RALEIGH, N.C. – The Campbell Law “Study & Service in Panama” class will visit Panama for a unique service opportunity during the school’s upcoming Spring Break period, March 2-8. Led by Campbell Law Assistant Professor Lucas Osborn, nine students will engage in research, presentations, and analysis regarding Panamanian adoption, foster care, and orphan care practices, needs, and proposed legislation.
The Campbell Law team will work alongside Heart’s Cry Children’s Ministry, a non-profit organization founded by 2003 Campbell Law graduate Misty Coble Hedspeth and her husband, Matthew. Heart’s Cry was founded to create efficiencies for orphan care around the world. The organization consults with foreign governments in an effort to streamline their adoption processes and simplify their efforts in placing children into loving homes, domestically and internationally. Heart’s Cry also assists orphanages in becoming better equipped to provide for the physical, spiritual and emotional needs of the orphans in their care.
“We are excited to partner with Heart’s Cry Children’s Ministry to work for the rights of orphaned children in Panama,” said Osborn. “This program’s wonderful blend of legal education, international exposure, and service to others reflects Campbell Law School’s mission and values, and will provide an unparalleled experience for the participating students.
The nine students will be divided into three groups of three, with each group charged with a separate project. Those projects include:
* A presentation on the benefits of restorative justice to Panamanian government officials and leaders
* Drafting a research paper concerning the importance of permanency in parent-child development and how the permanency principle should inform foster care policies
* Drafting a policy handbook for orphanages with a focus on safety guidelines
In addition to the service trip, students will participate in a classroom component to satisfactorily complete the 1-credit course. Classroom subject matter includes:
* Introduction to international law
* Panamanian law and history
* Introduction to civil law systems
* Law and policy relating to domestic and international adoption
* Orphan and foster care law and policy
For more information on Heart’s Cry Children’s Ministry visit their website at http://www.heartscrychildren.com/.
ABOUT CAMPBELL LAW:
Since its founding in 1976, the Norman Adrian Wiggins School of Law at Campbell University has developed lawyers who possess moral conviction, social compassion and professional competence, and who view the law as a calling to serve others. The school has been recognized by the American Bar Association (ABA) as having the nation’s top Professionalism Program and by the American Academy of Trial Lawyers for having the nation’s best Trial Advocacy Program. Campbell Law boasts more than 3,400 alumni, including more than 2,400 who reside and work in North Carolina. For 26 years, Campbell Law’s overall record of success on the North Carolina Bar Exam has been unsurpassed by any other North Carolina law school. In September 2009, Campbell Law relocated to a state-of-the-art building in downtown Raleigh. For more information, visit http://law.campbell.edu.
LIKE US ON FACEBOOK:
http://www.facebook.com/campbelllawschool