MDLPA: Mental Disability Issues in Juvenile and Family Law

20 hours | 20 CEs

This on-demand professional training program on Mental Disability Issues in Juvenile and Family Law is presented by Michael L. Perlin, JD, and Heather Ellis Cucolo, JD, in partnership with Mental Disability Law and Policy Associates (MDLPA). This badge-earning program can be shared digitally on platforms like LinkedIn or your resume and counts towards a certificate. Enroll in this program to earn credit towards Mental Disability Law Certificate and share your new digital credentials with prospective employers and colleagues.

This program focuses on four critical topics. First, learning why these issues are so essential for mental health professionals, advocates, lawyers and mediators whose work touches on any aspect of the family law system; Second, considering the full range of issues related to custody (including issues specifically related to children with special needs), adoption, marriage dissolution, foster care, and domestic abuse and guardianships as they relate to persons with mental disabilities, including the unique issues related to the role and scope of expert testimony; Third, considering the full range of special topics related to juvenile commitments to psychiatric institutions, matters related to the criminal trials of juveniles with mental disabilities (including, but not limited to questions of competency and waiver), correctional facilities in which juveniles are housed, the role of problem-solving courts, and the application of international human rights principles to this area of the law; and Forth, understand why it is vital to consider the role of sanism and pretextuality in all aspects of this system, and the application of therapeutic jurisprudence to all questions.