News from New York State Bar Association

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NYSBA Honors Two Advocates for Excellence in Juvenile Justice and Child Welfare

NYSBA Committee on Children and the Law Presents Howard A. Levine Award

ALBANY, NY (05/02/2007; 0948)(readMedia)-- The New York State Bar Association’s Committee on Children and the Law will present the 21st annual Howard A. Levine Award for excellence in juvenile justice and child welfare. The reception will take place on May 3, 2007, at the State Bar Center on Elk Street in Albany beginning at 5:30 p.m. Bar Association President Mark H. Alcott (New York City - Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP) will deliver welcoming comments.

The Howard A. Levine Award, which is named for Court of Appeals Judge Howard A. Levine, a strong proponent and leader in the effort to improve New York’s child welfare and juvenile justice systems, is presented annually to individuals who demonstrate outstanding work protecting and promoting the rights of children in New York State. The 2007 recipients are Sarah H. Ramsey, Professor of Law at Syracuse University and Director of the Family Law and Social Policy Center, and Mishi Faruqee, the Director of the Juvenile Justice Project at the Correctional Association of New York. The Honorable Edward O. Spain, Associate Justice of the Appellate Division, Third Department and Chairman of the Association’s Committee on Children and the Law, will present the awards.

Professor Ramsey has devoted much of her academic career to child advocacy. She developed a course on Children and the Law and is the co-author of two books related to children, including Children and the Law in a Nutshell. Her numerous articles on legal and policy issues relating to children and families have appeared in both law and social science journals.

Ms. Faruqee has advocated for far-reaching policy and legislative changes to make the juvenile justice system more effective and responsive to the needs of youth, their families and communities. She is the author of Rethinking Juvenile Detention in New York City, a report that presents a blueprint for juvenile justice reform. A key focus of Ms. Faruqee’s work at the Correctional Association is empowering young people to have a voice in the public debate regarding youth incarceration and other juvenile justice policies.

“Professor Ramsey and Ms. Faruqee have excelled at protecting the rights of children who otherwise may not have a voice in our judicial system,” Judge Edward Spain said. “We are a society that protects and provides comfort to our most vulnerable and I am proud to bestow this award upon two very deserving recipients who have confirmed their commitment to these honorable principles.”

Past winners of the Howard A. Levine award include Matilda Cuomo, Chief Judge Judith S. Kaye and the Honorable Anthony V. Cardona, Presiding Justice of the Appellate Division, Third Department.

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Sarah H. Ramsey of Syracuse is a Professor of Law at Syracuse University College of Law and the Director of the Family Law and Social Policy Center. She also is the co-director of the Syracuse Family Advocacy Program, which seeks to provide legal advocacy to improve the overall health of low-income children.

She has served on the Department Advisory Committee of the Fourth Department Law Guardian Program; the New York State Bar Association Task Force on the Law Guardian Program; and the Children and Law Committee of the New York State Bar Association.

Professor Ramsey graduated from the University of North Carolina School of Law in 1973 and received her LL.M. from the University of Michigan in 1982. She joined the faculty at Syracuse University College of Law in 1983.

Mishi Faruqee of New York City is the Director of the Juvenile Justice Project at the Correctional Association of New York, a non-profit criminal justice advocacy organization. As Director Ms. Faruqee advocates for far-reaching policy and legislative changes to make the juvenile justice system more effective and responsive to the needs of youth, their families and communities.

She coordinates the Juvenile Justice Coalition, an alliance of organizations that includes public defender groups, alternative-to-incarceration programs and child advocacy organizations. Under Ms. Faruqee's leadership the Juvenile Justice Coalition has achieved key improvements in the juvenile justice system including the expansion of community-based alternatives to detention for youth, greater attention to the needs of gay and lesbian youth in the court system, and more oversight of youth detention centers.

Ms. Faruqee received an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College and graduate degrees from Oxford University and the New School from Social Research.

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