Professor Matthew I. Fraidin

Matthew I. Fraidin
Professor of Law

B.A., Haverford College, 1987; J.D., University of Wisconsin, 1993.

Professor Fraidin served from 2017-20 as Associate Dean of Experiential and Clinical Programs and teaches Civil Procedure, Torts and the Externship seminar. He previously served as co-director of the General Practice Clinic and director of the former HIV/AIDS Clinic, and has also taught Professional Responsibility and Katrina and Beyond: Disaster Prevention and Recovery, Social Justice & Government Accountability. Prior to joining the School of Law, Professor Fraidin served as Legal Director of The Children’s Law Center in Washington, D.C., Supervising Attorney at The Legal Aid Society of the District of Columbia, and Associate Counsel to Vice President Al Gore. Professor Fraidin served as law clerk to Hon. Juan M. Perez-Gimenez in the U.S. District Court for the District of Puerto Rico.

Professor Fraidin frequently addresses local and national groups about family law, lawyering skills, and clinical legal education. Professor Fraidin’s speeches, presentations and activities include keynote addresses at the District of Columbia Neglect and Delinquent Practice Institute, New Mexico’s Children’s Law Institute, and National Association of Counsel for Children annual conference.

Professor Fraidin has served as an invited guest lecturer at the University of Michigan School of Law, William and Mary School of Law, American University Washington College of Law, and The University of Wisconsin School of Law, as a Visiting Professor in the Domestic Violence Clinic at Georgetown University Law Center.

An expert in the areas of kinship care, child custody, and child abuse and neglect, Professor Fraidin has testified before the U.S. Senate and the D.C. Council about a variety of proposed legislation. Professor Fraidin has been interviewed on Washington, D.C. area radio and television programs and quoted in numerous newspaper articles on the subjects of child abuse and neglect and family law. Professor Fraidin served as a Discussion group leader at the Fourth Annual Conference of American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law National Project to Improve Representation of Parents Involved in the Child Welfare System. Professor Fraidin is Director of the District of Columbia Child Abuse and Neglect Moot Court Project.

Professor Fraidin currently serves as Chair of the School of Law Academic Standards Committee. He is also a member of the Faculty Evaluation and Retention Committee.

Professor Fraidin is active in several local advocacy organizations. He serves on the board of the D.C. Affordable Law Firm. He is also a member of the Steering Committee of the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law National Project to Improve Representation of Parents Involved in the Child Welfare System.

Research and Teaching Interests

Child Abuse and Neglect

Clinical Legal Education

Civil Procedure

Torts

Scholarship | Media | Advocacy | Panels

Scholarship

Matthew I. Fraidin, Afterword: Reimagining Family Defense, 20 CUNY L. Rev. 237 (2016). Download in pdf format.
Matthew I. Fraidin, The Importance of Family Defense, 41 The Harbinger 219 (2016). Read the article.
Matthew I. Fraidin, Changing the Prevailing Narrative in Child Welfare Cases, in Representing Parents in Child Welfare Cases (M. Guggenheim and V. Sankaran, eds., American Bar Association, 2015).
Matthew I. Fraidin, First Steps in Representing A Parent Accused of Abuse or Neglect, in Representing Parents in Child Welfare Cases (M. Guggenheim and V. Sankaran, eds., American Bar Association, 2015).
Matthew I. Fraidin, Heuristics, Cognitive Biases, and Accountability: Decision-Making In Dependency Court, 60 Clev. St. L. Rev. 913 (2013). Read the abstract and article on SSRN.
Matthew I. Fraidin (with Larissa Chernock, Jeannine Winch, and Ibidun Roberts), Deep Learning and Immersive Education with a Dedication to Justice, Teaching and Learning Together in Higher Education Issue 8 (Winter 2013). Read the article.
Matthew I. Fraidin, Changing the Narrative of Child Welfare, 19 Geo. J. on Poverty L. & Pol’y 97-109 (2012). Download in pdf format.
Matthew I. Fraidin, Changing the Narrative of Child Welfare, The Michigan Child Welfare Law Journal Vol. XIV, Issue IV (2011). Download in pdf format.
Matthew I. Fraidin, Stories Told and Untold: Confidentiality Laws and the Master Narrative of Child Welfare, 63 Me. L. Rev. 1 (2010); Georgetown Public Law Research Paper No. 11-17. Read the abstract and article on SSRN.
Matthew I. Fraidin, Recent Developments in Family Law in D.C. June 2004-June 2005, 10 D.C. L. Rev. 183 (2007). Download in pdf format.

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Media

Professor Fraidin discusses measures to protect vulnerable children 2020’s States with the Most Underprivileged Children (WalletHub, 08/26/20)
Professor Fraidin discusses termination of the rights of incarcerated parents on Crossroads with Rhozier “Roach” Brown [.MP3] (WPFW 89.3 FM, 01/08/19)
Professor Fraidin quoted in support of a Virginia kinship guardianship bill in EDITORIAL: Kinship care for at-risk children (Fredericksburg.com, 03/21/18)
Professor Fraidin critiques the foster care system in Foster Care Youths Leaving the System Before They Age Out, Study Finds (Youth Today, 11/20/17)
Professor Fraidin argues that thousands of children’s lives are being needlessly disrupted by the child welfare system in U.S. Child Maltreatment Statistics Show Slight Decline From Year to Year (Youth Today, 09/29/17)
Professor Fraidin points to segregation as a cause of increasing numbers of girls of color in the school-to-prison pipeline in Untrained Police Officers in Schools Focus on Girls of Color, Report Says (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, 09/13/17)
Professor Fraidin discusses the needs of children raised in poverty in 2017’s States with the Most Underprivileged Children (WalletHub, 08/09/17)
Professor Fraidin suggests methods for cultivating and measuring a caring city in 2016’s Most Caring Cities in America (WalletHub, 12/19/16)
Professor Fraidin explains the benefits of an adversarial approach to child welfare proceedings in a Child Welfare Watch Special Report: Abigail Kramer, Is Reform Finally Coming to New York City Family Court? (The New School Center for New York City Affairs, 2016)
Professor Fraidin argues for neutral, transparent child welfare hearings in Judges are using brain science to help babies caught in the court system (Quartz, 11/17/15)
Professor Fraidin argues for opening child welfare court proceedings in Relisha’s Brothers, Part II: Endangered By Secrecy (Huffington Post, 01/04/15)
Professor Fraidin argues for providing resources that enable families to remain intact in Relisha’s Brothers, Part I: At Risk of Poverty (Huffington Post, 12/31/14)
Professor Fraidin comments on keeping families together in Does Relisha Rudd’s mother deserve to be reunited with her three sons in foster care? (The Washington Post, 12/23/14)
Professor Fraidin suggests reforms that can minimize the risks to Indiana’s children in In wake of shocking child abuse case, Indiana can do better (The Indianapolis Star, 12/14/14)
Professor Fraidin questions our ability to hold government accountable when we have no information about our child welfare systems in Darren Wilson and Vegan Mom (Huffington Post, 12/09/14)
Professor Fraidin was interviewed by Antoinette Robinson for her article The Person Behind the Petition: Getting the Court to See Beyond Stereotypes (RISE: Stories by and for Parents Affected by the Child Welfare System, July 22, 2013)
Professor Fraidin argues for more transparency of Family Court system in An Argument For, and One Against, Open Family Courts (The Chronicle of Social Change, 12/21/12)
Professor Fraidin argues that homeless families should be allowed to reside in housing units available at the D.C. General Hospital emergency family shelter in No Room At the Inn: Despite Open Beds, D.C.’s Homeless Children Turned Away From Shelter (Huffington Post, 9/20/12)
Professor Fraidin spoke at the National Association of Counsel for Children’s 35th National Child Welfare, Juvenile, and Family Law Conference (Youth Today, 9/5/12)
Professor Fraidin discusses confidentiality in child welfare on the Kojo Nnamdi Show. Read the transcript (Kojo Nnamdi Show, 7/12/12)
Professor Fraidin says psychology research supports opening dependency courts in Time to draw back the curtain on child welfare system (The Washington Post, 7/9/12)
Professor Fraidin says foster children are helped by public court proceedings for child welfare cases (The Associated Press, 5/28/12)
Professor Fraidin says we do not know what goes on in the courtroom when parents are charged with neglect (Poverty Insights, 5/24/12)
Professor Fraidin’s arguments on child welfare proceedings and narrative are highlighted in Open Courts Proceedings Could Change the Child Welfare Narrative (Poverty & Policy, 3/4/12)
Professor Fraidin says juvenile dependency courts should be more open in Rare look at at children’s courts finds tension runs high (Pasadena Star-News, 3/3/12) and Media Access to Courts Involving Minors Sparks Debate in Los Angeles (Juvenile Justice Information Exchange, 3/6/12)
Professor Fraidin’s arguments on child welfare are discussed in Narratives Prop Up Flawed Social Service Programs (Poverty & Policy, 2/21/12)
Professor Fraidin is profiled in The Washington Examiner (The Washington Examiner, 1/28/12)
Professor Fraidin discusses changing the narrative in media coverage focusing on child welfare in Changing the Narrative of Child Welfare (Huffington Post, 12/30/11)
Professor Fraidin says the new director of CFSA should prevent children from being removed needlessly from their home in Brenda Donald ‘thrilled’ to return to family services agency (The Washington Post, 12/8/11)
Professor Fraidin says there is a shortage of lawyers for people who need legal representation in D.C.: The lawyer capital of the world (The Washington Examiner, 10/30/11)
Professor Fraidin says many recent law school graduates are having to make employment choices they are not comfortable with in New graduates find legal jobs not so plentiful anymore (The Washington Examiner, 10/30/11)
Professor Fraidin discusses the link between foster care and homelessness in Is D.C.’s Foster Care System Preparing Children for Homelessness? (Huffington Post, 10/18/11)
Professor Fraidin argues for increasing legal aid for victims of domestic violence in Could More Public-Interest Lawyers in D.C. Help Prevent Domestic Tragedies? (Huffington Post, 9/27/11)
Professor Fraidin argues for more transparency in child welfare court hearings in More Transparency Required for D.C. Child Welfare (Huffington Post, 09/19/11)
Professor Fraidin says the next director of the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency needs to “run an agency that doesn’t take kids who don’t need to be taken” in D.C.’s child welfare director quits (The Washington Post, 05/09/11)
Professor Fraidin says the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency needs to improve its case screening in D.C.’s child welfare system leaves kids at risk (The Washington Examiner, 04/28/11)
Professor Fraidin says bringing childrens’ stories to light by opening Family Court hearings will increase government accountability in Child-Welfare Director Responds To City Paper Cover Story (The Washington City Paper, 01/10/11)
Professor Fraidin comments on the unemployment rate’s impact on child support collection in Another Victim of the Great Recession: Child Support Payments (DailyFinance, 01/01/11) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin was among the community leaders asked to offer items for the new mayor’s “to-do list” in From D.C. community leaders, a to-do list for Mayor Gray (The Washington Post, 12/30/10)
Professor Fraidin’s investigation of the conditions at D.C. General’s emergency family shelter and recommendations to the D.C. Council are the subject of Is D.C. General Suitable For Children? (The Washington City Paper, 12/07/10)
Professor Fraidin says parents and the public need access to sealed juvenile records in order to hold government agencies accountable in D.C. parents denied access to children’s juvenile justice records (The Washington Examiner, 11/11/10)
Professor Fraidin says releasing the names of youths convicted of a violent crime demonizes kids instead of shining light on the agencies that oversee youth offenders in D.C. Council passes bill to identify violent juvenile offenders (The Washington Post, 10/19/10)
Professor Fraidin says a D.C. Council bill to release the names of youths convicted of a violent crime fails to hold government agencies accountable in D.C. Council seeks to name young, violent criminals (The Washington Examiner, 10/19/10)
Professor Fraidin says proposed open record laws must go further to hold child protection officials accountable in Killer was known to city as a child abuser (The Washington Examiner, 07/26/10)
Professor Fraidin’s letter to the editor calls for open child welfare proceedings in End most secret courts for children (The Washington Post, 03/29/10)
Professor Fraidin recognized for efforts to bring transparency to D.C.’s child welfare system in Secrecy in child welfare cases creates monsters (The Washington Examiner, 03/26/10) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin’s foster care panel at UDC symposium called “eye-opening” and “soul-searing” in An alternative to foster care’s ‘toxic intervention’ (The Washington Examiner, 03/02/10) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin on the need to open foster care records in order to identify systemic gaps in Court records: P.G. social services approved pimp as foster father (The Washington Examiner, 01/17/10)
Professor Fraidin on the need to unseal court records in foster care cases in Foster father accused of pimping child expected to plead guilty (The Washington Examiner, 12/31/09)
Professor Fraidin on the pace of reform within the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency in Report: Child welfare agency still inadequate (The Washington Examiner, 05/05/09)
Professor Fraidin on overreaction by the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency in Child Deaths Led to Excessive Foster Care Placements, Critics Say (The Washington Post, 01/08/09) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin’s press conference statement, D.C. Child Welfare by the Numbers: The 97% Solution (Press Conference on D.C. Child Welfare System, UDC David A. Clarke School of Law, 01/07/09) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin on the quality of reform within the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency in Big Backlog of Abuse, Neglect Cases Is Cut (The Washington Post, 12/19/08) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin quoted regarding the Mayor’s pledge to revive the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency in Newsmakers: Adrian Fenty (The Washington Examiner, 11/19/08) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin on protecting adoptive families in D.C. eyes required checks on adoptive parents (The Associated Press, 10/09/08) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin advocating for courts to open adoption hearings in Frozen Children, Icy Silence–Time To Adopt Openness (Raw Fisher, The Washington Post, 10/05/08)
Professor Fraidin on failures in D.C.’s adoption system in Sources: Accused mom details deaths of frozen girls (The Washington Examiner, 10/03/08)
Professor Fraidin on the evening news to discuss D.C.’s response to the deaths of adopted children in Children Adopted in DC (Fox 5, 09/29/08) (.MP4)
Professors Fraidin and McLain’s attempts to uncover the emergency plans for the D.C. Jail were the subject of the cover story, Cache and Carry (The Washington City Paper, 09/22/08)
Professor Fraidin comparing emergency preparedness in New Orleans and D.C. in Va., Md. sending aid teams to New Orleans as Gustav nears (The Washington Examiner, 09/02/08)
Professor Fraidin’s efforts to stick up for poor parents is one of the 10 Brightest Ideas of the Week (The Washington Examiner, 08/24/08) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin on helping poor parents take on D.C.’s child welfare bureaucracy in The 3-Minute Interview: Matt Fraidin (The Washington Examiner, 08/19/08)
Professor Fraidin quoted in Disproportionate number of black children removed by child-welfare officials, study shows (The Washington Examiner, 08/18/08)
Professor Fraidin quoted regarding the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency in Girl, 6, dead in apparent overdose of father’s antidepressants (The Washington Examiner, 08/05/08) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin quoted regarding the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency in D.C. Social Workers Remove More Kids (The Washington Post, 06/03/08) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin quoted regarding the D.C. Child and Family Services Agency in After 4 girls’ slayings, welfare agency floods family court with abuse cases (The Washington Examiner, 06/03/08)
Professor Fraidin quoted regarding care for the District’s most vulnerable residents in Report: Clinic treats brain-damaged patients ‘like garbage’ (The Washington Examiner, 05/20/08)
Professor Fraidin quoted regarding the District’s Child and Family Services Agency in Child-welfare agency scraps emergency plan (The Washington Examiner, 03/27/08) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin quoted regarding the Safe and Stable Homes for Children and Youth Act of 2007 in Mayor signs bill to save the children (The Hill, 07/18/07) (scroll down for article)
Watch Professor Fraidin speak about Kinship Care during an event at American University Washington College of Law (WCL). Go to WCL’s Video Presentations, then scroll down to “UNmarried . . . With Children: Evaluating Legal Constraints and Social Judgments – Monday, February 12, 2007.” Professor Fraidin appears on “Panel 3: Obtaining Public and Health Benefits for Non-Marital Families.”
Professor Fraidin quoted regarding the Safe and Stable Homes for Children and Youth Act of 2007 in Health bill from Tommy Wells (The Hill, 01/17/07) (scroll down for article)
Professor Fraidin spoke about “DC Grandparents as Guardians” on WETA’s The Intersection radio program (WETA 90.9FM, 12/14/06)
Professor Fraidin quoted regarding the Safe and Stable Homes for Children and Youth Act of 2007 in Elder Hostile: Court decision threatens D.C.’s grandparent custodians (Washington City Paper, 12/08/06) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin quoted regarding the Safe and Stable Homes for Children and Youth Act of 2007 in D.C. Family Court: You’ll get mugged (The Hill, 09/27/06) (scroll down for article)

