2009 Annual Report - The Children`s Law Center

The Children’s Law Center
of
Connecticut
2009 Annual Report
From the Executive Director ...
Dear Suppor ter s and Fr iends of the Childr en’s Law Center ,
I hope this letter finds you enjoying the summer ! Our 2009 Annual Repor t is full of infor mation about
our pr ogr ams and ser vices, and all of our accomplishments last year . As you r ead it, keep in mind the
ver y impor tant r ole that you play in making these under takings possible. Without the gener ous giving
of your time, talents and, yes, money, we would not have been near ly as successful. I tr ust you will per use these pages with pr ide and celebr ate the success of CLC - knowing that we ar e par tner s in making
it happen. I am tr uly gr ateful for our r elationship and look for war d to wor king together … to ensur e a
br ighter futur e for the childr en we ser ve.
Best wishes –
Justine Rakich-Kelly
Executive Dir ector
Executive Director Justine Rakich-Kelly
“A
child who is a silent witness to high conflict divorce has a
voice through the Children's Law Center. I vehemently support
CLC so this child will continue to have a voice and an advocate
… and can develop and grow without feeling responsible for
resolving the issues of his caregivers.” State Rep. Chr is P er one
State Rep. Chris Perone of Norwalk
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From the President ...
My mother , who had an inter esting r ather than an easy life, showed me that in ever y wall, no matter how r ough and blank and cold, ther e was always a door . Gr owing up, I saw her r un against a
lot of walls and find, sometimes by sheer for ce of will, a lot of door s.
In 2009, helped by judges who know us, and our helpline (888-LAWDOOR), and our tir eless staff
and boar d, and the fr iends who cheer us on and tell their fr iends what we do and how we do it, we
wer e able to help hundreds of childr en find door s that sur pr ised them and, sometimes, us.
Difficult as the economy in the countr y and the state was, because of our commitment to best pr actice financial habits and your gener osity, we stayed in the black without cur tailing the number of
families we take under our car e, or the r ange of our ser vices. In other wor ds, we tr usted that the
door s wer e ther e to be found, and we wer e r ight.
Thank you,
Bruce Clements
P r esident
Board President Bruce Clements
Community Spelling Bee, October 2009
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Legal Representation 2009 ...
In 1993 a six year -old gir l was shot and killed by her father dur ing a cour t or der ed super vised visitation session in easter n Connecticut. Fr om this tr agedy ar ose a coalition of pr ofessionals, united in their
inter est to pr otect childr en and pr event this type of hor r or fr om r eoccur r ing. The deter mination was
made that in high-conflict custody and divor ce cases, childr en need their own advocate to pr otect their
inter ests. Since 1994 The Childr en’s Law Center has been pr oviding legal r epr esentation to childr en
who, thr ough no fault of their own, end up embr oiled in the most complicated divor ce and custody
cases. The pr ogr am has gr own fr om a stor efr ont in Willimantic 15 year s ago, to ser ving 547 childr en in
six cour t jur isdictions in 2009. 49% wer e fr om minor ity populations. All wer e fr om families living in
pover ty.
“Elijah is my hero,” says CLC attorney Monique R yan. When Elijah’s case was brought to us, he was
sleeping on a mattress on the floor in a room he shared with four step-siblings. Elijah’s mother had
recently filed a motion for custody, after getting clean from years of drug abuse. Attorney R yan
work ed closely with DCF and other professionals to determine mom’s fitness as a parent. She was also able to
earn Elijah’s trust and eventually persuade the emotionally shut-down 12 year-old to open up and confide
in her. Elijah shared with Monique a deep desire to
live with his mother. In the end, Elijah and his mother
were reunited, but only with court orders ensuring that
mom would submit to regular drug testing and continue
to work with DCF, and that Elijah would participate in
regular therapy sessions to address the emotional
trauma brought on by his very troubled life. Children’s
Law Center will continue to monitor Elijah’s progress,
and our hope is that for the duration of his adolescence
he is living in a stable home with a loving parent.
