Prerequisite: None

Exam Type: No Exam

This course explores various strategies for systemic law and policy reform, focusing on education, child welfare (abuse and neglect, foster care, adoption), and juvenile delinquency/law enforcement. We bring into the classroom as visiting lecturers leaders from the worlds of policy, practice, and academia—successful change agents representing different disciplines, career paths, and strategies for change. We examine significant reform initiatives and debate with the speakers and each other how best to advance children’s interests. The emphasis is on weighing different approaches to social change, inside and outside of the courtroom, with the goal of informing students’ future advocacy efforts. Through readings, speakers, and in other ways, we will endeavor as much as possible to bring the voices of young people themselves into our conversations.

Course requirements consist of reaction papers related to the readings and class presentations.

This course is part of the Child Advocacy Program (CAP), and you can visit the program’s website (cap.law.harvard.edu) to see a schedule of the speakers and topics from previous semesters. Students are also encouraged to enroll in CAP’s Child Advocacy Clinic and to consider enrolling in other courses related to children’s law, a list of which you can find on the website.

Cross-registrants are welcome.