In Celebration of the Civitas ChildLaw Center’s 15 Anniversary A Special Presentation: Documenting the Lives of America’s Foster Children By Vanessa Roth

Wednesday April 1, 2009
4:00-5:00 p.m.
Reception following presentation

Loyola Law Center
Ceremonial Courtroom, 10th Floor
25 E. Pearson Street, Chicago

Academy Award winning documentary filmmaker Vanessa Roth will discuss her work
advocating for children in the foster care system through her powerful films, Aging Out
and Taken In: The Lives of America's Foster Children. Ms. Roth will address the
ethical concerns surrounding her role as a filmmaker, social worker, and advocate when
Risa Bejarano, one of the young subjects of Ms. Roth's film Aging Out, was tragically
murdered after the film was completed. The film was used by prosecutors to help
convince a jury to pursue the death penalty in the sentencing of a young man who had
suffered the same traumatic childhood experiences as Risa. The events of the young
man’s trial will be included in the documentary No Mercy, which is currently in
production. The tragic end of these two young lives as captured by Ms. Roth's films
provides a dramatic window into the complexity and controversy surrounding the foster
care system, juvenile crime, and capital punishment in America.

To RSVP or for more information, please contact Post-Graduate ChildLaw Policy Fellow
Brittany Bohn at bbohn@luc.edu or 312.915.7949.

This program has been approved by the Illinois MCLE Board for 1 hour of credit