PROFESSOR LUCY JOHNSTON-WALSH’S ARTICLE ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION BY SETON HALL LAW REVIEW
May 2025 — Professor Lucy Johnston-Walsh’s article, “Taking From the Most Vulnerable: Legal Implications of Seizing Federal Benefits from Foster Kids” was accepted for publication in Volume 56 in Seton Hall Law Review to be published in December of 2025.
Professor Johnston-Walsh is the founding director of the Penn State Dickinson Law’s Children’s Advocacy Clinic. The Children’s Advocacy Clinic receives court appointments to represent youth who are involved in the juvenile court system. Professor Johnston-Walsh supervises law students in the legal representation of foster youth. She has researched and written about the practice of state governments seizing federal benefits from foster youth to cover the cost of their own foster care. Some foster children receive social security benefits from the death of a parent, or they can receive disability benefits. A few states have passed laws to halt the seizure of these benefits, whereas other states continue the practice. The article critically examines the legal and policy implications of the benefit seizure and the varying state practices and the impact of these practices on foster youth.
Lucy Johnston-Walsh is an assistant professor of law and founding director of the Dickinson Law Children’s Advocacy Clinic. Professor Johnston-Walsh’s research, teaching and service focus on juvenile law, specifically legal challenges of youth involved in the foster care system. She supervises law students in the legal representation of youth involved in the dependency system and her scholarship directly relates to systemic issues presented through the clinic cases, as well as interdisciplinary collaboration in the field of child advocacy. Her recent scholarship has been published in both medical journals and law reviews including articles in Family Court Review, Akron Law Review and Seattle Journal for Social Justice.