Interdisciplinary Conference Workshops
Workshops at a Glance |
||
| A - Location Room 151 | Locating, Engaging, and Advocation for Non-Custodial Fathers | |
| Panelists | James Campbell, Program Administrator | |
| District of Columabia Child and Family Services Agency | ||
| Kathleen Creamer, Esq., Stoneleigh Foundation Fellow | ||
| Community Legal Services, Inc. Philadelphia, Pennsylvania | ||
| Howard Davidson, Esq., Director | ||
| Center on Children and the Law, American Bar Association Fathers DC Presentation |
||
| Rishaunda Ewings, Program Manager | ||
| Office of Planning, Policy and Program Support (OPPPS) District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency |
||
| Jack Gilmore, Esq., Attorney | ||
| Counsel for Child Abuse & Neglect (CCAN) Attorney | ||
| Marlesia Neloms, Special Assistant to the Deputy Director for Agency Programs | ||
| District of Columbia Child and Family Services Agency | ||
| Moderator: | Honorable Noel Johnson, Magistrate Judge | |
| Family Court, Superior Court of the District of Columbia | ||
| This panel will look at the obligations of attorneys, social workers, and courts in locating, engaging and advocating for non-custodial fathers. The panelists will provide information from both a national and a local perspective. In addition, one of the presenters will offer special expertise on working with incarcerated fathers. The panelists will also discuss reaching out to the mother and relatives for information, using diligence in searches, and using investigators. | ||
| This panel will then move on to a discussion of how to engage the father once he has been located. This would include how to initiate contact, communicate effectively, maintain communication, and build trust, in addition to providing appropriate service referrals, advising fathers on how to establish paternity, and advising fathers on maintaining a positive bond with their children. | ||
| B -Location: Room 146C | Integrating Fathers After Domestic Violence | |
| Panelists: | Juliet Francis, Psy.D, President and Chief Executive Officer Francis & Associates | |
| Courtney Hall, Supervised Visitation Program Coordinator | ||
| Supervised Visitation Center, District of Columbia Superior Court | ||
| Honorable José López, Presiding Judge | ||
| Domestic Violence Unit, District of Columbia Superior Court | ||
| Lisa Nitsch, Director Gateway Project, | ||
| The House of Ruth Maryland and also the Vice President of Women in Fatherhood, Inc. | ||
| Moderator: | Laurie S. Kohn, Professor and Director | |
| Family Justice Litigation Clinic, George Washington University Law School | ||
| This panel will discuss the particular challenges that judges, practitioners, and litigants face when dealing with fathers’ access to their children after domestic violence has occurred. In this panel, we will explore how to determine what kind of custody and visitation should be awarded; how supervised visitation can meet the needs of this population; what comes after supervised visitation; how to make visitation most safe and productive for children and youth; and the best practices of programs aimed at making the integration of fathers safe and successful. | ||
| C - Location: Room 152A | It Takes Two: Including and Advocating for Teen Fathers | |
| Panelists: | M. Victoria Bellard, Program Coordinator | |
| New Heights Program, District of Columbia Public Schools | ||
| Allison E. Green, Staff Attorney, Children’s Law Center | ||
| Robert Nelson, President and Founder, Daddy’s Corner, Inc. | ||
| Henry Prempeh, Family Services Coordinator | ||
| Generations Program/Teen Dads Group, Children’s National Medical Center | ||
| Dion Wright, Young Father | ||
| Moderator: | Kristin Henning, Professor, Co-Director of the Juvenile Justice Clinic Georgetown University Law Center | |
| Despite the increased attention paid to teen motherhood on the local and national level, teen fathers are a subgroup whose unique needs are too often overlooked or inadequately addressed by the systems serving them. This session will focus on the legal considerations and social service resources that are particularly relevant for young fathers in the District of Columbia. Panelists will address issues such as preparing teen fathers-to-be for parenthood, paternity establishment, custody, child support, school engagement, housing options and parenting supports. The session will be beneficial for lawyers, guardians ad litem, social workers and others who work with custodial and non-custodial teen fathers. | ||
| D- Location 152B | The Impact of a Father’s Absence: Psychological, Social and Economic Impact and the Positive Effect of Services to Assist Fathers | |
| Panelists: | Theodore Butler, Public Health Technician | |
| District of Columbia Department of Health | ||
| Derrick Colbert, Family Support Worker | ||
| Far Southeast Family Strengthening Collaborative | ||
| Chester Marshall, Founder & Chief Executive Officer | ||
| Institute for African Man Development | ||
| Phillip Terrell, Program Coordinator | ||
| Fatherhood Education Empowerment and Development Program (FEED) Healthy Families/Thriving Communities Collaborative Council |
||
| Moderators: | Jamie Rodriguez, Juvenile Services Program Coordinator | |
| The Public Defender Service for the District of Columbia | ||
| Honorable Mary Grace Rook, Magistrate Judge | ||
| Family Court, District of Columbia Superior Court | ||
| This panel will explore through local service providers the impact of absent fathers, including the likelihood of poverty, educational problems, emotional and behavioral problems, and the benefits of services to include fathers in children’s lives - including better cognitive outcomes, higher self esteem, academic achievement, assistance to mothers, etc. The panel will also discuss what local services exist and what additional services might be useful to the District of Columbia community. | ||