THE JOHNSON COUNTY FAMILY LAW
AMERICAN INN OF COURT
(30466)
_____________________________________
COMMUNITY OUTREACH
PROGRAM
OUTREACH POLICY STATEMENT
The Johnson County Family Law American Inn of Court as a matter of
policy is committed to maintaining a broad robust community
outreach program. The Inn's outreach program is designed to
extend and promote the mission of the American Inns of Court by
providing exposure to the broader community and offering
opportunities for Inn members to represent the ideals of the
American Inns of Court and the Johnson County Family Law American
Inn of Court. The Inn's Outreach Program includes both
regular on-going efforts and periodic special outreach
projects. Such outreach efforts include, but are not limited
to, the following:
-
Professional outreach (presentations at local bar meetings,
co-sponsored events with other professional organizations,
presentations at law schools, etc.), and
-
General community outreach (special projects and programs
designed for the general public, school presentations, fostering
public awareness, legal assistance to pro se and indigent
individuals, pro bono work, etc.), and
-
Mentoring and assisting organizers of new Inns, providing
Inn-to-Inn support for new or troubled Inns, and engaging in
coaching opportunities with other Inn leaders.
Individual Inn members are encouraged and expected to engage in
ongoing informal outreach and to propose specific Inn outreach
projects at any time.
CURRENT OUTREACH ACTIVITIES
Members of The Johnson County Family Law American Inn of Court
engage in regular ongoing outreach activities, including
presentations at local bar and other professional organization
meetings, presentations at elementary, secondary and law schools
and networking with legal, business and other professionals.
In addition, the Inn is committed to building public awareness and
support for American Inns of Court values through outreach
activities and projects directed to the general public and other
specific groups. Such ongoing outreach activities are considered an
integral and necessary manifestation of the Inn membership
experience.
THE COURT SERVICES STUDENT ART PROJECT (Completed
2014-2015)
In the Spring of 2013, during the Inn's inaugural year, the office
of the Johnson County Court Services were moved to a new location,
and it became apparent that the new Court Services offices,
including, most importantly, the mediation rooms in which Court
Services personnel conducted conferences and mediations with
conflicted families, were lacking in wall decor designed to foster
the desired collaborative atmosphere. The Inn President, the
Honorable Keven M.P. O'Grady, proposed designing a project intended
to supply appropriate wall art for the Court Services mediation
rooms, and the Inn created and appointed an Art Project Design
Committee to pursue that project, which committee subsequently
invited direct participation by Court Services personnel.
During the Spring and Summer of
2014, the Design Committee proposed reaching out to local
elementary school principals and art teachers and inviting their
students to create "family-themed" wall art for display in the
Court Services mediation rooms. The Inn received positive
response from local elementary school professionals, and,
eventually, four schools committed to participating in the
project. The Court Services applied for and received
appropriate assistance from the Johnson County Bar Foundation in
order to fund necessary expenses for art supplies and materials and
framing of art work, and the participating schools were given
guidelines as to the physical specifications for the artwork and
the family themes from which the elementary school students might
choose for their art.
During the Fall of 2014, the participating elementary school
students, under the guidance of their school professionals, created
items of two-dimensional artwork to submit to the Design Committee
for possible use and display. Ultimately, dozens of artwork
pieces were submitted, and after reviewing all of them, the Design
Committee selected several for rotating display in the Court
Services mediation rooms. In addition, due to the very high
quality and number of entries, each sitting District Court Judge
was allowed to select an item for framing and display in his/her
court chambers as well.
In January 2015, the Inn Design Committee convened a meeting to
review the art project entries and select those most suited for
display. The following month, the Inn held a special
reception for the families of students whose artwork was selected
for display, and those students received Certificates of
Appreciation for their participation and selection. Shortly
thereafter, the selected artwork went on display in the respective
mediation rooms and Court chambers, where those items remain
today.
As a follow-up to the project, the Inn President, Honorable Keven
M.P. O'Grady, along with one or more Inn members, visited each of
the elementary school art classes that participated in the project,
during which visits the Inn expressed its gratitude for the
student's participation and presented a brief program about the
Inn, the court system, and how the court system fits with the
structure of government of the states and the United States.
The Court Services Student Art Project was so successful that the
Inn is currently considering whether to conduct a similar project
periodically, perhaps annually going forward.
