ADVOCATES FOR CHILDREN
CONSTITUTION
ARTICLE I – Name, Purpose, Nondiscrimination Policy
Section 1: Name
Advocates for Children
Section 2: Purpose
Mission:
To promote and support quality advocacy for children while enabling law students to network with institutions and professionals serving the child population
General Information:
Founded in 2002 by The Ohio State University Moritz College of Law students, Advocates for Children supports and promotes quality child advocacy. While enabling law students to network with current professionals serving the child population, AFC also strives to bring attention to the legal issues facing today’s children. By sponsoring lunchtime panels, hosting fundraising activities, and publicizing career/internship opportunities, AFC has established itself as an organization committed to bringing together students who strive to work in the field of children’s law. AFC seeks to make a direct impact in the Columbus community and beyond and does so by sponsoring a summer stipend that is awarded to a law student who will work in the field of children’s law during the summer months. In addition, AFC has formed a working relationship with the Youth Empowerment Program, an organization that advocates on behalf of homeless youth in the areas of education and housing. AFC hopes to form other community partnerships in the coming years.
Section 3: Nondiscrimination Policy
This organization and its members shall not discriminate against any
individual(s) for reasons of race, color, creed, religion, sexual orientation, national origin, sex, age, handicap, or Vietnam-era veteran status.
ARTICLE II – Membership
Any Ohio State University Moritz College of Law student is welcome to be a member of Advocates for Children.
To be a voting member, all a Moritz College of Law student needs to do is attend the AFC General Meetings and events.
Any undergraduate or graduate student (not in the Moritz College of Law) or any faculty or staff member at the university is welcome to attend Advocates for Children meetings and events, but cannot be a voting member.
ARTICLE III – Organization Leadership
Advocates for Children is run by an Executive Board, whose members are voted on by the general voting membership. Each Executive Board member must be selected by a majority vote of the general membership present at the election meeting.
Each executive board term runs from the day of election (usually in April) until the following year’s election (usually the next April). This means that the Advocates for Children Coordinator is responsible for leadership of the organization over the summer months.
All Executive Board officers are required to maintain a minimum GPA of 3.0.
The Executive Board is comprised of the following positions:
Coordinator
- Controls the listserv
- Calls executive and general membership meetings
- Creates agendas for all executive board and general membership meetings
- Arranges co-sponsoring of events with other groups
- Coordinates all facets of Advocates for Children at the 1L Orientation
o Reserves group table
o Provides information for interested students about AFC and the Justice for Children Practicum and Project
o Writes a short paragraph for Dean Kapur for 1L handbook
- Writes a blurb for Moritz Law web page under student organizations
- Facilitates and coordinates all facets of the AFC Stipend
- Works with the Secretary/Treasurer to fundraise for the stipend
- Works with the Special Events Coordinator to conduct speaker panels
Secretary/Treasurer
- Responsible for taking and emailing the minutes from Exec Board meetings
- Responsible for applying for funding
- Documents expenditures
- Works with Special Events Coordinator to organize fundraisers
- Completes the annual audit
- Writes web page updates (when the web page is put into place)
Special Events Coordinator
- Organizes speakers/panels
- Responsible for coordinating all facets of the speaker/panel events
- Responsible for writing thank you notes to each speaker/visitor hosted by AFC
- Orders the food for the events
- Works with the Coordinator to arrange co-sponsoring of events with other groups
- Works with Secretary/Treasurer to organize fundraisers
- Organizes other activities as needed (ie) help for Justice for Children Project events)
- Runs the 1L Orientation - group table
Career Development Director
- In charge of job networking
- Posts job/internship opportunities on the bulletin board (and hopefully webpage)
- Should contact alums to create a folder or rolodex of alums working in field
- Updates AFC binder in Career Services Office
- Organizes observation days at various places
- Coordinates “What did you do last summer” student speaker panel
Publicity Director(s)
- Designs and changes the bulletin board
- Makes flyers for events/meetings
- Hangs signs around school
- Stuffs mailboxes
- 1L Orientation – provides informational flyers for the group’s table
- Reserves rooms for meetings
ARTICLE VI – Faculty Advisor
The faculty advisor ensures that Advocates for Children is an effectively run organization at the law school and is working to fulfill its mission and responsibilities.
The faculty advisor is:
Katherine Hunt Federle
Professor of Law and Director
Justice for Children Project
Michael E. Moritz College of Law
The Ohio State University
55 West 12th Avenue
Columbus, OH 43210
Email:
(614) 292-9177 (office)
(614) 292-5511 (fax)
http://moritzlaw.osu.edu/jfc
ARTICLE V – Meetings of the Organization
Advocates for Children Executive Board meetings should be held as often as necessary, but no less than one time per month.
Advocates for Children General Membership meetings should be held as often as necessary, but no less than one time per month.
ARTICLE VI – Method of Amending the Constitution
The Advocates for Children Constitution can be amended by each year’s Executive Board at anytime. Changes can only be made by a majority vote of the Executive Board. Changes may be proposed by the general membership or by the Executive Board.
ARTICLE VII – Dissolution
In case of dissolution of the organization, all organization materials should be placed with the faculty advisor until a new children’s rights organization emerges.
Any funds remaining from that dispersed by the SOURCE shall be returned to the University and a final audit should be completed.
Any additional funds remaining in the account should be given to that year’s Advocates for Children stipend.
1