Assistant Public Defender
Cuyahoga County Public Defender Office, Ohio
Margaret Oshuns Isquick (PEGGY) PhD, JD is a Cuyahoga County Assistant Public Defender who has been practicing in the Cuyahoga County Juvenile Justice Center (CCJJC) since 1993. Ms. Isquick represents both youth and parents who have been diagnosed with a Substance Use Disorder (SUD). She represented all juveniles on the CCJJC Youth Drug Court docket in the past, but is currently only representing the female juveniles. Ms. Isquick has been involved in the CCJJC Family Recovery Court Docket since its inception in 1999. As part of the Family Recovery Court (FRC) team she represents parents who used alcohol and/or other drugs prenatally and are consequently involved with the Cuyahoga County Division Of Children and Family Services (CCDCFS) and the juvenile court. Ms. Isquick, a public defender social worker, CCDCFS' prosecutor, case workers and family adovocates make up the FRC Team who work together to help parents maintain their infants in their home; or reunify them with their children as soon as possiblle. Additionally, Ms. Isquick represents parents who have been diagnosed with mental health issues, developmental delays and dual diagnoses. Besides her recovery court and juvenile drug court representation, she is involved in pilot program funded by the Ohio Supreme Court to help parents and families avoid being involved in the CCJJC stsstem. The program is named FIRST which stands for Family Intervention Representation and Services Team. The program is a collaboration between the Public Defender Office and CCDCFS to identify and support families in need of short-term aid such as housing issues, school issues, or finding SUD treatment. The Public Defender FIRST program maintains a holistic, multidisciplinary approach, utilizing a team of attorneys, social workers and parent advocates, that is solution-focused, community based, and rehabilitative so as to avoid the adversarial, punitive, and traumatizing affects of being court-involved.
Saturday, April 15, 2023
10:15 AM – 11:30 AM