San Francisco - The appointment of noted children's legal advocate Curtis L. Child as the new director of the Office of Governmental Affairs (OGA) of the Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC) was announced today by William C. Vickrey, Administrative Director of the California Courts.

Mr. Child, who now serves as the principal consultant of the state Assembly Committee on Human Services, will begin his new duties in December. He will succeed Ms. Kathleen Howard who left the Administrative Office of the Courts last month to pursue new opportunities.

"I am extremely excited to be joining the Administrative Office of the Courts and working with the Chief Justice, Judicial Council, and the Administrative Director of the Courts to improve the administration of justice in California," Mr. Child noted. "The AOC has a strong history of cooperative relationships with the Governor's Office and members of the Legislature and I welcome the opportunity to build upon that success."

Headquartered in Sacramento, the AOC's Office of Governmental Affairs represents the judicial branch on legislative, policy, and budget matters. The office monitors and reviews a wide range of legislation affecting the California courts and public and promotes a strong, independent, and impartial court system.

"I am enthusiastic to have Curtis Child serve as director of the Administrative Office of the Courts' Office of Governmental Affairs," said Chief Justice Ronald M. George. "He is held in high esteem by legislators in the Capitol and, as an experienced advocate, has made significant contributions on legislation benefiting children and families, and low-income persons."

"The judicial branch has been fortunate to have him serving as a member of the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care, and I look forward to working closely with Curt in advancing the branch's broader agenda to improve the administration of justice in our state," the Chief Justice continued.

Mr. Vickrey stated, "Curt has a long history of both advocating for and implementing policies consistent with the values of our judicial branch, specifically equal access to fair and impartial courts. He understands the type of cooperation and partnerships that are required to see that policies are adopted. But he also appreciates that adopting policy is only part of the job. Having held senior positions in the executive branch with substantial responsibility for implementing major reforms, he understands the need to ensure the availability of adequate resources to achieve the end goal. With his background, he is in an excellent position to be an effective judicial branch advocate for policies that will be implemented for the benefit of the public."

"Curt has extensive experience with the legislative and executive branches of government and comes highly recommended to head the Office of Governmental Affairs," said California Supreme Court Justice Marvin Baxter. "I look forward to working with him in my capacity as Chair of the Judicial Council's Policy Committee."

California Supreme Court Justice Carlos Moreno stated, "Curt Child has been a very effective advocate for California's children and families for many years in several different capacities. His broad experience has made him a valuable member of the California Blue Ribbon Commission on Children in Foster Care." Justice Moreno chairs the foster care commission.

"I look forward to working with Curt," stated Senator Ellen M. Corbett, chair of the Senate Judiciary Committee. "I am certain that with his breadth of experience and having worked in both the Legislature and the executive branch, he will be a great asset to the Judicial Council, the judicial branch as whole, and the public that they serve."

Assembly Member Dave Jones, chair of the Assembly Judiciary Committee, stated, "Curt will be an excellent representative for the courts. He has extensive knowledge and experience with the Legislature as an advocate for children and children's issues and also cares deeply about equal access to justice as a former legal aid lawyer. He's very well respected in the Legislature and by all of the stakeholder groups who have an interest in the judicial branch."

Senator Darrell Steinberg said, "I have had the opportunity to work with Curt for many years both inside and outside of the Legislature and he will be a great advocate for the courts. He brings with him experience working in each of the branches of government which makes him particularly well-suited for helping to ensure strong working relationships between the courts, Legislature, and the Governor's Office."

As principal consultant to the state Assembly Committee on Human Services since last February, Mr. Child is responsible for analyzing legislation within the committee's purvey and taking a lead role on child welfare, foster care, and developmental disabilities. He staffed the foster care legislation of Assembly Member Jim Beall, the committee chair, and coordinated a series of hearings on modernizing the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities Act.

From 2004 to 2007, Mr. Child was a senior attorney of the National Center for Youth Law (NCYL). He established the Sacramento office of NCYL and was responsible for legislative and administrative advocacy of child welfare, child support, public benefits, and health care issues affecting low-income children and families. He also directed efforts to help low-income children and families achieve financial stability and efforts to reform the state child welfare and foster care system.

In 2000, the Governor appointed Mr. Child as the first director of the California Department of Child Support Services, the state department responsible for the collection and distribution of child support payments. In that position, Mr. Child established a new department with 229 employees, directed the transition of local services to 58 new stand-alone child support agencies, and administered a $1 billion budget and annual collections and distributions of more $2 billion. He served as director until 2004.

Mr. Child was the principal consultant to the Assembly Committee on Human Services from 1997 to 2000, under the leadership of former Assembly Member Dion Aroner, committee chair.

From 1996 to 1997, he was one of three founding members of the Northern California Lawyers for Civil Justice, a non-profit public interest law firm established to provide civil legal services to low-income persons in areas prohibited by federally funded legal services programs. He worked at Legal Services of Northern California, Inc. from 1986 to 1995.

In 2006, Chief Justice George appointed Mr. Child as a member of the Blue Ribbon Commission on Foster Care.

Following completion of his B.S. degree, Mr. Child received his J.D. degree from McGeorge School of Law in Sacramento.

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The Judicial Council is the policymaking body of the California courts, the largest court system in the nation. Under the leadership of the Chief Justice and in accordance with the California Constitution, the council is responsible for ensuring the consistent, independent, impartial, and accessible administration of justice. The Administrative Office of the Courts carries out the official actions of the council and promotes leadership and excellence in court administration.