By Sandra Crawford, ISBA Delivery of Legal Services Committee
Under the topic of “what are they doing now”, this month’s Delivery of Legal Services Committee newsletter catches up with past chair, E. Nicole Carrion, known to all as Nikki (Chair 2010-2011). Since terming-off this committee Nikki, in addition to opening her solo practice in Edwardsville, Illinois, has become of-counsel to Chicago Legal Advocacy for Incarcerated Mothers (CLAIM). Nikki is the downstate staff attorney for CLAIM responsible for visiting regional female correctional facilities where she provides advice, education, and legal services on all types of family law and domestic violence matters to incarcerated mothers, their children, and their children’s guardians. In her of-counsel role Nikki collaborates with other agencies and social service organizations to promote and improve the criminal justice system and the response to the issues faced by incarcerated mothers and their children. CLAIM’s mission is to provide legal and educational services which help maintain the bonds between imprisoned mothers and their children. In her work for CLAIM, Nikki advocates for policies and programs that benefit families of imprisoned mother and programs which will reduce future incarceration of women and girls. Additional information about CLAIM and the services it provides can be found at www.claim-il.org.
Some interesting facts which can be found on CLAIM’s website: