Fellowship program serves critical need for quality legal representation of children and families

September 2, 2009

As Capital University Law School begins the 2009-10 academic year, the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy welcomes three new students to its Fellowship program — Rachel Neeb, Tonya Sapp and Thad Townsend. For the past three years, Adoption & Child Welfare Fellowships have been offered to incoming law students. This year the program has expanded to include a Juvenile Law Fellowship established in memory of Felicia Beth Nekritz, a 1996 graduate of Capital Law.

Administered by the National Center for Adoption Law & Policy, the Fellowship program helps connect students with exciting educational, networking, and internship opportunities across the county. The program provides students with scholarships, and work and conference stipends during law school in exchange for a commitment to work in this area of law after graduation.

Addressing the Critical Need for High Quality Legal Representation of Children and Families
Many factors place children and youth at risk of involvement with our nation’s delinquency and child protection court systems, including child abuse and neglect, substance abuse, mental health needs, and educational issues. Of the 900,000 children served by the child welfare system, 114,000 foster children wait for safe, permanent homes because their biological parents’ rights have been terminated. Thousands of these youths exit the foster care system without the skills needed for successful independent living, leaving them vulnerable to unemployment, homelessness, and criminal behavior. Successful outcomes and futures for these children and youth are dependent on talented and dedicated legal professionals acting in all capacities within our child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Well-trained, highly qualified child advocates, agency counsel, government attorneys, and juvenile judges can make all the difference between a youth’s successful transition into adulthood and a youth’s continued struggle in the system.

Establishment of Felicia Beth Nekritz Juvenile Law Fellowship
The Felicia Beth Nekritz Juvenile Law Fellowship program was established by the Nekritz family in recognition of the vital need for our legal systems to address the factors which place juveniles at risk of involvement with our nation’s delinquency and child protection court systems, including child abuse and neglect, substance abuse and mental health needs, and educational issues. The Fellowship assists students who share Felicia’s vision for improving the lives of juveniles through prevention and intervention, policy and systemic improvement efforts, as well as the provision of direct services for at-risk youth.

Tonya Sapp was selected as the Felicia Beth Nekritz Juvenile Law Fellow because of her commitment to working with neglected and troubled youth – a commitment that was reflected in Felicia’s work at the Office of the Ohio Public Defender. Tonya is a graduate of Franklin University, where she received her B.S. in Public Safety Management Cum Laude and Master’s of Business Administration. Tonya is proud of her accomplishments as a single mother who worked full-time while completing her degrees, and especially proud to be the first in her family to complete a graduate/professional degree. She currently serves as a mentor at Franklin County Children Services for the College-Bound Mentoring Program.

Welcoming the Fourth Class of Adoption & Child Welfare Law Fellows
Rachel Neeb graduated magna cum laude from the Ohio State University, where she received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Criminology with a minor in Legal Foundations in Society.  Rachel spent the last 27 months as a Rural Health Education volunteer for the United States Peace Corps, serving a small village in Morocco. During this time, she conducted health education lessons with local women and children on such topics as hygiene, nutrition, family planning, and water purification, while also completing a USAID grant-funded project that brought running water to a small rural community outside of her village. Rachel has also volunteered as a Guardian ad Litem for CASA, serving abused, neglected, and dependent children in Franklin County.

Thad Townsend graduated cum laude from the Ohio State University with a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science and a Philosophy minor. In college, Thad served as President, Small Group Leader, and Small Groups Overseer of the student organization, Oasis Christian Community, and he was also a member of Pi Sigma Alpha, the National Political Science Honor Society. Thad is currently an Ambassador for CASA of Franklin County. He is also actively involved in the launching of a new church in the Upper Arlington area of Columbus.

To contribute, or for more information about the Fellowship program or the National Center for Adoption Law and Policy, visit: http://www.law.capital.edu/adoption/.