council. Parents who are a part of
deprivation actions have the legal right to an attorney. If they are without
the state requisite income to hire an attorney, the Public Defenders office
will have one appointed for them. In the Piedmont Judicial Circuit, parents
often decide that they can use an attorneys services only after the original
shelter care proceeding. Unbeknownst to a pro se parent, the shelter care
hearing allows hearsay and can be damaging because the judge hears this
information when he is first introduced to the case. I have learned that
skilled parent attorneys, when appointed before the shelter care hearing,
often consent to waive the shelter care hearing- stipulating deprivation- and
make plans to advocate for their client in the Adjudicatory hearing that is
governed by the rules of evidence. Often after experiencing the damaging
effects of a shelter care without legal representation, parents opt to have
council in subsequent proceedings. This creates backlog and the judge will
have to continue any case scheduled prior to appointment of council. In this
circuit, the judge never neglects to tell the parents of their right to an
attorney early, at the start of a shelter care hearing. Unfortunately, despite
his good effort, their change of heart is often unavoidable. Surprisingly,
there is high level of camaraderie among the attorneys, service providers,
DFCS, DJJ, and placement representatives in our deprivation proceedings.
The child advocates are frequently in friendly negotiations with parents
attorneys and the SAAG to achieve the best interest outcome. Although all
attorneys involved have a distinct agenda, there is no embittered power
struggle among them. Perhaps it is simply professional courtesy. Whatever
the cause, I believe it is their relationships and discussion that clarify the
issues of a case and each partys desired outcome. I think this is the best
environment for a child client who is often present in the courtroom during
proceedings that directly effect his or her welfare. This camaraderie may not
exist in a metropolitan environment. I have heard that there is more hostility
between parties. I believe this may be do to the greater number of players
involved. In this circuit, we deal with the same parents attorneys, private
attorneys, SAAGs, and Child Advocates. There are not any surprises. We
know who and what to expect and they are all familiar with the culture of
the court. This probably differs from more populated counties.
Finally, a high level of technique and savvy is required to deal with
child clients. Getting documented information from agencies,
placements, schools, and doctors is relatively easy since we are
equipped with a court order that requires that all reasonable requests
be granted. Any requests found to be unreasonable must be
challenged in writing before the court.
What seems to be more difficult is getting information from a child.
Child advocates interview children frequently. As an intern testing my
interview skills I found myself often quite uncomfortable. I would often
stutter and choose my words all too carefully. This only confused the
child and discredited me as a professional. Children seemed to respond
best when the interviewer is comfortable. So as the summer
progressed I felt more at ease talking to kids about their home
situations and desires and made more progress in that manner. When
I watch my supervisor interview children it is as if she is working from
a checklist of the perfect questions to ask. She does this all while
playing with the child or casually speaking to a teenager, never note
taking. Her casual nature seems to help the interviewee put their
guard down just long enough for her to uncover the information that
she needs. My supervisor assures me that interviewing skills are
developed with time and practice.
I have notably learned this summer that the Attorney Child Advocates are
expected to be much more than attorneys. They are social workers,
counselors, therapists, pharmacology students, and friends to their clients.
They perform each of these roles as they advocate for their clients best
interest. Throughout the internship wed visit clients homes, schools,
relatives, and service providers and conduct social worker-like
investigations. Child Advocates often act as a check on DFCS personnel. I
appreciate the work of the Child Advocate for this reason. The leg work and
time put into investigation are our own reasonable efforts to ensure the
childs best interest are being met. If you are advocating for a child to go
live in their grandmothers home and you have never met grandmother,
visited her home, or spoken with her to learn of her consent to this plan,
then you are advocating blindly.
Child advocates often are skilled in identifying a need for counseling or
specialized treatment. They see problems and often know when a child is at
their breaking point needing someone to talk to or therapy to keep them
from harming themselves or others. As lay pharmacology students, child
advocates often know just what a childs diagnoses are just by viewing their
list of prescribed medications. I have also learned that if parents are on
certain mood regulating drugs, then children are potentially suffering from
the same mental health issues. In what might be considered their most
important role, child advocates are the familiar friendly face that a child can
see consistently in and out of court. In our court, children sit by their
attorney when present. Unless it is a shelter care hearing, they have already
talked to their attorney and had an opportunity to develop a relationship
with someone not involved with DFCS who represents them. Unfortunately,
a childs tears dampen many court proceedings. The childs attorney, not
only represents them, but also helps them through this period of fear or
frustration. Because this attorney wears so many hats the job is a little
overwhelming. However, looking forward to the end result makes the multi-
tasking worthwhile.
Because of the courts expectation that every child be effectively served and
the heavy case loads that come along with that expectation there is a need
to check that everyones job is being completed adequately. There are
means to review cases periodically, outside the setting of a hearing to
ensure that kids are having all of their needs met. The Citizens Panel
Reviews provide a way to review cases that hadnt been to court for a while.
It makes the child advocate review the file and have a chance to meet with
and discuss issues with other agencies. The community gets to participate to
observe their tax dollars at work or to identify when some child is getting
short changed.