Staff Attorney Monique Ryan
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Children’s Law Line 2009 …
Our Childr en’s Law Line is a fr ee statewide legal hotline offer ing help to caller s with questions concer ning divor ce, custody, guar dianship and any other issues r egar ding childr en in family cour t. Attor neys
and par apr ofessionals answer calls weekdays between 9:00 am – 5:00 pm. For many caller s, the Law
Line is their fir st stop as they enter the maze that is family cour t and lear n the for eign language of legalese. Most caller s ar e r efer r ed fr om United Way’s 2-1-1 Infoline and other family ser vice agencies.
In 2009, the Law Line answer ed 1,557 calls, ser ving 1,302 childr en. Outcome measur es based on callbacks to user s of the ser vice indicate mor e than 79% of caller s r epor ting the advice they r eceived to be
―Very Helpful‖ or ―Helpful.‖
“T he advice I got from Law Line was very reassuring to me in understanding the full range of options
available. T hank you very much. Keep up the good work !” J oel K.
“T hank s to your help, things work ed out so well for my son. He sees his dad and comes home happier
and more secure. I’m going to call you first, every time I have a question.” Car oline
Families In Transition 2009 …
The Childr en’s Law Center ’s mediation pr ogr am, Families in Tr ansition (FIT), ser ves low-income par ents as they navigate the unchar ted water s of separ ation and divor ce. FIT’s tr ained mediator s help
par ents cr aft agr eements that ser ve the best inter ests of their childr en, as an alter native to lengthy and
expensive litigation. The pr ogr am helps par ents who can’t function as a couple cr eate a functional par enting r elationship to unbur den their childr en fr om continued conflict.
Thanks to a gr ant fr om the Community Foundation of Gr eater New Br itain, in the fall of 2009 CLC
hosted a 5-day tr aining session for new volunteer mediator s, facilitated by nationally r enowned divor ce
and custody mediation tr ainer , Car l Schneider , P hD. At the end, 12 new cer tified mediator s joined
FIT. In 2009 the FIT pr ogr am ser ved 86 families and 128 childr en. The pr ogr am is poised for expansion in the coming year with our incr easing volunteer pool.
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FIT (cont…)
Jeff and Carol were high school sweethearts who never married, but had a child. Jeff was
completely absent for the first two years of his son’s life, and had a drink ing problem. By the
time his son was 9 years-old, Jeff had seen him only sporadically. R ecently, however, Jeff
had gotten help for his drink ing, and was mak ing an effort to re-enter his child’s life. He
filed a motion in court to initiate contact with Sean. Due to Jeff’s record of absentee parenting and alcoholism, the court referred the family to FIT . Our social work er, T om Buczynsk i,
and a CLC attorney met with the couple every two week s to establish regular communication
between the parents. Jeff learned about the importance of his role in his son’s life. He cooperated fully, and gradually the couple began to rebuild trust. At this point Jeff and Carol are
meeting on their own once a week to discuss Sean, and they remain in regular communication. Over the course of about six months, with the guidance of our professionals, Jeff developed a great relationship with his son. He’s been consistent in his parenting and successful
with his commitment.
