PROFESSOR ANDREA MARTIN PARTICIPATES IN THE NORTHEAST CORRIDOR FACULTY EXCHANGE PROGRAM AT HOFSTRA UNIVERSITY MAURICE A. DEANE SCHOOL OF LAW
April 2023 — On April 12, 2023, Professor Andrea Martin participated in the Faculty Exchange Program at Hofstra University Maurice A. Deane School of Law. She presented her research as part of Penn State Dickinson Law’s network with law schools on the northeast corridor to exchange faculty and engage in sustained and substantive conversations about legal scholarship and education.
In January of 2023, Hofstra Law Professor G. Alex Sinha presented his paper to the Dickinson Law community. In exchange, Penn State Dickinson Law Professor Andrea J. Martin recently presented her latest research and paper at Hofstra University Maurice A. Deane School of Law.
Professor Martin’s research demonstrates that due to structural racism, legal protections afforded to families of children in foster care have been significantly eroded and continued to be challenged. As a result, families of color, who are disproportionately represented in the foster care system, do not receive the support needed to preserve their families.
Hofstra professor of family law, Andrew Schepard, prepared a response, and an insightful and engaging discussion about how child welfare outcomes can be improved for all children in the foster care system ensued. The faculty discussed Professor Martin’s proposal that “active efforts” to assist families with remedial services and rehabilitative programs be employed, rather than the lower, “reasonable efforts” standard. She provided evidence for the adoption of this antiracist child welfare measure to help families retain or regain custody of their children. This measure would create alignment in federal child welfare policy, provide clear guidelines regarding the actions necessary to effectively assist families in the child welfare system, and most importantly, help families in the foster care system establish attainable goals and receive the level of support needed to maintain bonds with their children.
Professor Andrea J. Martin is a visiting assistant professor of law at Penn State Dickinson Law and recipient of the Penn State Dickinson Law Phillip M. Scott Teaching Excellence Award. Her research draws on constitutional and legal history to explore and analyze current social justice issues including American Indian sovereignty rights, antiracism in education, and voter suppression. Prior to joining Dickinson Law, Martin spent twelve years as a strategic legal advisor, managing business and regulatory legal affairs at a multi-billion-dollar company. Professor Martin also served as a Special Assistant Attorney General in the Appellate Division of the Rhode Island Department of Attorney of General. Martin is involved in diversity and inclusion efforts and served on the Governor’s Task Force on Diversity, the Governor’s Commission on Prejudice and Bias and the Thurgood Marshall Lawyer’s Society. She has also taught legal writing in the CLEO (Council on Legal Education Opportunity) program, recently hosted by Penn State Dickinson Law, to increase the number of lawyers from diverse backgrounds.