Three FAMU College of Law students are working with Jim Kallinger, Florida’s Chief Child Advocate, to compose a proposed bill that, if it were to become law, would require parents of children in state custody to pay child support to the State of Florida.Kallinger, who is the director of the Governor’s Office of Adoption and Child Protection, has received a draft of the proposed legislation prepared by third-year law students Heather Barry, Keith Boykins and Julian Jackson-Fannin. The law students are legal interns with the FAMU Legal Clinic Program, and are supervised by adjunct professor Linda Rohrbaugh, clinic law instructor Eunice Caussade-Garcia, and clinic director and assistant professor Ann Marie Cavazos.
“The Governor’s Office has had a long-standing partnership with the FAMU College of Law and with the assistance of their professors and outstanding students, we are able to explore the efficacy of good public policy that would improve the well-being of Florida’s children,” Kallinger said.
The intent language in the bill states that the purpose is to defray some of the costs the State of Florida and taxpayers incur with the care and education of children in the foster care system. The proposal supports the state’s increased emphasis on adoption and child abuse prevention.
Kallinger's office was created in 2007 to establish a comprehensive statewide approach to the prevention of child abuse and neglect, the promotion of adoption, and the support of adoptive families. Introducing such legislation is directly in line with the goals of the Governor’s Office and the mission of the FAMU College of Law to serve the underserved.
“Through this proposal, our law students have once again demonstrated the real-world value of blending classroom theory with practical experience in our legal clinic program,” said LeRoy Pernell, dean of the FAMU College of Law.
Once a final draft of the proposed bill is agreed upon and a legislative sponsor is identified, Florida would be the first state to enact this type of legislation requiring financial support from the parents to the state in dependency cases, if it were to become law.
“The state is undertaking a burden of being the surrogate parent when a child is placed in foster care,” said Cavazos. “The objective is for children to be raised by their parents. However, when this responsibility is abdicated to the state, then parents should contribute to the expense of raising the child in order to prevent a pervasive incentive.”
The FAMU College of Law's Legal Clinic Program offers third-year law students an opportunity to serve traditionally underrepresented clients under the supervision of faculty, the bench and the bar. The clinical program offers a variety of in-house clinics and externships that allow students the opportunity to explore various career potentials and handle problems that arise from poverty, inequality, and other social ills.