CLCM Spotlights Holistic Representation of Immigrant Children at MBA Conference

The Children's Law Center of Massachusetts (CLCM) proudly participated in the Massachusetts Bar Association's Eighth Annual Juvenile & Child Welfare Conference, a pivotal event focusing on youth justice, particularly those related to segregation and educational barriers. 

CLCM's Managing Director of Innovation and Advocacy, Claire Valentin, lent her expertise as a speaker on the panel, "Holistic Representation of Immigrant Children." She was joined by Lisa Lana (Youth Advocacy Division, Committee for Public Counsel Services), Fabrizia Rodriguez (Immigration Impact Unit, Committee for Public Counsel Services), and Diana Santiago (Massachusetts Advocates for Children). 

Attorney Valentin emphasized the critical importance for juvenile court practitioners—in delinquency and foster care cases—to understand and integrate a child client's immigration status as an integral part of client-directed representation. She underscored that this is a "must" for effective advocacy of children in foster care, likening it to the obligation of juvenile defenders, established by the seminal Supreme Court decision Padilla v. Kentucky, to advise non-citizen clients about the potential deportation consequences of criminal offenses. The panel also addressed concerning trends, including HSI "welfare checks" of unaccompanied minors, the overwhelming capacity issues facing legal services, and the return of family detention.  

CLCM offers technical assistance to juvenile court practitioners confronting questions related to representing children involved in the immigration, delinquency, and foster care systems. We thank the Massachusetts Bar Association Juvenile and Child Welfare Section for emphasizing the importance of comprehensive, culturally sensitive, and child-centered representation.