2011-2012 Children and Family Law Center Speakers
2011-2012 Upcoming Events
All programs are at noon in Room 100 unless indicated.
- February 22, 2012
» Juvenile Offender: Parent's Role, Custody, and Detention (Lunch & Learn) - March 14, 2012
» (Lunch & Learn) - April 11, 2012
» (Lunch & Learn)
Wednesday, November 16, 2011
Vivien Olsen Discusses Balancing Worklife with Family
Vivien Olsen, Tribal Attorney for the Prairie Band Potawatomi Nation, spoke about her experience in law school as a single mother of two children. She also discussed her employment as an Inspector General, and what it was like to open her own practice in Belvue, Kansas. Ms. Olsen offered advice on balancing family obligations and the demands of a legal career. This Lunch and Learn was co-sponsored by the Children and Family Law Center and the Women's Legal Forum.
Wednesday, October 12, 2011
Child in Need of Care Speaker John Paul D. Washburn (Lunch & Learn)
John Paul D. Washburn graduated with Dean's Honors from Washburn University School of Law in 2007 with a Juris Doctor degree; he also received a Bachelor of Arts from Oral Roberts University in 2000, graduating Summa Cum Laude. After receiving his license to practice law in Kansas, he founded Washburn Law Office, LLC in Topeka, KS. Mr. Washburn is one of six attorneys in Shawnee County who represent indigent parents in Child in Need of Care cases, carrying an active CINC case load of over 100 cases. In addition to CINC representation, Mr. Washburn handles a variety of different matters ranging from Family Law to Small Business representation. Washburn Law Office, LLC actively performs Pro Bono work through Kansas Legal Services referrals and for other individuals in need. Recently, Mr. Washburn was presented with a Pro Bono Certificate from the Kansas Bar Association at their annual meeting for his Pro Bono service. Mr. Washburn takes great pride in serving Kansans by providing solutions to their legal issues.
Thursday, September 28, 2011
Court Appointed Special Advocates Gala
Court Appointed Special Advocates of Shawnee County celebrated its 25th Anniversary and honored the Honorable Dan Mitchell, '73, at a Gala on September 28. Judge Mitchell has been hearing child in need of care cases in Shawnee County for 25 years.
Representatives from the Washburn Children and Family Law Center attending the event were Sheri Keller and Dr. Bud Dale, '09, who conduct the Horizons Program in Shawnee County; Professor Lynette Petty, '87; LeAnn Cochran, '04, former CASA rookie of year; Professor Linda Elrod, '72, Director of CFLC; Laura Windheuser, '12, former co-chair of CFLC Student Society and current CASA; Professor Nancy Maxwell; Professor Emeritus Sheila Reynolds; Dallas Bauer, '06, former director of CFLC and CASA; and Judy Jewsome, '07.
Wednesday, September 21, 2011
Aging Parents: Estate Planning and Asset Allocation (Lunch & Learn)
This Lunch & Learn will be presented by longtime Kansas Estate Recovery Unit Attorney Brian M. Vazquez, '79.
Brian Vazquez is the deputy general counsel for the Kansas Health Policy Authority (KHPA) in Topeka. His primary duties involve oversight of the KHPA's legal support for the Medicaid program in Kansas. He continues to be the administrator of the Estate Recovery Unit for Kansas, a position he has held since the program was established by the Kansas Department of Social and Rehabilitation Services in 1992. Vazquez previously served as a U.S. Air Force judge advocates general officer, a Westlaw attorney, an assistant city attorney for the city of Topeka, and has been in private practice. He contributes his time to continuing legal education through writing and making CLE presentations, including being a contributing author on the Kansas Bar Association's Kansas Long-Term Care Handbook.
Vazquez earned his bachelor's and master's degrees from Kansas State University and his law degree from Washburn University School of Law. He has more than 29 years of legal experience.