The Childr en’s Law Center is gr ateful for the following
volunteer mediator s who donated their time in 2009 to
wor k with our staff in the FIT pr ogr am:
Barbara Aaron, JD
Peter Arakas, JD
Margaret Bozek, JD
Shari Bornstein, JD
Rebecca Brenia, JD
Susan Busby, JD
Bruce Clements
Seth Conant, JD
Robert Fiedler, JD
Doug Fishman, JD
Joan Geetter, Ph. D, MF
Henry Green
Monica Harper, JD
Colleen Murphy Hillard
Judith Hunt, LMFT
Otto Iglesias, JD
Ira Jacobs, JD
Annette Santiago Kozman
Andrea Levy, JD
Polly Marston
Jule Michel
Jeff Mickelson, JD
Kathleen Nevins, JD
Jamie Ottaviano
Sarah Ouelette
Andy Spoerk, JD
Heath Tiberio, JD
Martin Wheeler, JD,LMFT
Ewa Wrona, LCSW
Volunteer Mediators Attorney Susan Busby and CLC
President Bruce Clements
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Events 2009 …
Childr en’s Law Center ’s lar gest fundr aising event, “Imagine 2 0 0 9 ,‖ was held on November 12 at the
Town & County Club in Har tfor d. The event was an over whelming success, attended by over 200 people and r aising near ly $65,000 for CLC thr ough ticket sales, sponsor ships, and our r enowned silent
and live auctions. P r ofessional auctioneer Gar y Katz lent his exper tise and the event committee
wor ked tir elessly to bolster attendance and publicity, gar ner ing much-needed visibility and suppor t for
the or ganization in the midst of a tough financial climate. A huge thank you to the ―Imagine 2009‖
committee, without whom the event could not take place …
Laur a Gr ondin, Co-Chair
Bar bar a Aar on, Co-Chair
Anne Elvgr en
Sandr a Ger sten
Sandi Gir olamo
Elaine Kahaner
P addi LeShane
P am Magnano
Anne Noble
Maur een O’Connor
J ustine Rakich-Kelly
J acqueline Simar d
2009 Event Committee Co-chairs Barbara Aaron and Laura Grondin
Liza Thayer
*Special thanks to Joyce DePastino for the invaluable assistance she pr ovided for the entir e
event!
The House That YOU Built ...
On May 25th, 2009, mor e than 50 guests gather ed at our offices for a Founder’s
Luncheon in honor of J udith Hyde and all of those who helped br ing the or ganization into existence. J udges, attor neys, par ents and social wor ker s shar ed
their stor ies of the combined vision to pr ovide Connecticut’s childr en with an
advocate of their own in contentious divor ce and custody disputes that became
The Childr en’s Law Center .
CLC Founder Judy Hyde
Founder’s Luncheon
May 25th, 2009
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Interns 2009 …
We love our inter ns! Childr en’s Law Center actively par ticipates in academic inter nship pr ogr ams with ar ea
colleges and univer sities. Students inter ested in family law and human ser vices join us thr oughout the year to
lear n about the wor k we do while pr oviding beneficial office suppor t and help with special pr ojects. Our inter ns
ar e given the oppor tunity to accompany staff attor neys to cour t and obser ve family mediation sessions. Many of
our cur r ent staff began their r elationships with CLC as inter ns. In 2009 we wer e for tunate to host the following
inter ns:
Katie Yates – UCONN School of Law
Car a Manter n – Loyola Univer sity School of Law
Emily P etr o – Fair field Univer sity
Heather Swick – Univer sity of Connecticut
David Coughlin – Wester n New England Law
Makayla Butler – Quinnipiac Univer sity
Br itni Sander s – Quinnipiac Univer sity
Eleanor Wilkinson— Boston Univer sity School of Law
Sar ah Cicchetti—Holy Cr oss Univer sity
2009 Intern Cara Matern
Board of Directors 2009 …
Bruce Clements, President
Moy N. Ogilvie, Vice President
Debra Ruel, Secretary
Sheila Moses, Treasurer
Barbara Aaron
Campbell D. Barrett
Donna Bronwell
Douglas Edwards
Sandra Gersten
Marshall M. Green
Laura T. Grondin
Ursula Haerter
John M. Horak
William Johnson
Elaine Kahaner
Fatima Lahnin
Robert Madden
Patrick Proctor
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Staff 2009 ...
Justine Rakich-Kelly, Executive Director
Randa Hojaiban, Staff Attorney/Social Worker
Nancy Strini, Staff Attorney
Aisha Roche, Staff Attorney
Jodie Comer, Staff Attorney
Monique Ryan, Staff Attorney
Hollis DeAbreu, Paralegal
Tom Buczynski, Staff Social Worker
Alison Mundy, Director of Development
Sarah LaBelle, Administrative Assistant
Karen Renfro, Billing Clerk
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Financials 2009 …
Goods and Services 2009 …
To the following individuals and businesses who have donated valuable items, time and talent to our fundr aising
effor ts we expr ess our thanks:
30 Ar bor Str eet, LLC
David Alber ding:
Innovative Fitness
Atty. Fr ank Leone
J aime Bissonnette
Bob's Discount Fur nitur e
Body Bliss, LLC
The Bushnell
Car lyle J ohnson Machine
Lyn Evans for P otpour r i
Designs
Tonya Flor es
Kathr yn Fr eda
Fuller Movement Center
Gr ant's Restaur ant
Lacey Goodr ich
J amee Her ber t
Leone, Thr owe, Teller &
Nagle
David P . Mester
Mitchell Fuel Co.
