| Cold Case Project |
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The Supreme Court of Georgia Committee on Justice for Children is sponsoring the Cold Case Project which will last one year starting in April 2009. This project is being done in full partnership and support with the Georgia Division of Family and Children Services and the Georgia Office of the Child Advocate. Eleven attorneys were selected to serve as Supreme Court of Georgia Fellows on the Cold Case Project. These Fellows will review cases of children who have been in foster care for an extended period of time, and who appear to be aging out of foster care without attaining permanency.
The Cold Case Fellows are: Patricia Ketch Buonodono; Melinda Cowan; Rachel Davidson; Darice Good; Karlise Y. Grier; Diana Rugh Johnson; Trân Lankford; Dorothy Murphy; Brooke Silverthorn; Leslie Stewart; and Ashley Willcott. Additionally, Robert Grayson and Tammy Griner who currently serve as Special Assistant Attorneys General are Senior Fellows to the Cold Case Project and provide technical assistance.
The Cold Case Fellows will review the legal permanency options, deprivation proceedings and requirements, including: current diligent search reports; case plans; signed written transitional living plans; referrals to independent living; permanency hearing orders; reasonable efforts to achieve permanency documentation; and compelling reasons for choosing an APPLA (Another Planned Permanent Living Arrangement) as the permanency plan.
The Fellows represent a mix of agency (Special Assistant Attorneys General), parent, and child attorneys. Ashley Willcott, a Special Assistant Attorney General, is the Cold Case Project's leader. The Fellows will make periodic presentations at the Committee on Justice for Children meetings. At the end of the project, the committee will publish a paper based on their findings. Applied Research Services, an Atlanta based company specializing in criminal justice and policy development, is the project evaluator. |
