Attorney Birckhead has represented a mother in child protection court for the past 18 months who will be reunited with her children by summer's end.  The client had struggled with drug addiction and was the victim of intimate partner violence when the Department of Children and Families (DCF) removed the children from her custody and placed them in foster care.  

Attorney Birckhead served as the liaison between the client and the DCF worker, as it had become a contentious relationship.  She also encouraged the client to return to mental health counseling and drug treatment and arranged for regular drug testing so that she could urge DCF to work towards reunification instead of terminating the mother's parental rights.  

Eventually, after much resistance from DCF, Attorney Birckhead was able to convince the worker and the attorney for DCF to revoke the commitment to DCF and agree to reunification of the mother with her children.

These resolutions are among the happiest in Attorney Birckhead's practice.  She looks forward to visiting her client once the children are home at last!