Andrea Carlise - A Champion for Children
CALICO is pleased to introduce this issue’s hero, Andrea Carlise, a long-time champion for children and a 2015 One Child at a TimeAwardee. CALICO first met Andrea in 2011 when its on-site District Attorney Liaison reached out to her to seek legal advice on CALICO’s behalf in response to a private attorney’s request to depose staff members for a civil court proceeding. As a partner at Patton Wolan Carlise LLP, a law firm specializing in civil litigation, Andrea was well-versed in civil subpoenas and related court proceedings, and she quickly stepped up to help. Since then, Andrea and a team of attorneys in the firm, have provided countless hours of pro bono legal support that have been invaluable to protecting the confidentiality of CALICO’s work to the full extent of the law.
When Andrea first became involved, CALICO was experiencing an increase in subpoenas for its DVDs of child interviews. The subpoenas arrived from family court attorneys representing parents in divorce or custody disputes and other attorneys involved in civil proceedings that were outside the original scope of CALICO’s work. Responding to subpoenas, without the advice of an attorney, can be difficult and confusing. With Andrea’s expert guidance, CALICO created a clear protocol to streamline the process and protect the confidentiality of CALICO clients. For example, when records are subpoenaed, they are delivered directly to a judge, who then decides if the records will be shared with the attorney. If records are shared, the attorney signs a document to ensure information remains confidential and is not shared publically or inappropriately, which could result in harm to the child or the criminal investigation.
When asked what motivates Andrea to provide such comprehensive support to CALICO, she explained, “CALICO provides essential services in the process of interviewing children. They make sure children are treated well in the whole process and give them a way to tell their story where they are safe and protected. But it also allows the system to do its work so people who are engaging in abuse and neglect are held accountable while protecting our most vulnerable.” We couldn’t have said it better ourselves.
Andrea’s support of children and CALICO doesn’t stop at the courthouse. She and her husband, Chuck, are members of CALICO’s 2014 Protectors Circle, a group of community leaders who have donated $1,000 or more to support CALICO. And Andrea looks forward to joining Team CALICO at the Oakland Running Festival next spring as she plans to run more once she sends her children off to college soon. In addition to her support of CALICO, Andrea previously served as the Board President of a local Girls Inc. chapter, as a Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) helping foster youth, and currently as the outgoing president for the National Women’s Bar Association. CALICO is pleased to honor Andrea as a 2015 One Child at Time awardee at our picnic on September 19th and recognize her steadfast commitment to children and our work. We are proud to include her as a partner in the stand against child abuse – thank you Andrea for all that you do for children.