CAFL Approved Webinars for FY2020

To receive credit for the following approved webinars download and send an attendance certificate, if one is available, or an e-mail with your BBO#, the title and date of the webinar and # of viewing hours, to Rita Caso, rcaso@publiccounsel.net. If there is a webinar you would like to have approved for credit please send the link to cafltraining@publiccounsel.net. Thank you!

July 1 Webinar:  Advocating for Family Time During COVID

Join us on July 1, 2020, 1:30-3:30 for a discussion about advocating for parent child and sibling contact during COVID.  We will provide updates of our family time lawsuit against DCF and provide practical advice for ensuring your clients receive quality in person and virtual contact with family members during COVID.  Approved for 2 CAFL CLE credits for FY2021.  To register, click on this link:  https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_gCaZZijEQQWxU2NCS30vIw.

After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the webinar.

Zealous Zooming: Effective Advocacy in Virtual Court
June 17, 2020, 11:30-1:00

Join the CPCS Criminal Defense Training Unit for a primer on using ZOOM video conferencing,
1.5 CAFL, Adult Criminal, Criminal Appeals, YAD, YAD appeals, MHLD, SORB/SDP CLE’s

Register : https://us02web.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_5IVAby8VTNiWn5L7bsp1Uw

Representing Veterans: Much More Than Diversion and Treatment Courts, June 4, 2020, 1:00-2:00pm, One CAFL Credit

Mitigating Implicit Bias Through Mindfulness
May 27, 2020, 12:00-1:00pm, One CAFL credit

Brenda Fingold with the Brown Mindfulness Center along with Marguerite Fletcher, Fletcher Consulting, are presenting a program to discuss ways to mitigate unconscious biases through mindfulness on May 27 from 12-1p. This is a free program open to anyone, but targeted to the legal community. To register, email alex@consultfletcher.com.

FREE Webinar Series: Understanding and Responding to Children with Problematic Sexual Behaviors

Representing Our Dually Involved Clients in Congregate Care
Wednesday, May 20, 2020 3:00 PM – 4:00 PM,  1 CAFL Credit

Cristina Freitas and Debbie Freitas will discuss the issues surrounding our YAD clients in congregate care and how we can advocate for our dually involved clients. Cris and Deb will address a number of issues facing dually involved youth in congregate care along with some common questions that arise in these cases:

-What to do when DCF says it has no placements
-What to do when DCF says the emergency residential programs are for COVID+ clients only
-My client went AWOL from congregate care and DCF is saying they can’t go back
-DCF is calling the ADA to make a bail request because they have no placements
-Why DCF congregate care and DYS congregate care is not the same

After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training.

Litigating Section 35: Pandemic Edition
May 26, 2020, 1:30 or 3:00, 1 CAFL Credit
(Please register for only one session)

Ethical Challenges for Attorneys During COVID-19: A Discussion with the BBA Ethics Committee Chairs
Wednesday May 20, 2020, 12:00-1:00, 1 CAFL Credit

Trauma Responsive Skills for Lawyers During COVID-19,
National Association of Counsel for Children
May 13, 2020, 2:00-3:30, 1.5 CAFL Credits

The Zen of Happy Lawyering
Tuesday May 19, 2020, 2:00-4:00, 1 CAFL Credit
RSVP: by May 15, 2020 

Representing Children and Youth in Congregate Care,
Thursday, May 7, 2020 2:00 PM – 3:30 PM, 1.5 CAFL Credits

Please join us for a deeper dive into the challenges and resources available for representing children and youth placed in DCF congregate care facilities. Deb and Cris Freitas, CAFL attorneys, mentors and members of our COVID-19 Legal Response Team, will review the dangers of congregate care and EEC’s new program guidelines for DCF group placements. They will walk you through the new Toolkit they adapted from the Youth Law Center, including: (1) questions to ask your client about placement, health, school, family contact and more; (2) advocacy strategies to get youth out of congregate care and back home or with kin; and (3) advocacy strategies for youth staying in their placement to ensure their social, emotional, medical and educational needs are being met. They will also address common issues involving dually involved youth, including the interplay between DYS and DCF placements.

Please register at: https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/4268411198255022850. After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training.

Q&A on Eviction and Housing Rights During COVID-19
April 23, 2020, 2:00-3:30, 1.5 CAFL Credits
Recorded webinar
Sponsored by the Access to Justice Commission

Representing CAFL Clients in the Time of COVID-19,

 On April 24, 11:00-1:00 the CAFL COVID-19 Legal Response Team held a panel discussion on several topics critical to representation of our clients during the pandemic. This webinar will be an overview of the following emerging legal issues: access to the courts, family time, reunification, risks to clients in congregate care and participation in virtual hearings. We hope to cover these topics in greater detail in future webinars. This webinar has been approved for 2 CAFL credits. The recorded webinar is now available to CAFL attorneys on the MyGideon CAFL COVID-19 page.

DYS Advocacy and Representing Clients Who Have Recently Been Committed to DYS, April 27, 2020, 2:00-4:00pm, 2 CAFL Credits

To register go to: https://attendee.gototraining.com/r/8157195808873930753  After registering you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the training.

