First Stop- Diane Abbey Law Center for Children and Families

We met Genevieve Wachtell, the Associate Director of the Diane Abbey Law Center for Children and Families.
This Center provides legal assistance to children and families in need. At the same time, the Center prepares students for the ethical practice of family law. Genevieve is proud that while many of the students she first encounters are more interested in corporate law, once exposed to the curriculum that is offered through this family law program, students see the contribution they can have on families and many go on to enter the family law field.

Mrs. Wachtell gave a very comprehensive overview of how the family court system is designed: Who represents the respondent (accused guardian), the child, Administration for Children's Services' (ACS) role, where social workers come in and the differences between Family and Criminal court.
 She was willing to discuss a myriad of topics that involve the rights of children and families. We discussed the different social programs that act as safety nets such as Head Start and those that are prescribed by the court system, for example, anger management.
Mrs. Wachtell is an insightful teacher and it is therefore clear why so many of her students follow her lead. She also started a blog (justfamilies.org) where Diane Abbey faculty, students and associates list and write blogs relevant to children, families and the law.