CAITLYN GARCIA ’20, a Marsha Garrison Family Law and Policy Fellow, won
second prize in the prestigious Howard C. Schwab Memorial Essay Contest for
her paper “Replacing Foster Care with Family Care: The Family First Prevention
Services Act of 2018.” This highly competitive award is sponsored by the ABA
Section of Family Law, and her work can be found on the ABA’s website.
The paper is a critique of the Family First Prevention Services Act of 2018,
which provides federal funding to families at risk of entering the child welfare
system. Garcia argues that the law fails to provide effective services for at-risk
families, many of which are housing insecure, and calls for more funding, earlier
intervention, more inclusive services, and daycare.
A Brooklyn Law Students for the Public Interest (BLSPI) Fellow, BLSPI cochair,
and notes & comments editor for the Journal of Law and Policy, Garcia serves
as a research assistant to Professor Cynthia Godsoe, who, along with Professor
Marsha Garrison, advised her throughout her writing process. Garcia was an
intern at Brooklyn Defender Services–Family Defense Practice, and will return
there in spring 2020 as a Pro Bono Scholar.