Caitlin DiCresce always knew that she wanted to work with children. After enrolling in pre-law classes as an undergrad, she decided to apply to law school and selected the Mortiz College of Law partly due to their Justice for Children Clinic. A clerkship at The Legal Aid Society of Columbus led DiCresce to the Foundation’s Justice for All Fellowship, the perfect opportunity to pursue the next step in her career.
“The Legal Aid Society of Columbus was looking for someone that wanted to do a project focused on kids,” she said. “We developed the fellowship together to focus on children who have experienced or are likely to experience a traumatic event.”
DiCresce is housed in the domestic unit and works on a variety of cases to help stabilize families. Much of her work centers on education matters, particularly special education services. She also helps with divorces, child support, and custody orders for families that have experienced domestic violence, either against a child or a parent in the household.
“I think the biggest thing that I’ve learned is that there are so many complexities to family situations,” DiCresce said. “Trying to get stability for a child is a difficult process. You really need to take a very individualized process for each child and family.”