Special Ed Practice in a Time of School Closure, MassBar Association
April 27, 2020, 3:00-4:00pm, 1 CAFL Credit

“1st Look” at What Legal Services Lawyers Need to Know About COVID-Related Assistance, MCLE, Free Webcast April 29, 2020,
Free Recorded Webcast May 6, 2020. 2 CAFL Credits

Advanced brief-drafting for the digital age: a step-by-step guide to creating bookmarks and internal links
April 30, 2020, 2:00-3:00pm, 1 CAFL Credit

Bookmarks and internal links help your reader jump from one part of your brief to another (or to any other document attached to your brief in a single PDF file).  The reader can click on a page number in your Table of Contents or your Summary of the Argument and leap right to that section of the brief.  Or the reader can click on a Finding cited in your Facts section and jump immediately to that Finding in the brief’s addendum.

David Cohen, staff counsel with the CAFL Appe​llate Unit, will demonstrate how to create the​se links in your briefs and appendices using both Word and P​DF software.

If you have any questions, please contact Ann Narris at Anarris@publiccounsel.net

Life of an Immigration Case for the Criminal Defense Practitioner
May 8, 2020 (2 sessions): 1 pm – 2pm & 3pm – 4pm

We all know about the terrible immigration consequences that can happen to our non-citizen clients who appear in criminal court.  For example, we drill into our heads that a CWOF is a guilty for immigration purposes.  But some of us wonder what will happen to our clients when ICE takes them from the criminal courthouse. Claire Valentin from the Immigration Impact Unit will tell us about the Life of an Immigration Case, starting from a client’s first appearance in immigration court. This webinar has been approved for 2 CAFL credits.

Why Quality Legal Representation Matters for Families Affected by Substance Use Disorders, May 19, 2020

National Training and Technical Assistance Center, A Program of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Thie webinar has been approved for 1.5 CAFL credits.

 EdLaw Webinars  – “Education Advocacy for Clients as a result of COVID-19 School Closures”

 The EdLaw Project is offering a number of regional webinars for attorneys and social workers on education advocacy during the COVID-19 health crisis.  Please note, these webinars are all the same content, however we encourage you to attend the webinar in your practice region for a localized conversation.  If a webinar has not been scheduled in your region, please contact your JSA or resource attorney.
These webinars have been approved for 1 CAFL / YAD CLE.

Friday, April 10^th at 1pm  for Worcester County.  To RSVP, contact Michele Scavongelli at mscavongelli@publiccounsel.net

Monday, April 13^th at 1pm for Lowell / Lawrence area.  To RSVP, contact Michele Scavongelli at mscavongelli@publiccounsel.net

Monday, April 13^th at 1pm for Franklin and Hampshire Counties.  To RSVP, contact Marlies Spanjaard at mspanjaard@publiccounsel.net

Monday, April 13^th at 2:30pm for Suffolk, South Middlesex and Essex Counties.   To RSVP, contact Erin O’Sullivan at eosullivan@publiccounsel.net

Wednesday, April 22^nd at 2pm for Berkshire County.  To RSVP, contact Marlies Spanjaard at mspanjaard@publiccounsel.net

Friday, April 24^th at 2pm for Norfolk and Plymouth Counties.  To RSVP, contact Elizabeth Levitan at elevitan@publiccounsel.net

Other regions still in process of being scheduled.  Stay tuned!

Remote Advocacy 2.0, National Institute for Trial Advocacy (NITA), April 8, 2020, 1:00pm, 1 CAFL Credit

Legal Issues in State Initiated Child Abuse and Neglect Cases, American Bar Association, April 14, 2020, 1 CAFL Credit

Harnessing the Power of Mindfulness While Dealing with the Stress, Anxiety and Social Isolation of COVID-19: The 60 Minute Lawyer, MCLE, Live Webcast April 8, 2020, 12:00-1:00pm, Recorded Webcast, April 15, 2020, 9:00-10:00am, 1 CAFL Credit

COVID-19 and Child Welfare Cases, American Bar Association, April 9, 2020, 11:00am, 1 CAFL Credit

Zealous Advocacy in the Time of COVID-19: Practical Tips and Best Practices, Co-sponsored by the National Association of Counsel for Children and the American Bar Association Children’s Rights Litigation Committee,  April 2 2020, 4:00pm, 1 CAFL Credit

Managing Stress: Grounding Strategies for Dealing with the COVID-19 Pandemic, April 1, 2020, 11:00-12:00, 1 CAFL Credit

Combatting the Myths of the Impact of Drug Use During Pregnancy: Representing Our Pregnant Clients, April 15, 2020, 1:30-2:30, 1 CAFL Credit

MCLE’s 1st Look at the Impact of COVID-19 on Probate and Family Court, 2 CAFL credits, free, recorded webcast will be available April 7, 2020

Autism and Trauma: The Intersection, Massachusetts Advocates for Children and the Education Law Clinic of Harvard Law School 2 CAFL Credits

Remote Advocacy: Representing Your Client During the COVID-19 Pandemic, National Institute of Trial Advocacy (NITA), March 27, 2020

2019 Guardian Ad  Litem Symposium on Specialized Advocacy for Children-Building Stronger Communities

CAFL will give credit for sessions of the 2019 Guaridan Ad Litem Symposium that are  relevant to practice in Massachusetts. To receive credit, send an e-mail to Rita Caso at rcaso@publiccounsel.net with the titles of the sessions you viewed and the total # of viewing hours.

Rocket Aid: A Charitable Virtual Conference for Lawyers,
April 16 & 17, 2020

Learn how to thrive in a remote environment, network with other lawyers, and help those affected by COVID-19.

CAFL will give credit for sessions of this conference that are relevant to practice in Massachusetts. To receive credit, send an e-mail to Rita Caso at rcaso@publiccounsel.net with the titles of the sessions you viewed and the total #of viewing hours.