Centers and Clinics
Gator TeamChild Methodology
Clinics
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| I. | Information for Legal Assistance |
| II. | Information for Law Students |
| III. | Affiliated Programs, Skills Courses, Externships, Judicial Clerkships and CLEs |
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INTERDISCIPLINARY APPROACH
Gator TeamChild is based on a model of interdisciplinary representation:
Children are referred for Gator TeamChild by courts, guardians ad litem, school personnel, public defenders and prosecutors, state agency case workers, Children’s Medical Services and/or other agencies. Law students work in teams with graduate students in social work to determine needs of each child client, assess strengths and weaknesses of the child and family, and then advocate for the
provision of services. Student teams collaborate with other professionals in the community -- caseworkers, psychiatrists, physicians -- to access a broad range of services for child clients. The teams also prepare treatment and dispositional plans that address the needs of the child and the family.
INNOVATIVE APPROACH
Gator TeamChild has a substantial, positive impact on the children it represents as well as on the law students who receive front-line education in advocacy, mediation, fundamental legal skills and values -- performing a valuable service to their communities while gaining unique experience.
The program operates from the core principle that adults can work together to create environments in which children can succeed. Lawyers and social workers together in specially trained teams can access benefits and services to improve the lives of their young clients.
Children who are clients have encountered legal problems and issues ranging from delinquency and dependency to emancipation, guardianship, school suspension and expulsion, and Social Security and Medicaid issues. Children rarely are able to advocate effectively for themselves, their rights are often ignored, and the consequences can be devastating.
Gator TeamChild provides lawyers for children while developing a pool of trained and skilled attorneys to provide legal services to children in the future. The program, an important feature of the law school’s Center for Children and the Law, provides:
1. Resources, research and training for lawyers throughout Florida who represent children and need support to carry out their advocacy.
2. Clearinghouse for ideas, and a center for coordination and collaboration for professionals who work to improve children’s lives.