BxD announces the release of its Holistic Defense Symposium report
It has been a very exciting year for the The Bronx Defenders’ Center for Holistic Defense! In May, we hosted the first annual Holistic Defense Symposium, which brought together representatives from 24 different organizations that are working to adopt holistic practices. In the coming weeks, we will begin meeting with our latest group of technical assistance sites. Since 2010,…
BxD’s Mary Anne Mendenhall on Hot 97 ‘Street Soldiers’ discussing the Adrian Peterson child abuse case
Yesterday, September 21, 2014, Bronx Defenders Family Defense Practice Supervising Attorney Mary Anne Mendenhall joined in a compelling discussion on NFL player Adrian Peterson’s ongoing child abuse case, offering keen insights into the experiences and challenges faced by Bronx Defenders clients in Bronx Family Court. The episode of Hot 97’s “Street Soldiers” with host Lisa Evers brought…
Keston Jones to present at New York State Social Work Education Association 2014 Conference
Keston Jones, Bronx Defenders Parent Advocate, will present at the New York State Social Work Education Association’s Conference on October 9, 2014. His talk is entitled “Focus on Fathers: Myths and Misconceptions about Low Income African American and Minority Fathers.” The presentation flows from Keston’s work with The Bronx Defenders Focus on Fathers project, which was developed to…
The Bronx Defenders Welcomes Its 2014 Training Teams and New Hires!
The Bronx Defenders is proud to announce the start of its 2014 Training Teams as well as many new hires throughout the office. For the first time ever, The Bronx Defenders will welcome two training teams to the office. Throughout the next twelve months, our new attorneys will receive intensive training in holistic defense, working…
Defending families in the Bronx: A collection of portraits celebrating family reunification
Families are the building blocks of every community. They are a primary source of identity and support for individuals in American society. However, in the Bronx – home to some of the poorest, most-under-resourced neighborhoods in the country – parents often struggle to retain the right to make basic decisions about their children, and families end…
Bronx Defenders Social Workers Represent Holistic Defense at This Year’s National Organization of Forensic Social Work Conference
Last month, The National Organization of Forensic Social Work (NOFSW) held its annual conference, which took place this year in New York at Fordham University’s Lincoln Center campus. Several social workers and one attorney from The Bronx Defenders attended the conference, including four staff members who presented. Participation in the conference not only presented an exciting learning and…
The Bronx Defenders releases updated Consequences of Criminal Proceedings in New York State
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE August 11, 2014 Contact: Molly Kovel, The Bronx Defenders, 718-508-3421 or MollyK@bronxdefenders.org THE CONSEQUENCES OF CRIMINAL PROCEEDINGS IN NEW YORK STATE, A Comprehensively Updated Guide for Criminal Defense Attorneys, Civil Legal Services Attorneys, and Other Reentry Advocates New York – Today, The Bronx Defenders released an expansive update to our landmark manual detailing…
The New York State Coalition for More Family Court Judges
June 26, 2014 The Honorable Andrew M. Cuomo Governor of New York State NYS State Capitol Building Albany, NY 12224 RE: Sign S7883/A10139 to Add 25 More Family Court Judges Dear Governor Cuomo: The Bronx Defenders is a proud member of the New York State Coalition for More Family Court Judges. We urge you to…
Rise Magazine: ‘I Feel Good that I Never Gave Up!’: At National Reunification Month events, parents reflect on the long road home
For June’s National Reunification Month, organizations around the country celebrated the perseverance and resilience of parents reunifying with children from foster care and of the professionals who support them. On June 13, the family defense organization The Bronx Defenders hosted a reunification celebration, with food, face painting, performances, and families coming together to celebrate the…
A Celebration of Families!
Last week we hosted our annual Celebration of Families night to honor our clients who have been reunited with their children after arduous battles in Bronx Family Court. The evening provided our clients and their families an opportunity to share their stories, connect with one another, and take a moment to celebrate their perseverance after a difficult and…
Brooklyn middle school students visit BXD to practice their trial skills
Yesterday afternoon The Bronx Defenders welcomed a group of 20 middle schoolers from the LAUNCH Expeditionary Learning Charter School in Brooklyn to our Justice Campus to read aloud closing arguments they had prepared and to receive feedback from a panel of Bronx Defenders attorneys and summer interns. The students’ field trip was inspired by their reading of Walter…
Annual Celebration of Families | June 13, 2014
On June 13, 2014, The Bronx Defenders will host our Fourth Annual Celebration of Families, honoring our clients who have reunited with their children after being separated by foster care. In the spirit of National Reunification Month, a time designated by the American Bar Association to reflect upon the innumerable value of reunifying fragmented families, the Celebration of Families is…
Focus on Fathers’ Family Night Out at Yankee Stadium
On Friday, May 30, 2014, 100 Bronx Defenders clients who are fathers visited Yankee Stadium together with their children to see the New York Yankees host the Minnesota Twins. The tickets were donated to The Bronx Defenders’ Focus on Fathers program by the New York Yankees organization. The evening offered a chance for these Bronx…
Graham + West blog interview with Robin Steinberg on changing the criminal justice system
Robin Steinberg: On Changing the Criminal Justice System Robin Steinberg is founder and executive director of the Bronx Defenders, a public defender organization in the Bronx, New York City. Started in 1997 with a team of 8, The Bronx Defenders pioneered a new model for public defense, dubbed “holistic defense,” and today handles approximately 30,000…
The Bronx Defenders welcomes our 2014 summer interns!
