Law students at UF advocate for Florida children in foster care
In the state of Florida, there are thousands of children in the foster care system, but who is representing them in court? Law students in the University of Florida Levin College of Law Gator TeamChild Juvenile Law Clinic have been advocating on their behalf since the late 1990s.
The clinic, directed by Stacey Steinberg, J.D., allows students to work as attorneys ad litem for children, ensuring their voices are heard in court. The student representatives are appointed by the circuit court judges in all counties in the Eighth Circuit, including Alachua, Baker, Bradford, Gilchrist, Levy and Union. About 10 students participate in the clinic each semester, and they have already represented approximately 18 children throughout the past year.
“Before joining the UF Law faculty, I worked as a special victims unit prosecutor and as an attorney for children's legal services,” said Steinberg, a master legal skills professor and the director of UF Law’s Center on Children and Families. “This work is so important. We are able to translate really complex legal proceedings to a level that the kids can understand and ensure that they're heard and also that their rights are protected.”
Gabriella Cerasoli, a third-year law student, has benefited from the unique hands-on nature of the program, which immerses students in real legal work.
“It offers a really unique experience for law students to be able to engage with clients and offer advocacy and representation as a law student,” Cerasoli said. “ I really like that you're able to advocate on behalf of youth in the foster care system.”
Drawing from her experience, Cerasoli recently worked on a trauma response paper about children in the foster care system, which the Florida Bar Journal will publish in the spring.
“There are so many layers of trauma that can compound. There is a trauma response from the multiple layers of the system that [these children] have had to deal with,” Cerasoli said. “So I think that, for me, was one of the biggest takeaways from the clinic. It really shifts your perspective.”
Shayna Schulman, a third-year law student, reflected on how the experience has deepened her understanding of juvenile law and its challenges. In one case, Schulman advocated for a child who had been removed from her home and placed in foster care. She advocated for the child to receive services in out-of-home care and worked to ensure her legal rights were protected.
“This was a child who had been in the dependency system for so long,” Schulman said. “The consequences of that and the impacts it has on your mental well-being, it can come up at any point in your life from any kind of stress and it will impact you probably forever."
These moments can be emotionally taxing for students, but they also emphasize the importance of their work.
“It definitely made me consider doing family law or something involving the dependency system at some point in my career,” Schulman said. “It’s a humbling experience.”
Cerasoli echoed this, explaining how the clinic solidified her interest in juvenile law.
“My pro bono hours will be geared towards juvenile law because this work fills a need not only within the community but also within the workforce,” Cerasoli said. “There’s a lot of opportunity to make a difference.”
For Steinberg, the rewards of the work are clear.
“There is nothing better than knowing you have made a difference in a child's life,” Steinberg said.
For more information on the Gator TeamChild Juvenile Law Clinic, visit law.ufl.edu/gator-team-child.