Interviewer Donna Gerson (donna@donna gerson.com) speaks at law schools and writes on legal career issues. She wrote the book Building Career Connections: Networking Tools for Law Students and New Lawyers (NALP, 2007) and others.

Beth, tell me about your interest in child welfare law.
I think it comes from my family, many of whom work with or on behalf of children. My mom’s a special education teacher, my uncle is a social worker, my grandpa was a psychologist, and the list could go on. I have just really al-ways had a sense of wanting to do for others, especially for children. I worked directly with younger children—tutoring at elementary schools and teaching preschool—while in high school. I wrote my senior thesis in high school on the Adoption and Safe Families Act, and I think researching that gave me a special place in my heart for children who had been in foster care.

Did you always want to be a lawyer?
Not always . . . . I didn’t know any lawyers growing up, so it never really crossed my mind as an option until my senior year in high school. One of my favorite teachers, who knew my passion for children’s issues, suggested that I should be a child advocate lawyer. I had thought of working as a teacher or social worker, but because of my teacher’s suggestion, I went online, researched child advocacy, and I was hooked. That’s what I wanted to do.

Why did you choose Catholic University for law school?
Catholic’s Law and Public Policy Institute was a primary reason. Students enrolled in the Law and Public Policy Institute must take certain classes and participate in seminars and forums to introduce them to the world of public policy. My other reason was more of a financial one. I was awarded a full scholarship. Knowing that I wanted to work in the public interest field, I couldn’t turn down that offer.

Did you enjoy law school?
Yes, for the most part I did. Certainly the Law and Public Policy Program was a highlight, and the experiences that it enabled me to have, such as interning at the ABA Center on Children and the Law as well as the Children’s Defense Fund, were incredibly valuable.

Tell me about your internship with the ABA Center on Children and the Law.
After my first year in law school, I spent the summer as an intern researching child and family service reviews on a state-by-state basis. I stayed at the center for the first semester of my second year and continued into the spring semester. Through that experience, I moved on to the Children’s Defense Fund to intern the summer after my second year, and then continued on all the way through my third year.

So that first summer job was really significant for you.
I really think that making the initial connection at the ABA and then continuing to work in the child welfare com-munity—it’s a very small community here in D.C.—and just getting your foot in the door is a great start. Network-ing is key. I hated that word when I was in law school. I am usually a very quiet person by nature, but I think that getting those work experiences while I was in law school was critical for me to gain the connections and better un-derstand the issues involved in child welfare because it’s a very complex field. Also, getting involved in the com-munity made my job search easier later on. I think I have gotten every job I’ve had since then through a connection.

You were an excellent student, participated in law review, and graduated seventh in your class. Did you par-ticipate in on-campus interviewing?
I did not. I knew going in that I wanted to do child advocacy. In OCI, there wasn’t an opportunity to do that work, so I had no interest in pursuing a path that wouldn’t lead me here.

Did you participate in any job fairs?
I went to a couple, including Equal Justice Works. None of them resulted in jobs, but I think it was good to attend and see what was there. I think they would be helpful for other students who weren’t as focused on a single issue as I was.

Tell me about the Children’s Defense Fund (CDF). CDF is a nonprofit child advocacy organization. We work to champion policies and programs that lift children out of poverty, protect them from abuse and neglect, and ensure access to health care, quality education, and a moral and spiritual foundation. We advocate all over the country to ensure that children are always a priority.

Tell me about a typical day in your life as a senior policy associate.
I don’t know that there is a typical day. Really, a day could entail reviewing proposed or recently introduced legisla-tion, making suggestions about how to improve the proposed legislation, drafting legislative language to make those changes, writing summaries of legislation, calling and meeting with Hill staff, and helping to pull together coalition meetings to talk about the legislation to make sure everybody is on the same page. Or, another type of day could be traveling to participate in a meeting, like I did yesterday, to talk to a group of grandparents and other relatives to let them know about the recently passed legislation and how it will help children that they’re caring for and themselves.

Do you enjoy your work at the Children’s Defense Fund and why?
Absolutely! I get to work with amazing, wonderful people on a mission that I truly believe in. Part of the reason that I love working here is I get to feel like a part of a much bigger movement. It’s wonderful to be with an organization that allows me to stay connected to all of the issues that affect children.

After you graduated from law school, you clerked for a superior court judge in Washington, D.C. Tell me about that.
I chose to clerk for a trial court judge through another connection, actually. My current supervisor here at the Child-ren’s Defense Fund, as well as my Law and Public Policy adviser, had suggested this route. My current supervisor had met a couple of judges in family court and suggested that I try clerking after graduation. As much as I wanted to work in policy, I also wanted to make sure I had a job following graduation. I thought it would be a great experience to see what really happens on the ground in child welfare, particularly from a judicial perspective. I applied for family court clerkships in March or April of my third year and was lucky enough to be offered a position with a wonderful judge in May.

Was clerking a valuable experience?
Yes. It was absolutely a valuable experience. It gave me a better understanding of the everyday issues confronting children and families involved with the child welfare systems and the tough decisions that have to be made by the agencies, attorneys, and judges. Understanding not only the law itself but how it is applied to everyday situations is extremely helpful in making arguments to policy makers about why things need to change.

After you completed your clerkship, you went to work for the National Governors Association. Can you tell me about that?
The National Governors Association [NGA] Center for Best Practices is undertaking a project to work with a select few states to safely reduce the number of children in foster care. I went there to work on that project right after I clerked not knowing that this job [at the Children’s Defense Fund] would become available.

So you left the National Governors Association after a relatively brief stint.
I really could not turn down an opportunity to come back to the place that I loved and to work for the person that I admire so much. It was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.

