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The Children’s Law Center turns 25 this year! Still strong after a quarter-century, CLC reaches this milestone with friends like you who support our work to protect children and strengthen families. Founded by Judith Hyde and Debra Ruel, CLC was formed out of a coalition of concerned professionals and parents united to examine the weaknesses in a system that failed six-year-old Ayla Rose, who was shot and killed by her father during a supervised visitation session in 1992. In February 1993, a conference on children’s legal rights was held and six months later, CLC opened its doors. “I cry with happiness when I see the changes there have been in family court,” Judith said, remembering a time when some Connecticut jurisdictions had no representation for children in court. Now, in her words, “the children have someone.”

CLC’s Legal Representation program has come a long way since hiring its first attorney, Garrett Tuller, in 1995. With twelve staff members and hundreds of children represented every year, this program has had a positive impact on the lives of thousands of children and families.

Shortly after opening, the board voted to expand services, establishing the Children’s Law Line: a free legal resource that can assist callers on a variety of issues. This service is an important resource for anyone seeking to navigate a complex and unfamiliar legal system. There is no income screening to access the service and no limit on how many times a person can call.

In 2004, CLC’s programs expanded once again when we established the Families in Transition (FIT) Program. Often, by the time our attorneys are appointed to represent children, conflict between parents has escalated significantly. We recognized that if we could reach parents before escalation—educating parents early on about the harmful effects of conflict on children, encouraging them to find ways to work together as co-parents—this would create the best outcomes for their children and promote loving, safe homes. FIT provides parents with an opportunity to work out their custody and visitation disputes in a non-adversarial, mediation setting, while keeping the costs low for indigent families.

We are proud to have touched so many lives and happy to share our accomplishment with you.

Earlier this year, CLC revised its mission: To promote the best possible outcomes for children and families in transition or crisis by providing access to legal services and support they could not otherwise afford and by advancing collaborative, nonadversarial options for resolving conflicts outside the court system.

Our new mission supports an evolution of our programs, enabling us to develop services for children of parents of modest means who, while not eligible for our existing services due to their level of income, nonetheless cannot otherwise afford to access needed legal services and support. It supports our growth as an organization protecting the legal rights and needs of children by reaching more families throughout Connecticut.

Goodbyes

Earlier this year, we bid farewell to Marketing & Development Associate Abby Woodhouse, who took on a new role at The Village for Families & Children, and Professional Assistant Adelina Santiago, now with the Connecticut Legal Rights Project. We miss Abby and Addy and wish them the best. We are happy to welcome two new members to team CLC.

Greetings

Danielle Murray (on right), Marketing & Development Associate, comes to us from Hartford Public Library, where she honed strengths in event coordination, visual communications, and public engagement. She is happy to use those skills to aid in our mission.

Tonia Tubaya (on left), Professional Assistant, an experienced administrative professional, is a Connecticut native who loves working to help the state’s indigent children.

He has over fourteen years of experience providing business process and IT controls assessments to companies of all sizes, primarily within the financial services industry, working extensively with banks, investment managers, insurers, and retirement recordkeepers. His principal areas of service include performing internal risk and control assessments, third party reporting, process integration, and controls standardization.

Scott lives in Middletown with his wife and two young daughters. He enjoys golfing, cycling and hiking with his family. For the past 14 years, he has participated in the Pan-Mass Challenge—a 2 day, 192-mile bike ride to raise money for Pediatric Cancer Research through Dana Farber’s Jimmy Fund—and he and his wife have raised over $80,000 for the cause.

Scott first learned of CLC when he attended the Annual Gala in November 2017. After meeting staff and listening to the guest speaker’s compelling speech regarding her relationship with her CLC guardian ad litem, he says: “as the father of 2 young girls I immediately felt compelled to get involved and help support this great organization!” Welcome, Scott!

Alex suffered an alcoholic relapse when home alone with the girls. Frightened, Mariana requested a suspension of contact between Alex and their daughters, with supervised visits once per week while he was seeking treatment. Alex was unable to afford supervision long term and eventually began only contacting his daughters remotely, devastating them.

