Dr. Gary Melton, director of the Clemson University Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, spoke Nov. 24, in the Chesterfield Ceremonial Classroom as part of the Center on Children and Families speaker series.

Parents living without fear of asking for help, children living without fear of abuse, and neighbors readily offering open arms and helping hands are all vital to Dr. Gary Melton’s vision for the future of U.S. child protection policy.

Melton, director of the Clemson University Institute on Family and Neighborhood Life, visited the Levin College of Law on Nov. 24, to present to students and faculty, “What’s Wrong with Child Protection Policy…and How Can it be Fixed?,” advocating a movement away from investigations triggered by allegations of abuse and toward society-at-large taking a greater interest in the well-being of children and families rooted in their communities.

Using the Strong Communities program, funded by Clemson University and located in northwest South Carolina, which he spearheaded, as a model, Melton presented to his audience his composite vision for the future of child protection policy, then dissected it piece-by-piece to show how he arrived at his particular vision and why it just might work.

The end result, he claims, is “safer children and stronger communities.”

Under the current system, “the odds that a report to child protective services will result in anything positive are minuscule,” Melton explained. He said that the main problem with current U.S. child protection policy is that it is a system triggered by accusations, creating a backward system that offers little protection to children and no help to parents.

In his presentation, Melton cited some provocative statistics from his home state of South Carolina: about one in eight calls to child protective services are screened out, one-third of the remaining calls are officially substantiated, and only 40 percent of that third receive any services.

Melton added, “if they do get anything, it’s most likely a course in parenting, which has little to do with the reasons for the referral to begin with.”

Arguing against the public perception of perpetrators of child abuse as evil and monstrous, Melton argued that most cases involving neglect or emotional abuse indicate not depravity or illness on the parent’s part, but rather a deep and overwhelming need for support in childrearing, and instead of help, needy families are given an intrusive investigation.

Melton asserts that this trend is magnified by the “long-standing global increase in alienation, isolation and distrust,” which leads observers to report suspected neglect or abuse to local authorities instead of offering traditional, neighborly concern and support.

Calling his approach the “human rights approach,” which seeks to reaffirm the personhood of the child and the ability of the parent to succeed in raising the child, Melton hopes to effect a movement away from current U.S. child protection policy centered around accusations to a kinder, community-based approach centered around mutuality of respect and caring.

Wilson now serves as a legislative correspondent and staff attorney for Senator Arlen Specter, from Pennsylvania.

“When I applied to law school I did so with the intent of becoming an NCAA Compliance Officer for a collegiate athletic program,” Wilson said. “However, it is very easy to get caught up in ‘1Lism’ and so I found myself looking more to public interest law. After interviewing with various government agencies in Florida, I found myself looking more and more to ‘the Hill.’”

But breaking into working for United States legislators is not easy, Wilson said.

“I had tried to intern here while still in school, but this is hard to do if you don’t live here as the hiring process can happen fast, most positions are through word of mouth, I had not made many connections yet, and most Congressional internships are unpaid,” Wilson said.

So Wilson took the daring step of moving to Washington, D.C. without a job. Then she was browsing the online Senate Employment Bulletin when she noticed the position. Over 100 people applied for the one open spot, Wilson said.

First, she interviewed with Specter’s legislative director and the legislative assistant for her portfolio.

“At the end of the interview, I was asked to prepare a memo as soon as possible for the Senator regarding a piece of legislation that was currently pending in the Senate,” Wilson said. “It took several hours to complete as I had never tracked legislation before, was not familiar with the Senator’s voting record, and had never heard of the issue. However, the research and writing skills I learned in law school proved very helpful.”

Based on her memo and interview, Wilson was granted a second interview with Specter’s chief of staff and administrative director. After that went well, she had a final interview with Specter himself, and he approved of her being hired.

Wilson has a number of duties in her position. She serves as a liaison between Specter and his constituents, handling requests, complaints and concerns with her legislative portfolio, “which include business issues, financial services, social security, tax reform, and telecommunication issues,” she said. She also tracks legislation related to her portfolio and writes memorandum on bills, which includes making policy recommendations.

The recent $700 billion Wall Street bailout has been a big issue for Wilson.

“As the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 (EESA) falls under my portfolio, I have been experiencing an increased number of phone calls and letters,” she said. “I will also make calls to federal agencies such as the SEC and the Treasury requesting updates on issues related to the economic crisis and the EESA.”

Although it took Wilson several months to land her job, she stressed that it was worth it and any law student that is interested should persevere like she did until a job happens. She has some other advice for any other law students looking for similar jobs.

“If you want to pursue employment on the Hill or D.C. in general, my best advice is to start networking,” Wilson said. “The DC Gators is the second largest University of Florida Alumni Club in the country. Contacting the DC Gators is a great first step. If it is feasible for you to move up here, networking is much easier as is the application and interviewing process.”