October 17, 2013

Jennifer Rodriguez Appointed to Presidential Commission

The Youth Law Center is proud to announce that President Obama has appointed Jennifer Rodriguez, our Executive Director, to the Presidential Commission to Eliminate Child Abuse and Neglect Fatalities.  Jennifer is one of six Presidential appointees to the Commission which will be chaired by David Sanders, Executive Vice President of the Casey Family Programs, and includes leaders in child protection from across the country.  Six additional members were appointed by Congressional leaders.

The Commission was created by  H.R. 6655  and is charged with (1)  studying the use of child protective services and child welfare services to reduce fatalities from child abuse and neglect; (2) developing recommendations to reduce such fatalities for federal, state, and local agencies, and private sector and nonprofit organizations, including recommendations for a comprehensive national strategy to reduce child fatalities; and (3) developing guidelines for the type of information that should be tracked to improve interventions to prevent such fatalities.

This appointment recognizes Jennifer’s extensive experience and expertise in addressing issues that impact children in the nation’s child protection system.  The Youth Law Center is proud to join other leading organizations in the field, like Casey Family Programs, in being represented on the Commission.