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Advocacy

Matthew I. Fraidin, Changing the Narrative of Child Welfare, ABA Child Law Practice Vol. 31, No. 1 (2012). Download in pdf format.
Professor Fraidin urged practitioners to change the narrative in child welfare cases by focusing on families’ strengths in his Keynote Address to the Bergstrom Child Welfare Law Training Program, University of Michigan Law School (May 24, 2011) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin describes his investigation of D.C. General and concludes that eliminating the “apartment-style requirement” and housing homeless families in institutions will harm children in Testimony before the D.C. Council Committee On Human Services Bill 18-1059, Homeless Services Reform Amendment Act of 2010 (November 8, 2010) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin’s Open letter to Mayor Fenty and members of the D.C. Council argues that Bill 18-344, “Information Sharing To Improve Services For Children And Families Act Of 2009,” and Bill 18-356, “Jacks-Fogle Family Preservation Case Coordination Authorization Act Of 2009,” obstruct transparency, accountability, and open government. (07/08/10) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin’s testimony before the D.C. Council Committee On Public Safety and the Judiciary on B-18-344, Information Sharing To Improve Services For Children And Families Act, Opening Child Welfare Proceedings in the Family Court of the District of Columbia: “Sunshine is Good for Children” (November 4, 2009) (.pdf)
Professor Fraidin’s statement and supporting materials for the D.C. Council Public Oversight Roundtable on “Improving Transparency: Open Government in the District of Columbia,” Opening Child Welfare Proceedings in the Family Court of the District of Columbia: “Sunshine is Good for Children” (October 14, 2009) (.pdf)
Testimony of Matthew I. Fraidin before the District of Columbia Council Committee on Human Services regarding the Safe and Stable Homes for Children and Youth Act of 2007 (February 8, 2007) (.pdf)
Statement of Matthew I. Fraidin, Legal Director, The Children’s Law Center, before the U.S. Senate Appropriations Committee Subcommittee on the District of Columbia regarding the Family Court Transition Plan of the District of Columbia Superior Court (April 24, 2002) (.pdf)
Testimony of Matthew I. Fraidin, Legal Director, The Children’s Law Center, before the Human Services Committee of the Council of the District of Columbia regarding the Standy Guardianship Act of 2001 (November 27, 2001) (.pdf)

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Recent Panels, Presentations and Activities

Matthew I. Fraidin, Presentation, Mandatory Reporting in the District of Columbia (HIPS, Washington, DC, March 25, 2014).
Matthew I. Fraidin, Presentation, Appealing Permanency Decisions ( Neglect and Delinquency Practice Institute, Washington, DC, March 11, 2014).
Matthew I. Fraidin, Keynote address, Decision-Making in Child Welfare: Heuristics, Cognitive Biases, and Accountability (Neglect and Delinquency Practice Institute Washington, DC, , March 10, 2014).
Matthew I. Fraidin, Reviewer, Middle Atlantic People of Color Scholarship Conference (University of Baltimore School of Law, Baltimore, MD, January 25, 2014).
Matthew I. Fraidin, conducted Advance Directives workshop (HIPS, Washington, DC, December 16, 2013).
Matthew I. Fraidin, Speaker, New Mexico Parent Representation Summit, (New Mexico Children’s Law Institute, Albuquerque, New Mexico, October 29, 2013).
Matthew I. Fraidin, attended Justice Gap Roundtable convened by Chief Judge Eric Washington , DC Court of Appeals, Washington DC, September 26, 2013).
Matthew I. Fraidin, Presentation, Storytellers and their Lawyers: Bringing the Whole Parent Into the Courtroom, ABA Center on Children and the Law, Improving Representation in the Child Welfare System: The Third National Parent Attorneys Conference, Washington DC, July 10, 2013).
Matthew I. Fraidin and Margaret Johnson, Seminar, delivered a two-day seminar on theories and methods of clinical legal education to the entire University of Wisconsin clinical faculty. (University of Wisconsin Law School, Madison, WI, May 13-14, 2013).
Matthew I. Fraidin, Presentation, Clinical Legal Education: The Next Wave (UDC Myrtilla Miner Teaching Showcase, University of the District of Columbia(?), Washington, DC, May 2, 2013).
Matthew I. Fraidin, Presentation, Representing Non-Custodial Parents (Neglect and Delinquency Practice Institute, Washington, DC. March 12, 2013).
Matthew I. Fraidin, Seminar, The Child Abuse and Neglect Court System in the District of Columbia (Legal Aid Society of DC, Washington, DC, February 27, 2013).
Matthew I. Fraidin, conducted CLI Workshop, Changing the Narrative of Child Welfare (New Mexico Children’s Law Institute, Albuquerque, NM, Jan 11, 2013).

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