Wednesday, August 31, 2011
Court Appointed Special Advocates (Lunch & Learn)
Joanna Penn, the volunteer recruiter for Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASAs) of Shawnee County, spoke to students about the roles and duties of CASAs in the lives of children who have been removed from their homes. Specifically, she discussed the role of the advocate in both tracking the child's needs and progress in the system and the relationship between the advocate and the court. Students learned that CASAs are often the most consistent individuals in a child's life and responsible for helping the court fully understand which of the child's needs are and are not being met. At the end of the presentation, she passed out information for those students who want to become CASAs.
Thursday-Friday, August 11-12, 2011
Case management training leads off Children and Family Law Center activities
On August 11-12, more than 60 lawyers, social workers, and mental health professionals participated in the fifth annual case management training at Washburn University School of Law. The training was sponsored by Washburn's Children and Family Law Center and The Law Offices of Dr. Bud Dale.
Case management is a "quasi-legal, mental health, alternative dispute resolution process that combines assessment, education, conflict management, and sometimes decision-making functions." Draft of Kansas Case Management Guidelines, Appendix A. In most states, case management is called parent coordination. The parent coordinator or case manager is an independent professional -- not a custody evaluator, a mediator, a lawyer, a financial advisor, a guardian ad litem, a psychotherapist, a visitation supervisor or a judge. A case manager is usually appointed for parents who have demonstrated their long-term inability to make parenting decisions for the benefit of their children. These parents fail to comply with parenting agreements and orders, engage in repetitive litigation, and other behaviors that harm their children.
The first day provided basic training. To be a case manager, one must be a trained mediator. In addition, the case manager should know about the Kansas judicial system and the procedure used in domestic relations cases, domestic violence, other resources in the community, child development, clinical issues relating to children, the effects of divorce on children, and the psychology of families. Attorney Tom Griswold started the program by reviewing the statute authorizing case management.
Dr. Bud Dale, '09, offered basic instruction on how to start working a case. Sheri Keller taught how to draft child-centered parenting plans. In addition, Kim Kadel differentiated limited case management case as practiced in the 18th Judicial District. Lori Yockers, '91, explained the financial dynamics of custody disputes. Ronnie Beach of Olathe discussed the use of email in case management, offering insights into how to soothe, rather than inflame, the parents. The day ended with Professor Linda Elrod presenting on ethical considerations for lawyers and the draft guidelines that the Kansas Supreme Court will be considering for case managers.
The second day focused on specific issues. Dr. Dale explored the resistance to co parenting and offered new research insights. Attorney Gary West, '94, of Topeka, discussed domestic violence and case management. Attorney Dennis Depew '80, of Neodesha, Kansas, outlined the particular types of problems facing rural case managers. Newton attorney Marilyn Wilder offered the lawyers' view of what lawyers want from case managers. The program concluded with a panel of three judges – the Honorable Allen Slater, from Johnson County; the Honorable Jean Schmidt, '82, from Shawnee County; and the Honorable Kathleen Lynch, '92, from Wyandotte County - providing insights on what judges want from case managers. The program provided 13 hours of training.
July 18-24, 2011
Professor Elrod participates in International Society of Family Law Conference
Children and Family Law Center Director Linda Elrod, Richard S. Righter Distinguished Professor of Law, participated in the 14th World Conference of the International Society of Family Law (ISFL) in Lyon, France. The topic of this year's conference was "Solidarities Between Generations." Nearly 200 law professors, lawyers, and some social scientists from more than 50 countries discussed issues ranging from the impact of new family formations on intergenerational issues. Among the topics were guardianship, private agreements, inheritance, and state welfare vs. private responsibilities for care of the elderly and disabled.
Photograph: Gala dinner in Lyon, France in the Musee des Beaux Arts. Pictured, from front left: Marianna Chaves from Brazil (which will host the next ISFL Convention in 2014); her mother; Olga Duyzeva from Moscow; Tom Oldham (Professor Elrod's coauthor on the family law textbook); Robin Fretwell Wilson from Washington and Lee University School of Law in Lexington, Virginia; Professor Elrod; Liis Arrak from Estonia; and Anna Stepien-Sporek and her husband from Poland. Now that's international!
