Karen Worthington
J.D., NACC Child Welfare Law Specialist
Karen Worthington Consulting was created out of a deep belief that adults have a collective responsibility to improve the lives of children and that all children are “our children.” Society’s obligations toward children are our shared kuleana. The multiple meanings of this Hawaiian word include “right, privilege, concern, responsibility, business, jurisdiction, authority, liability, interest, reason, cause, function,” aptly describing adults’ stewardship relationship with children.
Karen Worthington Consulting helps child advocacy organizations — non-profit agencies, governments, and foundations— implement research-based approaches to accomplish their missions effectively and efficiently. Karen Worthington Consulting
also works to make child well-being a priority for elected officials and all Americans by publishing and presenting about how today’s decisions impact our children tomorrow.
Experience
Worthington is a nationally recognized children’s law and policy expert working on behalf of children involved with social services and youth and adult legal systems and their families.
She has written and taught extensively on child welfare, juvenile and family court, and youth legal systems. She has spent thirty years identifying research-based best practices and translating those research findings into laws, policies, and practices to improve outcomes for children.
Worthington was the founding director of the Barton Law & Policy Center at Emory Law School, a multi-disciplinary children’s law center dedicated to improving systems that work with court-involved children and their families in Georgia. From 2000 to 2010, she directed the activities of the Barton Center and taught in the law school and other schools at Emory University. She is most proud of mentoring many young professionals who are now influencing leaders in the child advocacy community.
From 2001 to 2005, Worthington also directed the Southern Juvenile Defender Center (SJDC), a regional support center that promotes justice for youth and ensures excellence in youth defense. SJDC is affiliated with the Gault Center and was housed at Emory Law School.
Before joining the faculty of Emory Law, Worthington worked at several government agencies in positions focusing on child advocacy, including serving as the director of Program Development and Management for Fulton County Juvenile Court, the largest juvenile count in the southeastern United States.
Worthington founded Karen Worthington Consulting in 2010 to help organizations implement research-based approaches to improve outcomes for children and families. In recent years, she has helped states and communities with initiatives related to child welfare system transformation, implementation of the Family First Prevention Services Act, and child abuse and neglect prevention. She is chair of the Board of EPIC ‘Ohana, a partner in and former coordinator of Ho‘oikaika Partnership, and an active member of St. John’s Episcopal Church in Keokea.
Worthington received her B.A. in creative writing with Honors from Eckerd College and her J.D. from Emory Law. She is a Child Welfare Law Specialist certified by the National Association of Counsel for Children and a Ghostwriter certified by California State University Long Beach and Wambtac Communications, LLC. She lives in Kula, Hawai‘i, with her husband and two daughters.
