Travis County Commissioners Court
Tuesday, May 25, 2010,
Item 3
3. Introduction of lori kennedy as new managing attorney for the office of parental representation.
>> good morning.
>> good morning.
>> good morning. I'm roger jeffreys, executive manager of justice and public safety. And we're here today to introduce lori kennedy to the commissioners court. We are here with the staff of the office of parents tall representation, would you all raise your hands. Also lori's fellow justice and public safety colleague, managing colleagues, would you all raise your hands, behind us? Go on back there. We're very excited and happy to introduce lori, she's -- she's going to be the new managing attorney for the office of parental representation. Lori is coming to us from california. The riverside california, correct? She has broad experience in family law. She's -- she's recently been with a private family law firm in california. She was a former family law commissioner, which is the equivalent of an associate judge here in travis county. She -- she managed her own law firm, she was on the faculty of the california judicial council and she has past volunteer service with the texas attorney general's office, again, we're very happy to have her to lead this fledgling new office, it's been around since actually about a year, but been taking cases since about may and we're very happy to have lori. Just wanted to introduce her to y'all and the travis county family.
>> welcome.
>> welcome, lori.
>> thank you, i'm very excited to be part of this program and i look forward to -- to working with all of you and excited about everything going on here.
>> we're very excited, too.
>> thank.
>> i just want to remark on a curious thing that we're heavy on women in the opr
>> [laughter] that just shows the wisdom and compassion
>> [laughter]
>>
>> [indiscernible]
>> [inaudible - no mic]
>> can i make a comment? Not usual, but let me make a comment on this issue. First of all, gus pena. I was a bailiff here in criminal courts and municipal court in a bailiff. I have been involved in many cps cases, i know you very well, stephanie, appreciate what you did, you are stepping into big shoes. Let me tell you why. I took court custody of a nephew. So -- so judge scott mcgown retired, a good friend of mine, very, very proactive in c.p.s. Cases and the rights of people, but there are some abuses and i have spoken to the governor about it, also my senator and representative about the abuses of c.p.s. And we're working heavily on that. We want to improve the situation for the families, because sometimes they are filed on illegally and needlessly. But we remain cognizant of the fact that kids need to be protected. As do senior citizens, i welcome you to travis county as a native east austin night and a person that has been involved in c.p.s. Issues and like i said, please, please, please, families need your help and thank god that you are here to support them. But it's going to be a tough job, heavy job. Welcome you here. Thank you judge for allowing me to speak because i have been in the system.
>> i would encourage you to stop by the court, we have excellent attorneys with superior knowledge in this area, i think that you would be very proud to see how they are helping families.
>> not only will i just go observe, i will be proactive in the situation, also, because i do represent a lot of families, too.
>> further, we have c.p.s. Representation on the managing board of opr and ocr, which makes c.p.s. Very, very aware of what our issues are with implementing this court and representing these children and their parents.
>> absolutely.
>> we look forward to working with you.
>> thank you very much.
The Closed Caption log for this Commissioners Court agenda item is provided by Travis County Internet Services. Since this file is derived from the Closed Captions created during live cablecasts, there are occasional spelling and grammatical errors. This Closed Caption log is not an official record the Commissioners Court Meeting and cannot be relied on for official purposes. For official records please contact the County Clerk at (512) 854-4722.
Last Modified:
Tuesday, May 25, 2010 2:35 PM