Casey Mor r is
Alison Mundy
Mystic Aquar ium Institute
for Explor ation
Nelson
One P ear l J ewelr y
Lisa Rakich Cicchetti
Suzanne M. Rakich
Robinson & Cole, LLP
Aisha A. Roche
J acqueline Simar d:
Ther apeutic Solutions
Dr . J ack Thayer
The Toy Chest
Tim Str ini : Westconn
Hear ing Aid Center
Well-A-Way Far m
Yolande Rubb:
Yolande Designs
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Donors 2009 ...
Foundations and Community
Support …
Aetna Foundation
Aetna Giving Campaign
Amer ican Savings Foundation
J . Walton Bissell Foundation
The CATIC Foundation
Community Foundation of Gr eater New
Br itain
Connecticut Bar Foundation
Connecticut Community Foundation
Enswor th Char itable Foundation
Fund for Gr eater Har tfor d
Lamb Family Fund
Sar ezky Family Foundation, Inc.
The Naugatuck Savings Bank Foundation
P r udential
State of Connecticut, Childr en's Tr ust Fund
United Way of Centr al and Nor theaster n
Connecticut
Law Offices of Chr istine Whitehead
$500 - $999 ...
J im Ar nold
Mar gar et Bozek
Shar on W. Dor nfeld
Kim Duell
Lisa Faccadio, P .C.
Evan Flaschen and Elizabeth Dr olet
Br acewell & Giuliani LLP
J ohn M. Hor ak
J udith Hyde
J enny Laur ita
Mickelson, J acobs and Bozek, LLC
Anne Noble
Moy N. Ogilvie
The O'Neil Law Fir m
J ohn P aul
J ustine and Br ian Rakich-Kelly
Hildegar d Rauch
Law Offices of Howar d Lee Schiff, P C
P aul Ster nbur g
Liza and J ack Thayer
$1000 and up ...
$250—$499 ...
BNY Mellon Wealth Management
Br own, P ar adis & Scott, LLP
Scott Bir r ell & Kar en Ger sten
Blum, Shapir o
Br own, P aindir is & Scott, LLP
Michael Budlong
Michael and Lisa Cicchetti
Br uce and Hanna Clements
Constr uction & Gener al Labor er s' Local 230
J im Cr um, Geeks for Good
Anne Elvgr en
Filomeno & Company, P C
Sandr a and Aar on Ger sten
J ennette Gottlieb
Mar shall and Fen Gr een
Ur sula Haer ter and Michael Gamache
Vir ginia Industr ies
Shannon Louden
Rober t and Dor een Madden
Elizabeth I. McAuliffe
Sheila S. Moses, CP A
McCar ter & English, LLP
Rober t P ulito
Rome McGuigan, P .C.
Debr a and J ames Ruel
Sullivan & LeShane
Webster Bank
Holly and Mar k Aber y-Wetstone
Anthony C. Bar bino
Susan V. Busby
Suzanne E. Car on
J ohn and Mar ilyn Car uso
Center for Medicar e Advocacy
Anne C. Dr anginis
Debor ah Eisenber g
Rober t and Heather Fiedler
J im Flaher ty
Michael Gacek
Robin Gr ant-Hall
Randa Hojaiban
Angela J alber t
J acqueline and Nor m J anes
Elaine and Har ver y Kahaner
Elizabeth Kaplan
William and Char lotte Kennedy
Maur een Kir ouac
P amela Magnano
J anis Milr oy and Chr ista Rakich
Mastr ianni & Seguljic, LLC
Emil P ocock
Bar bar a Ruhe
Fr ank and P atr icia Santy
J onathan and Sher r y Schr eiber
Ruth and Ron Van Winkle
Michael Weber
Mar tin Wheeler and Debor ah Fer r ar i
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$100-$249 ...
