SIOUX FALLS – Funding from the Unified Judicial System’s Court Improvement Program and the Department of Education has made it possible for CPCM to add a Law Fellow program to its slate of activities. 

Rex Schlicht, a Woonsocket native and second-year law student at the University of South Dakota, is the inaugural law fellow for 2021-2022. The law fellow will assist in training legal professionals and particularly law students in the foundational principles of a trauma-informed court system. This approach works to reduce instances of re-traumatization of victims of child abuse and neglect while focusing on prosecutorial success. The law fellow will additionally provide research assistance for CPCM initiatives and legislative efforts by board members and partner agencies. 

Schlicht is the President of the Family Law and Child Advocacy Club, is a volunteer judge in the Clay County Teen Court and is a member of the Moot Court Board. He graduated from Dakota Wesleyan University in May 2020 with his Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice. This past summer he interned with the Beadle County State’s Attorney’s Office in Huron where he gained experience in legal research and diversion court. He is involved in several other extracurricular activities and will be a positive aspect to many ongoing CPCM projects.  

“Children are the future and are the hope for making tomorrow better,” Schlicht said. “However, children are a vulnerable population and have little control over what happens in life. Children deserve every chance to live their lives to the fullest extent, and advocating for children allows a person to give a voice to those who often don’t have one.”

Schlicht said he feels the law fellow program will give him greater insight into the field of child advocacy, but also build further connections with the advocacy community. He hopes the experience will provide a network of attorneys who could serve as mentors and increase personal knowledge he hopes to use in his future legal career.  He wants to eventually practice in an underserved area of rural South Dakota. 

…See a photo in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!

Christopher “Chris” Zell recently earned the award of National Veteran’s Affairs Chief Engineer of the Year by the VA’s Office of Construction and Facilities Management. He is currently the Chief of Engineering at the Columbia VA Health Care System in Columbia, S.C. 

According to the newsletter from the Columbia VA Health Care System, “This is truly an outstanding accomplishment and a testament to Mr. Zell’s dedicated service and contributions to the environment of care for the Veterans of the Columbia VA Health Care System. Under Mr. Zell’s leadership, the Columbia VA Health Care System has been able to secure just under $200 million in approved construction projects over the last two years to include a Behavioral Health Center of Excellence, Specialty Clinic, Phase Two Parking Garage, Prosthetics Center, Building 10 Primary Care Expansion, Rehab Center and Eye Clinic.”

…Read on and see a picture in this week’s issue of the Sanborn Weekly Journal!