When Alex felt his mental health stabilize, he requested that the suspension be lifted and the girls were eager to again have “sleepovers at Papa’s.” CLC was appointed by the court to represent the girls and determine a safe and stable course of action. Our attorney immediately identified the need for the girls to see their father and volunteered to act as an observer of visits between Alex and his daughters. She also secured a free mental health assessment to address concerns about Alex’s mental health and alcoholism. When the evaluator determined that Alex posed no threat to Diana and Isabel, Mariana agreed to a gradual increase in Alex’s visitation.

Our role didn’t stop there, however. While our main goal is to establish a safe and stable parenting plan that benefits the children, that goal is best-served by teaching Alex and Mariana respectful ways to communicate with each other in support of their daughters. The two often email us a message they wish to communicate to the other, and we will offer suggestions to make the communications more courteous. Something as simple as phrasing a desire as a request rather than a demand has greatly improved their relationship; providing specific information early on also eases each parent’s burden.

Although this case hasn’t gone back to court in several months, we continue mediating, negotiating, and teaching these parents to communicate in cooperative and respectful ways in order to prevent crisis before it happens. Best yet? The girls are gradually getting back to their happy-go-lucky selves now that “Papa” is back in their lives.

We are celebrating our 25th Anniversary all year long! We’ve enjoyed seeing everyone at our recent events—such as our BK & Co. fundraiser and our Pottery Night—and we haven’t stopped planning fun new ways to get our friends, family, and supporters together.

One celebratory highlight was a stunning cake provided by Little Man Sweets for a recent fundraiser. This East Hampton baker created and donated a custom cake replicating our logo in delicious detail.

Keep an eye out for sweet treats and ways to support CLC at our upcoming events. See the back cover for details on our fall events, follow our Facebook page to receive the most up-to-date notifications, and check our website at www.clcct.org/events.

Do you have any #teamCLC moments you want to share? Tag your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram posts with #CLC25th to be added to our 25th Anniversary Mural!

CLC is thrilled to be an award recipient of a $2,250 grant from Main Street Community Foundation’s Women and Girls’ Fund!

In 2018, CLC represented the best interests of 263 girls living in CT by providing high quality legal representation with the goal of reducing parental conflict and creating safe, stable environments that allow these children to thrive. We are proud to protect the interests of girls in the MSCF community and greatly appreciate this award, which helps make our program possible.

In 2018, CLC celebrated the addition of two new members to our Board of Directors, welcomed back a returning member, and said a fond farewell to long-time board members.

Mark Boxer (serving 6 years), Sandra Gersten (serving 12 years), Bob Madden (serving 23 years), and Gaurav Patel (serving 2 years) supported CLC with dedication. While we will miss them, they will always be a part of the CLC family.

Please help us welcome our newest board members, Melissa Arkus and Cara Hardacker!

Melissa Arkus is the Human Resources Officer for Cigna’s Finance, Marketing, Legal and Clinical organizations. She has worked for Cigna for 19 years in various HR leadership roles across the company. In her current role, Melissa is accountable for leading the development and execution of an effective people strategy across these enterprise functions to advance growth priorities. In her previous role, Melissa served as the HR leader for the Global Marketing, Service Operations and Real Estate organization. Under her leadership, the Operations Leadership Development program launched a refreshed framework to attract high caliber early career talent; and create an experiential path to prepare Associates for broad leadership roles. Melissa holds a Bachelor of Arts in Sociology and Legal Studies from Bucknell University and a Juris Doctor from University of Connecticut School of Law. She was admitted to the Connecticut State Bar in 2004. Melissa lives in West Hartford, CT with her husband and two young daughters.

Cara Hardacker is an Assistant Vice President of Underwriting for AXA XL’s professional lines group. She specializes in Directors and Officers Insurance, working with executives of large commercial and financial institutions on their risk management practices and protection. Prior to joining AXA in 2015, Cara lived in Boston for 6 years, working as a Senior Underwriter at Catlin Inc. During her time in Boston she volunteered with a number of charities, spending most of her time helping to run the Young Professionals Group for the Women’s Lunch Place, a day shelter for women and children in Boston’s Back Bay neighborhood. Cara first learned of CLC when she attended the Gala in 2015. After hearing about CLC’s mission she joined the Gala committee for the following year and has enjoyed working with such a wonderful and committed organization ever since. Cara lives in West Hartford with her husband.

We are also thrilled to welcome Patrick Proctor back to our board. Patrick previously served on our board for 14 years.

Children thrive when they have a relationship with both parents in homes with low conflict. They are more likely to succeed academically, enjoy balanced interpersonal relationships, and face fewer mental health and behavioral issues as adults. These benefits foster adults who can more fully engage with their community and have fewer barriers to success. Equipped with this knowledge, CLC’s attorneys and social worker put the child’s needs at the center of each case.

Davon was the miracle child of Andre and Brandy, who were never married but were committed to having a child together. After the tragic loss of a child in delivery two years prior, the new parents were ecstatic for their second child and each was committed to raising him.

Brandy, who had previously been incarcerated, violated her parole and returned to prison shortly after Davon’s birth. Released from prison to a halfway house when Davon was two years old, she was unable to have the strong relationship with her son that she craved. This was a wake-up call for Brandy, who filed for visits with Davon and committed to turn her life around. Within two years, she had found stable employment, a suitable home, married a new partner, and welcomed a daughter into her family. Andre, however, was unsure about the kind of influence Brandy would have on Davon.

Davon, then 4, had grown up largely without his mother. He cried during supervised visits with her, and Andre was anxious about the possibility of unsupervised visitation and overnights. Andre and Brandy’s differing opinions created conflict so severe that they could not tolerate being in the same room together. They had been in and out of court for years, with escalating conflict and deepening distrust, when the court ordered reunification counseling. Andre remained unswayed by the counselor’s conclusion that there was no reason that the mother and son couldn’t see each other. When Andre began to refuse Brandy access to their son, CLC was appointed by the court to represent Davon’s best interests.

Although Brandy’s deep love for her son was apparent, CLC’s team—an attorney and social worker—concluded that a slow increase in visitation was called for, expanding Brandy’s time with Davon over the course of a year. It was also obvious that the high level of conflict within the parents’ relationship was untenable. The CLC team began to educate Andre and Brandy on effective co-parenting. Without more constructive communication between the two, their parenting would not be effective. Each parent had to know what issues Davon encountered, what needs he had, what needs had been met, and how to set consistent boundaries for him. The CLC team worked with Andre and Brandy to reduce negative talk and establish a rapport.

Meanwhile, CLC’s team created a plan. The social worker gave each parent a calendar to help organize their visits and communicate important dates, appointments, and other reminders. In addition, CLC’s offices became Davon’s transition point between parents. The CLC team could see clearly, firsthand, how parental conflict and isolation affected Davon. Each time a transition happened, he cried inconsolably. As parental conflict decreased, however, so did Davon’s extreme emotional response. Eventually, after entering kindergarten, Davon’s school became the main transition point, and it worked wonderfully. One parent would drop him off, and the other would pick him up with no drama.

Andre responded well to the social worker, feeling comfortable to discuss his anxiety and eventually responding to her recommendations. With an agreed-upon visitation and transition plan in place—which included overnight parenting time and weekends—the case went into maintenance mode.

CLC’s social worker continues to provide assistance as needed; for example, she contacts Davon’s school regarding issues that arise, and assists in making transitions easier when the normal transition plan is unavailable due to school breaks. The last court order issued was in June 2018, and since then, this case has remained out of court—due in no small part to the improved communication skills developed by each parent with CLC’s help. And, rather than tears, Davon greets his parents with a smile now, benefiting from the loving relationship which parents and children should have.