P eter Ar akas and Kar en Keller man
Rachel Bar ish
Bayer Odlum & Hyde
Ber r y Law LLC
Fr ancis Br ady
Fr eder ica Br enneman
Donna Br onwell
Tom and Liz Buczynski
Gayle Car r
Leo Car r
Michael Cicchetti
P aul and Mar tha Clements
Bar bar a Collins
Cooper -Atkins Cor por ation
Susanne Davis
P eter Dor sey
Clar e Feldman
J ocelyn S. Fenyn
Mar k Fer r ar o
Genna Gar ver
Mar ilyn Giolas
Sandi Gir olamo
Maur een C. Gould
Tzedakah House, LLC
Ann Gr uenber g
Kate Haakonsen
Apr il Haskell
Fr ancis Hennessy
BK & Co.
J acqueline J acoby
Bar bar a Kar sky
William E. Kelly
Monica Laffer ty Har per
Scott K. Lehmann
Ann Z. Leventhal
Diane Mack
Bob Mathieu
Allison McCluer
Kenneth McIntosh
P eter Millman
Bobi Molchan
Bill Mor gan
David Mor se
P epe & Hazar d LLP
Rober t A. P enney
Linda P . P r estley
P atr ick and Linda P r octor
CT Chapter Amer ican of Academy of
Matr imonial Lawyer s
Stor r s Fr iends Meeting
P aula Schenck
J anet Schr ager
$100-$249 (con’t) ...
Har old and P at Schr amm
Cindy and Mar k Slane
Thomas and Filomena Soyster
Nancy and Tim Str ini
Timothy Sullivan
Shannon Wegele
Mar y and Thomas Weinland
Car mody & Tor r ance LLP
P amela Wheeler
Kar en and P hil Will
Lila Wolff Wilkinson
Samir Zanovic
Up to $99 …
J eanine D. and J effr ey Allison
Annamar ie Andr ews and Ar thur Wood
Columbia Congr egational Chur ch
Her ber t and Regina Bar all
Malcolm and Susan Bar low
P aul and Vivian Batter son
P hilip and Dor othy Bognar
Ritamar ie Br aswell
Blanche G. Br auneck
William and Susan Br eslau
J ody Cohen
J odie Comer
Michael and Susan Cutlip
J oyce DeP astino
Valer ie DeQuattr o
Mar y Lou DeVivo
J . Br ice and Mar y Hamlin Dixon
Linda Duckstein
Reza Fakhar i
Edith Fein
J onathan Fink
Kathleen Flaher ty
Car ol Ger eg
Giuliano & Richar dson, LLC
Mor t and Ir ene Glasser
J ewel A. Gutman
Monica L. Har per
Betty Heiss
Sidney S. Hor owitz
Keith and Mar ietta J ohnson
Henr y and J une Kr isch
K. Nar ayan Kutty
Rebecca B. Lamont
Renee Lavoie
Andr ea Levy
Tar a L. Liscombe
P ati Long
J anice H. MacLean
Nancy Macy and Bob P ainter
Rick and Kathy Mar tel
Susan D. Mar tenson
Michele Mur phy
Geoffr ey Naab
Law Offices of Eliot J . Ner enber g
Don and Elizabeth Noel
Feza Oktay
Susan and Mitchell P ear lman
Raphael P odolsky
Geor ge H. Rawitscher
Fr ances Rober ts and Betty Hudson
Elizabeth Robinson
J ames and Lor r aine Roger s
Mar gar et F. Romanik
Mar ietta Sabetta
Doug and Clair e Scully
J er r y Shaffer
Andr ew Spur r ier
William and Bobbie Taylor
Bar bar a S. Tuller
Elizabeth L. Tyler
Char les Ur so
Lynne Ustach
Char les and P atty Gr ace Vinsonhaler
Law Offices of J ames C. Wing, J r
United Way of West Centr al Connecticut
Protecting the interests of children ...
Non-Profit Org
US Postage
PAID
HARTFORD, CT
Permit# 3418
The Children’s Law Center of Connecticut
30 Arbor St.
Hartford, CT 06106
www.clcct.org
Proud to be a United Way partner agency!
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