THE DISTRICT COURT HELP CENTER
The Johnson County District Court maintains a "Help Center" in the
Courthouse, which facility is aimed at assisting indigent and Pro
Se litigants navigate the court process and procedures. The
Johnson County Family Law American Inn of Court encourages its
members to volunter to assist in staffing the Help Center, and
several members already do so. The Inn collected snacks,
books and toys for children accompanying theri parents to the Help
Center. Inn members volunteer at Night Court. Night Court is
an opportunity for litigants to appear in court to have simple
hearing without having to take off time from work. Inn
members provide volunteer assitance to unrepresented persons with
completing forms and working with court staff.
THE CONNECTIONS TO SUCCESS PROJECT
Connections to Success (www.connectionstosuccess.org) is a local
501(c)(3) organization the mission of which is to "inspire
individuals to realize their dreams and achieve economic
independence by providing, hope, resources and a plan." One
means of assisting Connections is by donating clothing or organize
a clothing drive. In conjunction with the Inn's 2015 Social
Event, the Inn invited social event attendees to bring
and donate an item of professional clothing for donation to
Connections for subsequent donation to indigent and underprivileged
aspiring professionals.
THE SAFEHOME
SAFEHOME (www.safehome-ks.org)
is a local 501(c)(3) organization, the mission of which is to
"break the cycle of domestic violence and partner abuse for victims
and their children by providing, shelter, advocacy, counseling and
prevention education in our community." The Inn collected
various items needed by Saefhome resiedents and clients including
toiletries, clothing and gasoline cards so that victims of abuse
might afford transportatino to Court and mental health
services.
TALK, READ PLAY
New
and gentlyused books were collected for the Family Conservancy's
Talk, Read, Play project. This project encourages parents of
infants, toddlers and preschoolers to send time every day talking ,
reading and playing with their childre. teh books are
provided free to young parents through various outlets
around Kansas City including the Johnson County District Court
Help Center.
NIGHT COURT
Inn
members volunteerd theri time and talents to staff the monthly
Family Court Night Court. The idea behingd night court was to
allow litigants without great finanicial resources to schedule
uncontested and simple hearings at a time that woudl not require
them to miss much, if any, work. Inn volunteers review
paperwork and help the litigants be ready to meeet with the judge
so that they might hae a quick and easy court experience.
THE HARVESTERS PROJECT
Harvesters-the Community Food Network (www.harvesters.org) is a
regional (501(c)(3) food bank serving a 26-county area of northwest
Missouri and northeastern Kansas. Harvesters is a certified
member of Feeding America, a nationwide network of more than 200
food banks, and its mission is to "feed hungry people today and
work to end hunger tomorrow." The Inn collected
non-perishable foods during the holiday season of the Inn
year.
PROPOSED FUTURE OUTREACH
ACTIVITIES
The
Johnson County Family Law American Inn of Court also has identified
possible future outreach activities as described below.
PRO BONO WEEK
The Inn intends to engage
in activities designed to help focus public attention on the need
for pro bono services and to celebrate the excellent work of
lawyers who volunteer their time and talents to the
underserved. Goals will include recruiting more pro bono
volunteers, encouraging public support for pro bono activities,
encouraging collaborative relationships between pro bono providers
and relevant community resources, and recognizing the efforts of
family law attorneys who provide pro bono assistance. Efforts
will also be made to encourage reduced fee and limited scope
services.
LAW DAY (May 1, 2016 and ongoing)
The Inn plans to
participate in and coordinate Law Day activities beginning May 1,
2016. Law Day activities may include community programs,
volunteer activities, educational events and other efforts designed
to raise public awareness about the legal profession, the courts
and their role in American
society.
THE UPLIFT PROJECT (proposed future)
Uplift Organization, Inc. (www.uplift.org) is a local 501(c)(3)
organization, the mission of which is to bring "care and
compassion to the homeless." Uplift receives no public
funding of any kind and is staffed by volunteers and depends
entirely on donations of food, clothing and other goods in
conducting its mission. Three evenings each week, year-round,
rain or shine, Uplift trucks and volunteers deliver hot meals,
donated clothing, and other necessities to Kansas City area
homeless, most of whom live on the street or in makeshift
camps. The Inn proposed a future project whereby Inn members
collect food, clothing and/or other necessities for Uplift to
deliver to our area homeless.
THE WOUNDED WARRIOR PROJECT (proposed
future)
The Wounded Warrior Project (www.woundedwarriorproject.org)
is a well-known national 501(c)(3) organization, the purpose of
which is "[t]o raise awareness and enlist the public's aid for the
needs of injured service members, to help injured service members
aid and assist each other, and to provide unique, direct programs
and services to meet the needs of injured service members."
The Inn proposed a future outreach activity designed to assist The
Wounded Warrior Project in such manner as may be feasible and
appropriate.