Erica Taft. Courtesy photo.
As a graduate student of law and social work at Boston College, Erica Taft represented clients in child welfare cases, attemped to stop the construction of a new prison for women, and conducted research to improve collaborations between lawyers and social workers.
Now Taft, who graduated from 51茶馆 in May, has been rewarded with a prestigious fellowship from , a nonprofit that connects lawyers, law students, and advocates with opportunities to address unmet legal needs in the United States.聽
Over the next two years, Taft will work with , a nonprofit that provides free legal and social work services to kids in crisis. Sponsored by聽KPMG and the Sidley Austin Foundation, Taft will represent children in abuse and custody cases in New York County Family Court while fostering partnerships with community organizations focused on reducing domestic violence.
Her primary goal will be to advocate what her clients want. 鈥淚鈥檓 excited to lift up the voices of children and help them realize their rights by advocating their expressed wishes,鈥� says Taft, one of 84 fellows from the class of 2024 who will work to increase access to justice for underserved communities throughout the country. 鈥淥ne of the core social work values is to respect the inherent dignity and worth of every person, and I believe that begins with kids even though our society isn鈥檛 always angled in a way to support that.鈥�
Taft says she landed the fellowship as a result of her experience in the M.S.W/J.D. dual degree program at 51茶馆, where she studied law and social work from 2020 to 2024. She credits the program, offered through the School of Social Work and the Law School, with preparing her to meet the needs of clients by combining social work interventions with legal practice.聽
One of Taft鈥檚 most formative experiences came in 2022 when she was working at the , an organization in Cambridge, Massachusetts, that provides free legal aid and affordable psychological counseling to people with low incomes.聽
As a legal and social work intern at the center, Taft created guidelines to improve interprofessional communication between lawyers and social workers. The project included developing a training program focused on trauma-informed lawyering, which requires lawyers to put the realities of their clients鈥� traumatic experiences at the forefront of their practice.
Taft says she created the training program using concepts she learned in three social work courses鈥擟hild and Adolescent Trauma, Creating the Inclusive Workplace, and Management of Organizations Serving Children, Youth, and Families鈥攁nd plans to rely on the practice of trauma-informed lawyering during her fellowship.聽
鈥淎t Lawyers for Children, I will be working with kids who are experiencing trauma in the moment or have or at previous points in their lives,鈥� says Taft, who interned with the organization in 2023. 鈥淎nd so I will be leaning on my social work knowledge of what might be happening in their brains and in their bodies as they go through that experience.鈥�
Taft aims to 鈥渆mpower鈥� her clients, saying she will work to ensure that they know what to expect and are not caught off guard by the outcomes of their cases. As she puts it: 鈥淚 will try to explain my expectations so that no outcome is a surprise.鈥�
“I鈥檓 excited to lift up the voices of children and help them realize their rights by advocating their expressed wishes. One of the core social work values is to respect the inherent dignity and worth of every person, and I believe that begins with kids even though our society isn鈥檛 always angled in a way to support that.”
Taft honed her advocacy skills at the Law School鈥檚 Center for Experiential Learning, which supports students not merely in becoming excellent lawyers, but in finding meaningful work in service to others.
As a certified student attorney in the center鈥檚 in 2023, she represented clients in civil and administrative matters related to family law and child welfare. Her responsibilities included helping families identify their needs, set goals, and find appropriate services.
Taft acknowledges Program Director Claire Donohue for helping her navigate the differences between social work and the law, particularly the contrast in terminology and methodology.聽
鈥淪he was a wonderful mentor, helping me identify what instincts of mine are coming from social work and what instincts are coming from law,鈥� Taft says of Donohue, who graduated from the M.S.W./J.D. dual degree program in 2005. 鈥淚t was so incredible to have someone like her to bounce ideas off of and help me figure out what was most true to the role that I was in and how I could best support my clients.鈥�
Although Taft plans to carve out a career as a public interest lawyer, she sees herself relying heavily on her training as a social worker to support her clients.
Taft learned the value of macro social work鈥攖hat is, social work that focuses on solving complex challenges in social systems, communities, and organizations鈥攁t the , an organization that pays bail for people who can鈥檛 afford it.
During an internship at the Bail Fund from September 2020 to March 2021, Taft says she conducted research showing that it would be a bad idea to build a new prison for women in Massachusetts. It was then, she says, that she saw how macro social workers can use their skills to support or oppose policies and programs that affect the health and well-being of large populations.
鈥淭hat was the first place where I really understood what it meant to be a macro social worker, where I saw people both engaged in community building and grassroots advocacy,鈥� says Taft. 鈥淚t was big for me to see what it meant to be a macro social worker because macro social work is everywhere.鈥�
Taft hopes to apply what she learned in classes, internships, and clinics to become a 鈥渮ealous advocate鈥� for her clients at Lawyers for Children and beyond. 鈥淲hen you combine the social work and the law perspective,鈥� she says, 鈥測ou can develop into a really strong advocate.鈥�
