Attention: reporters covering courts, juvenile justice, legal affairs
What: “A Watched System,” a forum to discuss media access and coverage of the juvenile court system.
On November 15th, Berkeley Law is co-sponsoring a forum to explore the often acrimonious debate over whether or not journalists should have access to juvenile dependency court proceedings.
On one side is a foster care system burdened with the almost impossible task of mitigating the worst effects of societal dysfunction: child abuse and neglect. On the other side, a cast of overwhelmingly well-intentioned journalists, who are met with a foster care system practically and – in more than half the states – legally cloaked in obscurity.
As a result, child welfare professionals spend time deflecting journalists’ probing questions instead of discussing solutions to the difficult and fundamental problems they face. Myriad opportunities to reform a troubled system are missed, and children suffer as a result.
When: Thursday, Nov. 15, 1 pm – 3 pm P.T.
Where: UC Berkeley School of Law, Room 105
Who:
· Michael Nash, presiding judge, Los Angeles County Juvenile Court
· Jim Newton, editor at large for the Los Angeles Times
· Barry Krisberg, director of research and policy at Berkeley Law
· John Diaz, editorial page editor for the San Francisco Chronicle
· Lily Dorman Colby, former foster youth and Berkeley Law student
· Leslie Heimov, executive director for the Children’s Law Center of California
· Chantel Johnson, former foster youth and legislative and policy coordinator for California Youth Connection
Co-sponsored by Fostering Media Connections (FMC), in association with the Chief Justice Earl Warren Institute of Law and Social Policy at Berkeley Law.
Details: Register here to attend or watch a live webcast. For more information, contact Daniel Heimpel of Fostering Media Connections, awatchedsystem@ fosteringmediaconnections.org.