CAP is pleased to announce our course offerings for the 2020-2021 academic year. If you have any questions, feel free to contact Crisanne Hazen, CAP Assistant Director and Lecturer on Law.
Fall 2020
Child Advocacy Clinic by Crisanne Hazen
The Child Advocacy Clinic: System-Involved Youth is designed to educate students about a range of issues faced by children and youth involved in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. With a specific focus on adolescents and young adults, this course will address issues such as transitioning out of the foster care system, sexual exploitation, teen parenting, medical consent, and the rights of youth in the juvenile justice system.
Children and the Law by Visiting Professor Anne C. Dailey – Postponed this academic year
[This class will examine the laws governing children in the family, school, the child welfare system, the juvenile justice system, and the public spheres of work, politics, and civic life. We will begin from the premise that the law does and should recognize children as a distinct legal category, in other words, as legal subjects having unique vulnerabilities, relationships, developmental needs, capacities and interests different from but related to those of adults. Some important questions we will address are: How should the law define, integrate, balance, and respect the long tradition of parental rights in the United States while also recognizing children’s own interests and rights? How do we go about identifying children’s interests and weighing them against the competing interests of parents and the state? How does one measure children’s autonomy or maturity, and what role should it play in the laws regulating children? How does our present legal system treat (or mistreat) disadvantaged children, and what can we do to reform the law to better promote racial, ethnic, gender and economic equality for all children? How do we develop uniform rules governing the family while preserving state flexibility and pluralism? And finally, what are children’s rights, and to what extent can children lay claim to affirmative rights to basic necessities such as food, housing and healthcare? Specific topics include parental rights; children’s relationships with siblings and other children; gender identity and transitioning; sexuality and statutory rape laws; reproduction and abortion; medical decision making; corporal punishment; free speech in school; school discipline; homeschooling; abuse and neglect; removal and foster care; juvenile delinquency; criminal procedural rights and sentencing sentencing; children and immigration; the Indian Child Welfare Act; and the legal representation of children. 3 credits.]The Constitution of the Child by Visiting Professor Anne C. Dailey – Postponed this academic year
[This seminar will explore the United States Constitution from the perspective of children and children’s interests. We will begin by considering the Constitution’s view of children in our liberal democracy. In what ways are children conceived of as persons and citizens in their own right, and in what ways are they viewed as future adults and citizens? How do race, gender, and income inequality affect our constitutional understanding and treatment of children? What is the family’s place in the constitutional structure of government, and what is children’s place within the family? As we examine specific constitutional doctrines, we will address several recurring themes: the role of education under our federal and state constitutions; the relationship between the values of pluralism/individual autonomy and parental/state socialization of children; the extent to which broad parental rights obscure children’s interests; the responsibility of the state to provide affirmative goods to children; children’s right to rehabilitation at home, at school, and in the juvenile justice and criminal law systems; and children’s interest in public and political life. Doctrinal areas we will cover include substantive due process, equal protection, free speech, free exercise of religion, procedural due process, the Fourth Amendment, the Eighth Amendment, and, if time permits, Article III. 2 credits.]Spring 2021
Art of Social Change by Prof. Bartholet and Crisanne Hazen
This course deals with strategies for changing law and policy, focusing on child welfare (abuse and neglect, foster care, adoption), education, and juvenile justice. We bring into the classroom as visiting lecturers leaders from the worlds of policy, practice, and academia—successful change agents representing different disciplines, career paths, and strategies for change. We explore significant reform initiatives, and debate with the speakers and each other how best to advance children’s interests. The emphasis is on different approaches to social change, inside and outside of the courtroom, with the goal of informing students’ future advocacy efforts.Visit the Child Advocacy Program (CAP) website (https://cap.law.harvard.edu/) to see a schedule of speakers from previous semesters.
Future of the Family by Prof. Bartholet
This seminar is for students interested in writing a research paper on any issue related to the range of topics listed below, as well as for students interested in doing papers on ideas explored in connection with any Child Advocacy Program (CAP) course (Child, Family & State, Family Law, The Art of Social Change, CAP Clinics, and CAP Seminars). Initial class sessions will focus on research and writing issues, and later sessions will focus on student work. Students will receive extensive guidance and feedback on their writing.Students are encouraged to meet with the Professor prior to the start of the spring term to discuss potential paper topics. Possible issue areas include but are not limited to: parenting and procreation; child abuse and neglect; family preservation policy; high-tech infertility treatment; the commercialization of reproduction (sale of eggs, sperm, embryos and pregnancy services); non-traditional family forms (single parenting, gay/lesbian parenting, same-sex unions and marriage, transracial and international adoption); and fetal abuse, sex selection, cloning, stem cell research and the new eugenics options.Requirements include: regular attendance, active participation, presentation of own work, feedback on others’ work, and a research paper. Students are encouraged to write a substantial paper for an additional credit; this can be used to satisfy the School’s Written Work Requirement.
Winter-Spring and Spring 2021
Child Advocacy Clinic by Crisanne Hazen
The Child Advocacy Clinic: Child Welfare, Education & Juvenile Justice is designed to educate students about a range of social change strategies and to encourage critical thinking about the pros and cons of different approaches. The clinic includes both a classroom seminar and clinical fieldwork component. A variety of substantive areas impacting the lives of children are addressed with a focus on child welfare (abuse and neglect, foster care, and adoption), education, and juvenile justice. The Clinic is relevant for students not only with a particular interest in children’s issues, but also for those more generally interested in social change.