LEGISLATIVE DRAFTING INSTITUTE FOR CHILD PROTECTION
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Mission Statement
The Legislative Drafting Institute for Child Protection (LDICP) is the natural evolution of a collective anger, frustration, and disappointment. I believe all of us involved share those feelings, but here I speak only for myself. After decades on the front lines of what I regard as the only “Holy War” worthy of the name, I accepted that I could fight individual child abusers ... sometimes with a success that shocked the cynical ... but I wasn’t laying a glove on child abuse itself. I could change individual lives, but I wasn’t making change. So I tried drafting legislation, only to see those bills “tweaked” into less powerful versions, versions demanded by the truly powerful. Some were so larded with “earmarks” that their original intent was buried under heavy layers of patronage and payoffs. I tried to form a child-protective lobby, but watched it become nothing I wanted to be part of. I once taught Continuing Legal Education courses, but eventually realized I was revealing strategies and tactics to those I had spent my life opposing. I learned that the overwhelming majority of American voters want children to be protected. But I also learned that this isn’t a high enough priority to impact politics. No one can run for office in America without taking a position (even if that position is to adroitly straddle fences) on hot-button topics such as abortion, gun control, capital punishment. The voting public demands no less. But when it comes to child protection, a vapid blanket statement that the candidate “loves children and supports the American family,” is all that is ever required. So what’s left? At their core, all courts are courts of equity. Simply speaking, that means courts exist to produce justice. This result is to be achieved by interpretation and enforcement of existing law. But when the neutrality that justice requires is hamstrung by fundamentally unfair laws, this result is at best elusive, and at worst unobtainable. What is needed are laws that actually accomplish their intent. Laws which are clear on their face, with no vacuous “open to interpretation” language, no handicapping earmarks, and no loopholes through which perpetrators can slither. Laws so clearly written that the public can demand their passage. And demand that in such a way that politicians – who are as reactive as amoebae to harsh light – do the right thing. Laws that allow grassroots organizations not only to create their vision of child protection, but to fight for that vision. Laws which clearly reveal who is serious about this “issue,” and who is serious only about seeking grants. Why this emphasis on specific legislation? Because virtually all “child advocacy” is just that: flabby adjectives, devoid of actual content. There is no value to being “pro child,” because that label can fit virtually anyone or anything. That which allows for endless interpretation is, by definition, an empty vessel. Instead of being “pro child,” what if people could be “pro” a specific piece of legislation? What if, instead of demanding our politicians “care,” we could demand they pass such specific legislation? What if we could force the legislature to act? Confronted with an actual piece of legislation, there’s no place to hide. The reality is that no answer is a “no” answer. Confronted with an actual bill ready to be enacted, no action is action ... the action of being against that very bill. Instead of the welcoming shade of rhetoric, we could put all legislators in a single bright spotlight: Behavior is the Truth. After a long period of planning and the sacrifices of many too modest to be named here, the Legislative Drafting Institute for Child Protection is now a reality. The LDICP has partnered with Southern University Law Center in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, which has contributed its own funds to internships and its own resources to drafting courses. However, the LDICP is free-standing in all respects, meaning its budget will not become part of the law school’s coffers, and will be administrated separately and independently at all times. The LDICP is not a lobby – it exists solely as a resource. The purpose of the LDICP is to create, upon request, highly specific legislation to accomplish the goals of self-organized, grassroots organizations which intend to achieve a child protective objective. The passage of each piece of legislation is the goal, each time. So: no legislation to “form explanatory groups,” or “fight child abuse” or “raise public awareness.” Examples of what legislation might be requested include: Closing the loophole in the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act that allows non-lawyer volunteers to “represent” children in abuse/neglect cases. Raising the stakes for “circle of trust” crimes. Requiring victim reparations in child pornography cases. Extending the statute of limitations in “vulnerable victims” cases. Establishing a Secure Treatment Unit for “the worst kids in the state”
About This Cause
The Legislative Drafting Institute for Child Protection (LDICP) was established to respond to the need for clearer, better researched, and more easily implementable laws in the area of child protection. Our aim is to create highly specific legislation for organized grassroots groups seeking to accomplish a child-protective objective. Using a problem-solving methodology developed by Robert B. Seidman, late Emeritus Professor of Law and Political Studies at Boston University School of Law, the LDICP researches and produces child-protective legislation. Our process focuses on data-gathering, and our policy recommendations are thoroughly grounded in evidence and rigorous analysis. Our drafted legislation and summary reports will be posted and will remain available to the public on this website. The LDICP has established a project at Southern University Law Center (SULC) to provide training, mentorship, and paid internships for law students interested in pursuing careers in children’s law and public policy. Our relationship with SULC is not exclusive, and the LDICP remains open to establishing similar projects at any law school or university with a methodology-based legislative drafting program. The LDICP is governed by the policies established by our Board of Directors and our actions remain unified with our mission through regular consultation with and oversight by the Board. In keeping with the public nature of a non-profit organization, the Board’s membership is diverse and is drawn from a wide range of professions engaged in child protection. The Board’s membership is voluntary and no Director is paid for his or her service. If you are a grassroots organization that wishes to request LDICP services, contact us here for an application form. Requests from organizations will be assessed by a committee of our Board of Directors using the criteria specified in the application. The LDICP is registered as a non-profit corporation in the state of Louisiana. We have begun the process of establishing the organization as a 501(c)(3) non-profit.