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Vandervort, Frank E.

Clinical Professor of Law
Child Advocacy Law Clinic
Juvenile Justice Law Clinic

3124 South Hall
734.647.3168
E-mail vort@umich.edu
Frank Vandervort is a clinical professor of law whose primary interests include juvenile justice, child welfare, and interdisciplinary practice. He co-founded the Juvenile Justice Clinic with Prof. Kimberly Thomas in 2009. Since 1997, he has served as legal consultant to the University of Michigan School of Social Work's Family Assessment Clinic. He is a consultant to Trauma Informed Child Welfare Systems, a federally funded training program for child welfare professionals and to the National Quality Improvement Center for the Representation of Children in the Child Welfare System. In 2010, Prof. Vandervort was elected to the board of directors of the American Professional Society on the Abuse of Children. Prof. Vandervort is also a member of the advisory committee for the revision of the Michigan Child Protection Proceeding Benchbook and a member of the advisory committee for the revision of the Michigan Juvenile Justice Benchbook. He received a BA from Michigan State University and a JD from Wayne State University Law School.

Recent Publications

More Publications...


"What Goes 'round Comes 'round: Implications of Death Penalty Research for Child Welfare Policy." (Forthcoming).

"The Guardian Ad Litem Investigation." In The Guardian Ad Litem Handbook for Divorce Practice. Forthcoming.

State Editor. Collateral Consequences in the State of Michigan. J. Seber, lead author. American Bar Association, Forthcoming. (To be published online by the ABA.)

Co-author. "Building Resilience in Foster Children: The Role of the Child's Advocate." J. Henry and M. A. Sloane, co-authors. Children's Legal Rights Journal 32, no. 3 (2012): 1-24.​

Co-author. "What Works in Protecting Child Witnesses." K. C. Faller, co-author. In What Works in Child Welfare, edited by P. A. Curtis and G. Alexander. 2012.

"Child Welfare Cases Involving Mental Illness: Reflections on the Role and Responsibilities of the Lawyer-Guardian Ad Litem." Mich. Child Welfare L. J. 15, no. 2 (2012): 31-43.

"Child Protection Law and Procedure." In Michigan Family Law. 7th ed., edited by M. J. Kelly, J. A. Curtis, and R. A. Roane. Ann Arbor, Mich.: Institute of Continuing Legal Education, 2011.

"The Indian Child Welfare Act." In Child Welfare Law and Practice: Representing Children, Parents, and State Agencies in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Cases. 2nd ed., edited by D. N. Duquette and A. M. Haralmabie, 257-70. Denver: Bradford Pub. Co., 2010.

Co-author. "Special Issues in Transcultural, Transracial, and Gay and Lesbian Parenting and Adoption." R. B. Sanoshy, co-author. In Principles and Practice of Child and Adolescent Forensic Mental Health, edited by E. P. Benedek, P. Ash, and C. L. Scott, 197-216. Arlington,VA: American Psychiatric Publishing, Inc., 2010.
Full Text: WWW

"Shouldering the Shifted Burden: The Defense Attorneys." In Seeking Justice in Child Sexual Abuse: Shifting Burdens and Sharing Responsibilities, edited by K. M. Staller and K. C. Faller, 194-224. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 2010.

"Professional Practitioners' Views on Videotaping: Capturing and Conveying a Child's Story." K. M. Staller, co-author. In Seeking Justice in Child Sexual Abuse: Shifting Burdens and Sharing Responsibilities, edited by K. M. Staller and K. C. Faller, 113-40. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 2010.

"Legal Rights of Fetuses and Young Children." In Principles of Addictions and the Law Applications in Forensic, Mental Health, and Medical Practice, edited by N. S. Miller, 229-51. Amsterdam: Academic Press/Elsevier, 2010.

"Federal Child Welfare Legislation." In Child Welfare Law and Practice: Representing Children, Parents, and State Agencies in Abuse, Neglect, and Dependency Cases. 2nd ed., edited by D. N. Duquette and A. M. Haralmabie, 199-230. Denver: Bradford Pub. Co., 2010.

"Child Sexual Abuse: Legal Burdens and Scientific Methods." K. M. Staller, co-author. In Seeking Justice in Child Sexual Abuse: Shifting Burdens and Sharing Responsibilities, edited by K. M. Staller and K. C. Faller, 1-32. New York: Columbia Univ. Press, 2010.

"A Search for the Truth or Trial by Ordeal: When Prosecutors Cross-Examine Adolescents How Should Courts Respond?" Widener L. Rev. 16, no. 2 (2010): 335-67.
Full Text: HEIN (UMich users) | HEIN | Lexis | Westlaw

Co-author. "Child Welfare Workers Go to Court: The Impact of Race, Gender, and Education on the Comfort with Legal Issues." K. C. Faller and M. Grabarek, co-authors. Child. & Youth Services Rev. 31, no. 9 (2009): 972-7.
Full Text: ScienceDirect (UMich users) | ScienceDirect
Professor

Activities

Presented "Proving Child Sexual Abuse Cases in Court: Mental Health/Legal Collaboration" (with Kathleen Coulborn Faller, PhD), One Child, Many Hands conference, University of Pennsylvania Field Center for Children's Policy, Practice & Research, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, June 9, 2011.

Presented "Advancing Trauma-Informed Court Systems," panel discussion, National Child Traumatic Stress Network All-Network Conference, Baltimore, Maryland, March 2, 2011.

Presented "The Juvenile's Right to be Cross-Examined in a Developmentally Appropriate Fashion: The Role of Defense Counsel and the Court," NACC 33rd Annual Child Welfare, Juvenile, and Family Law Conference, Austin, Texas, October 22, 2010.

Presented "Trauma Informed Legal Systems: A New Paradigm for Understanding and Reaching Children's Troubling Behavior" (with Jim Henry, PhD and Mark Sloane, DO), NACC 33rd Annual Child Welfare, Juvenile, and Family Law Conference, Austin, Texas, October 21, 2010.

Presented "Child Development Issues in Juvenile Justice," 2010 Wyoming Office of the Public Defender Seminar, Cheyenne, Wyoming, September 24, 2010.

Presented "Indian Child Welfare Act, SCAO–GTF Training," Ann Arbor, Mt. Pleasant, and Petoskey, Michigan, sponsored by the Michigan State Court Administrative Office, summer and fall 2010.

Presented "The Fostering Connections Act and Youth Aging Out of Foster Care," Transition Plans for Youth Aging Out of The Foster Care System conference, Michigan State Court Administrative Office, Child Welfare Services, East Lansing, Michigan, May 11, 2010.

Adviser to the National Child Protection Mediation Standards group.

Consultant to the National Quality Improvement Center for Child Representation.

Consultant to the federally funded project, Trauma Informed Child Welfare Systems.

 
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