We are very excited to welcome our summer 2014 interns today! Over the course of the next 10 weeks, 52 law school students and 15 college students from over 25 different schools will work together with attorneys and advocates in our Family Defense Practice, Criminal Defense Practice, Civil Action Practice, Immigration Practice, Policy & Community…
The Bronx Defenders Completes its 2014 Defenders’ Academy Spring Training Program!
Today wrapped up the sixth and final day The Bronx Defenders 2014 Defenders’ Academy Spring Training! Over the course of the past week, 78 participants from over 20 different organizations – ranging from public defender offices to private firms to the U.S. military – have participated in an intensive trial skills program designed to strengthen…
Keith Baumann Led Training on Defending Termination of Parental Rights Cases
This week, Bronx Defenders Family Defense Attorney Keith Baumann, in collaboration with Brooklyn Defender Services, led a training at Legal Services NYC on defending termination of parental rights (TPR) cases based on permanent neglect.
(more…)
Emma Ketteringham in The Huffington Post’s The Blog: Test and Report: Bad for Children and Families
In a recent piece in The Boston Globe, Professor Elizabeth Bartholet calls for states to test infants for illegal drugs and report those with positive screens to child welfare authorities so they can be taken away from their families and placed in the foster care system. Bartholet’s presumption that evidence of drug use is evidence…
The Bronx Defenders’ Focus on Fathers project inspires discussion in New York City
The Bronx Defenders’ Focus on Fathers project is inspiring discussion in New York City about the unique challenges fathers face in family court proceedings that involve their children. On February 6, 2014, Focus on Fathers coordinators, Mara Fleder, a Family Defense Attorney, and Keston Jones, a Parent Advocate, organized and participated on a Continuing Legal…
Safer and Stronger: The Bronx Defenders Policy Recommendations for Community Safety in the Bronx
Safer and Stronger: Policy Recommendations for Community Safety in the Bronx Download the PDF here: The Bronx Defenders – Safer and Stronger 2014 The Bronx Defenders provides holistic and client-centered criminal defense, family defense, immigration defense, civil legal services, social work support, and community advocacy to indigent people of the Bronx. Our staff of over 200 represents 35,000…
WeNews: More Moms Losing Kids in Family Court Drug Wars
Women across the country are often tested for drugs without consent and punished with government interventions when results are positive. Advocates say “test and report” is the “stop and frisk” of the curtained world of juvenile protection agencies… “There is very little attention to how the drug war is perpetrated in the child welfare system,”…
Patrick Clark responds to The New York Times Magazine article “God Called Them to Adopt. And Adopt. And Adopt”
The New York Times Magazine: Letter to the 11.17.13 Issue Misty and Jon are rightfully praised for opening their home. But your article missed an opportunity to critically examine the foster-care system from which this couple adopted so many children. The paucity of families willing to adopt is not the main problem; it’s that too…
Emma Ketteringham in The Huffington Post’s The Blog: Lighting a Candle Is Not Abuse
The deaths of three young children in a Bronx fire last month exposed the harsh living conditions of many impoverished New Yorkers, but the family’s treatment by city authorities in the wake of this tragedy deserves equal scrutiny. The tragic loss of these children is grief unimaginable for their parents. But New York City’s response…
Emma Ketteringham and Dinah Ortiz spoke at the Open Society Foundations
Emma Ketteringham, Managing Attorney of the Family Defense Practice, and Dinah Ortiz, Parent Advocate, spoke at a discussion on November 19, 2013 at the Open Society Foundations in New York. They spoke alongside other experts regarding the war on drugs, child welfare, and junk science. The discussion followed the screening of a new film from…
PR Newswire: Video and Panel Explores the Drug War’s Impact on Pregnant Women and Families
NEW YORK, Nov. 18, 2013 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — Open Society Foundations are proud to host National Advocates for Pregnant Women (NAPW) for a groundbreaking event on November 19th in New York City that will explore the drug war’s impact on pregnant women and families. Drug war propaganda is increasingly being used to justify repressive policies toward…