A Judge’s Guide

training series video is almost eight hours in length. Courts, programs, and bar
associations have used the training in whole or in part to train new and experienced
children’s attorneys.
Having completed production of the training series, the Project then launched an
intense effort to widely implement the training program throughout the country. During
the course of two years, the training series was distributed to 146 persons, programs,
courts, and other entities. The entire series is now available on the Project’s website.
State and International Laws—Research, Recommendations, and Publications
The Project undertook three major research initiatives, all of which culminated in
published original articles. The first was a 51-jurisdiction analysis of all laws governing
appointment of representatives in divorce and unmarried parent cases. The resulting
article was Representing Children in Custody Cases: Where We Are and Where We
Should Be Going, published in the Children’s Legal Rights Journal. The second effort
looked at the laws in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Territories on
representing children in civil cases involving domestic violence and the relevance of
domestic violence to decisions impacting children within custody cases. Representing
Children in Civil Cases Involving Domestic Violence was published in 39 Fam. L. Q. 197
(2005). The last research endeavor looked at how children are advocated for and heard
from in adoption and guardianship proceedings, and what courts and advocates should do
differently. This article, entitled, Hearing Children’s Voices and Interests in Adoption
and Guardianship Proceedings was published in 41 Fam. L.Q. 365 (2007). Additionally,
the Project had an article published in the April/May 2008 issue of GPSolo, the magazine
of the ABA General Practice, Solo & Small Firm Division, entitled, Impacting the Lives
of Children through Pro Bono.
Mini-grants:
From 2002 – 2004, the Project awarded $86,500 in mini-grants to 14 programs.
$40,000 was awarded in 2002, $38,500 in 2003, and $8,000 total in mentor grants.
Grant Advocate Program
After the success of the mini-grants program, in 2004 the ABA Child Custody and
Adoption Pro Bono Project launched a new campaign to establish a four- year grant
program. The grants for each of these four years had a directed topic, as follows:
2005: Bringing Mental Health and Social Services into Child Advocacy Efforts
2006: Implementing Standards and Trainings for Children's Lawyers
2007: Lawyers and Law School Clinics Partnering to Serve Children
2008: Starting a Dialogue: Bringing People Together to Develop Pro Bono Child
Representation Programs in Private Custody Cases
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