The Legal Program addresses the complex legal needs of families served by CCFH and provides current legal information to CCFH staff. The Legal Director is made available by North Carolina Central University (NCCU) School of Law through their Clinical Programs Department. The program offers legal support to all of the CCFH programs, and works to expand the program’s involvement on a university, statewide, and national scale.

With support from law student interns from local universities, the Legal Director provides research, information, training, and presentation materials to more than 60 staff members from all CCFH departments and to community partners. Information given by the Legal Director includes legal information and referrals for mental health and medical team clients, child rights information for staff, expert witness testimony training, and inter-agency protocol development for community multidisciplinary teams.

As a Clinical Faculty member, the Legal Director annually teaches the course “Domestic Violence: History, Law and Practice” at NCCU School of Law. This course trains law students to effectively represent families experiencing violence and abuse in both civil and criminal cases. This is the first Domestic Violence law course in the country taught at a historically black college or university. It provides a valuable opportunity to recruit and train attorneys with an expressed interest in NCCU’s mission of public interest work and aiding families in need.

Partnerships

• All programs and grants at the Center for Child & Family Health
• Duke University, North Carolina Central University, and University of North Carolina Law Schools, including university legal clinic referrals, law student internships at CCFH, and participation as faculty at NCCU
• Durham County multidisciplinary teams related to family violence (Children’s Advocacy Center/Child Abuse Multidisciplinary Response Team, Domestic Violence Response Team, Sexual Assault Response Team, North Carolina Child Response Initiative)
• Local, statewide, and national legal associations and legislative committees, including the American Bar Association Commission on Domestic Violence, North Carolina Bar Association, and the North Carolina Association of Women Attorneys

Funding Supporters

• NCCU School of Law