Linked In PROFILE

Natalece Washington
Child Advocate Attorney at Dekalb County Child Advocacy Center
Decatur, GeorgiaLaw Practice

Current . Dekalb County Child Advocacy Center, Georgia Association of Black
Woman Attorneys
Previous . Athens Clarke County Juvenile Court, Georgia Association of Counsel
for Children, Atlanta Legal Aid Society
Education . The University of Georgia

Summary
I am a passionate advocate for underprivileged children involved with the Department of
Family and Children Services in DeKalb County. Both my work and volunteer efforts
provide a platform for this advocacy. I aspire to broaden my advocacy efforts beyond
the Juvenile Court Room and am in constant search of opportunities to provide
advocacy with even greater impact for an even greater population to include adults and
children specifically in the practice areas of family law and social security law.

Experience
Child Advocate Attorney
Dekalb County Child Advocacy Center
November 2010 Present (3 years 9 months)Decatur, Georgia
As a Child Advocate Attorney, I engage in the holistic representation of children
involved with the juvenile court system because of their current or past involvement with
the Department of Family and Children's services because of issues of abuse or
neglect. In this position, I also serve on the in-office Legislative and Case Law updates
Committee providing the attorneys with information on pertinent changes in the law. I
have also served on the Intern Committee, interviewing, selecting, and developing
programming for Interns year round. I also am responsible for organizing monthly In-
Service Training to provide an opportunity for stakeholders and service providers to
provide small setting sessions to share information to office staff and others who work in
Child Welfare.

Sister- to- Sister Mentor
Georgia Association of Black Woman Attorneys
January 2012 Present (2 years 7 months)Greater Atlanta Area
Volunteer-Mentor for underprivileged young women who are involved with the Probation
Department of Fulton County Juvenile Court.

Judicial Extern
Athens Clarke County Juvenile Court January 2010 May 2010 Athens, Georgia
Area
As an extern my responsibilities included reviewing files and pleadings for the presiding
Judge and assisting in ultimate determinations by providing research in the form of legal
memos. Extern was also responsible for interfacing as needed with guardian ad litems,
public defenders, and assistant district attorneys practicing in the court.
Legal Intern
Georgia Association of Counsel for Children
August 2009 December 2009 (5 months)Athens, Georgia Area
As an intern for the director of the GACC, I researched the models of representation
utilized in each of Georgia's Judicial Circuits by contacting judges and court clerks
throughout the state. Intern responsibilities also included maintaining a database on
reported findings. Research also included the application of equal protection
constitutional rights to discrepancies in models of representation for deprived children in
the state of Georgia.

Legal Intern
Atlanta Legal Aid Society
June 2009 August 2009 (3 months)Cobb Legal Aid Office, Marietta, Georgia
As an intern my responsibilities included provided legal support in all aspects of the
general law practice including participating in the intake process, case distribution and
assignment, weekly office meetings, client interviewing and follow-up, case
management, preparation and execution of administrative hearings for unemployment
benefits, and legal research and writing in a wide variety of practice areas.

Legal Intern
Emory Barton Clinic, Summer Child Advocacy Program
June 2008 August 2008 Piedmont Judicial Circuit, Jackson County Juvenile Court
As an intern I worked in the Guardian Ad Litem division of the court alongside Senior
Guardian Ad Litem Attorneys. My responsibilities included court observation, case
investigation, witness interviewing, case updating, record retrieval, legal research,
administrative support, and drafting of reports and legal memos for deprivation
proceedings.

Intern
Decision Management Associates August 2006 December 2006 Macon, Georgia Area
My responsibilities included providing administrative support to Mediator for mediations,
arbitrations, and Certified Mediation Training Courses in General Civil and Domestic
areas of concentration.

Volunteer
Court Appointed Special Advocates for Children
December 2005 December 2006 Macon, Georgia Area
CASA volunteers are appointed by judges to advocate for the best interests of abused
and neglected children in protective care. As a volunteer I was responsible for
advocating for my child-clients needs: educational, medical, and psychological. I
investigated my case and made reports in Juvenile Court Proceedings before the
presiding judge. For 6 months of this time, I also volunteered in the CASA office in Bibb
County providing administrative support to the three program specialists in the office.