What career advice do you have for law students who are interested in working in child welfare law?
Network, network, network! As I said earlier, I really did hate that word in law school, but it works. The child welfare community is relatively small, and the public interest world is relatively small as well. The best way I found to get my foot in the door was to intern during law school and demonstrate an interest in the area. Once you have made a good impression on one person in the field, the word will spread. There are so many ways to do that. You can intern, like I did. You can do informational interviews, focus an independent study paper or a law review article on a topic you are interested in, and find an expert in the field to serve as your adviser. I have this job because of the contacts I made while in law school. My supervisor here is a contact that reached out to the family court judge with whom I clerked, and when I reached out to her again after clerking and doing a brief stint at the NGA, she welcomed me back. Connections are key.

Salaries in public interest law tend to be lower than the national average. Do you have any advice for law stu-dents on how to plan ahead and budget for a career in public interest?
I would repeat advice that I heard so many times in law school: Live like a law student while you’re in law school. Only take on as much debt as you need to. I would also try to take advantage of your law school’s loan repayment assistance program, if they have one, or even look into starting one. I think loan repayment assistance programs are so valuable because they allow students to be able to take on that debt and repay it even if they’re in a public interest career.

Is it common for lawyers to begin working in the private sector and then switch over to become public interest policy makers?
I don’t know how common it is. Within the child welfare community here in D.C., I only know of one lawyer who made that switch. That certainly doesn’t mean there aren’t others. The one I know about is one of the best advocates I know. She made the change after serving on a local foster care review board. To law students planning to work in the private sector and then make the switch to the public sector, I would suggest starting to build credentials now while you are in law school. Show an interest in the area. Do a split summer or an internship for credit during the school year. Also, continue your involvement in the public sector while practicing in the private sector. Volunteer, take pro bono cases, and just stay connected to the people who are doing the work that you’d like to eventually do.

Do you speak any foreign languages, and is that skill helpful for public interest lawyers?
I speak very limited Spanish and know limited American Sign Language. I think knowing a foreign language can be tremendously helpful. I think Spanish is incredibly helpful, especially for direct service. I can’t tell you how many job announcements I looked through while I was in law school that said Spanish would be required or fluency in another language at minimum. For those who are interested in direct services, it’s definitely a great skill to have.

Can you share a specific story or event that illustrates why your work at the Children’s Defense Fund is im-portant?
Definitely. In October 2008, Congress passed a major piece of foster care reform legislation: Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act of 2008 (H.R. 6893). The Children’s Defense Fund has been working on foster care reform legislation for years. Even in a hotly contested election year with everything going on, we were able to help make it happen as part of a huge coalition effort.

Why is this legislation significant?
It is the biggest child welfare reform in over a decade. The act helps older youth in foster care increase their oppor-tunities for success by extending federal support for foster care beyond age 18. It provides support to grandparents and other relative caregivers of children in foster care by allowing the children to exit to guardianship and continue to receive subsidies—just like adoption does—without having to change the family dynamics. It requires that when a child is removed from their parents’ home, the agency exercise due diligence to notify all grandparents and adult relatives and see if they can get involved. And after decades of trying to make it happen, it allows Indian tribes to access federal foster care and adoption funds and run their programs directly. Right now, many American Indian children on reservations that do not have agreements with their states don’t have the same protections and services that other children do. It’s huge to have that access. It also makes changes to improve education and health care outcomes for children . . . the list could go on.

Where do you see yourself in the next five years?
I plan to be a child advocate for as long as I am needed. It would be wonderful if I could help to work myself out of a job and need to find something else, but until the needs of children are really made a priority, this is what I plan to do.

Beth Davis-Pratt Résumé Highlights

Education
Catholic University of America, Columbus School of Law, magna cum laude (2005)
Certificate, Law and Public Policy Program
Catholic University Law Review, Editorial Board
Dulin-Haynes Fellowship (awarded for public service in the field of child welfare law and policy)
University of Utah, BS, magna cum laude, 2002

Work Experience
Children’s Defense Fund, Senior Policy Associate—Child Welfare & Mental Health Team, Washington, D.C. (2008–present)
National Governors Association, Center for Best Practices, Policy Analyst, Washington, D.C. (2007–08)
The Honorable Juliet McKenna, Superior Court of the District of Columbia, Judicial Clerk (2005–07)
Children’s Defense Fund, Legal Intern—Child Welfare & Mental Health Division, Washington, D.C. (2004–05)
ABA, Center on Children and the Law, Legal Intern, Washington, D.C. (2003)

Bar Association Memberships
ABA
Maryland State Bar Association

Bar Admission
Maryland

Child Welfare Law Resources
Learn more about child advocacy through these resources:

Children’s Defense Fund (www.childrensdefense.org) was founded by Marian Wright Edelman in 1973. A non-profit organization, CDF is a nonprofit child advocacy organization that has worked relentlessly for 35 years to ensure a level playing field for all children by championing policies and programs that lift children out of poverty, protect them from abuse and neglect, and ensure their access to health care, quality education, and a moral and spiritual foundation. The Children’s Defense Fund Leave No Child Behind mission is to ensure every child a Healthy Start, a Head Start, a Fair Start, a Safe Start, and a Moral Start in life and successful passage to adulthood with the help of caring families and communities.

Equal Justice Works (www.equaljusticeworks.org) is a good source of information about career fairs, fellowship opportunities, and summer internships that may be in the area of child advocacy.

The ABA Center on Children and the Law (www.abanet.org/child). The 2009 Center on Children and the Law’s Biannual National Conference will be in Washington, D.C., May 14–16. To receive a program brochure or for more information, e-mail childlaw2009@abanet.org.

Your law school may offer specific certificate programs, clinics, externships for academic credit, or volunteer op-portunities in the area of child advocacy. Ask your career services office or faculty adviser for details.

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