About Judge Robin Mr. Kent
SEPTEMBER 2022
The Honorable Judge Robin M. Kent is currently the lead Judge in the Tenth Judicial District in child abuse and neglect cases for Nassau County Family Court / Early Childhood Court.
“Every (CASA) report is dense with information that I value. CASA [volunteers] are a support to the system, but most importantly, they are advocates for the children.”
The Honorable Robin M. Kent has a notable history presiding over child protective proceedings since she was elected to the bench in 2008.
Judge Kent was a Deputy County Attorney for the New York City Administration for Children’s Services upon graduation from St. John’s Law School in 1990, prosecuting cases of abuse and neglect, as well as acting as an impartial hearing officer for the New York State Department of Education. She continued her work as a sole practitioner defending children’s rights prior to her election to the bench, specializing in representing children in custody, visitation, juvenile delinquency, and abuse and neglect cases. She is currently the lead Judge in the Tenth Judicial District in child abuse and neglect cases for Nassau County Family Court / Early Childhood Court. During her tenure on the Nassau County Family Court, she was designated as an Acting Justice of the Supreme Court, and was also chosen to preside over the adoption ceremony during National Adoption Day.
Judge Kent’s memberships include Nassau County Bar Association; Nassau County Women’s Bar Association; Nassau County Bar Association’s Diversity and Inclusion Committee, Family Law Committee, and Education Law Committee; and the Family Court Child Care Center Advisory Committee. She has also served on the Board of Directors of the New York State Family Court Judge’s Association and the Board of Advisors for the Hofstra University Center for Children, Families, and the Law. Her formidable expertise in the area of child protective proceedings is indisputable.
In recognition of this talent, the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges recently awarded Judge Kent a coveted invitation to participate in the Judicial Engagement Network’s 2021 Fellowship Program, a project-based initiative to create systems plan for change in communities and courts to address a specific bias within system, or institutional barrier to equal access to justice.
While adjudicating her cases, Judge Kent practices creative leadership in forming solutions that are singularly child-centered. She has extensive history in utilizing CASA to help build working relationships among key systems: CPS, schools, and providers. Judge Kent took initiative to increase interorganizational communications and connect the local CASA program with a plethora of local government and community entities: Nassau County Department of Social Services Director of Children’s Services Foster Care, enabling discourse on how to improve process and protocol for seamless cooperation between CASA and caseworkers; Hands Across Hempstead, a High School based program that partnerships community organizations with students and families in a community challenged by failing schools, poverty, and crime to increase awareness of the CASA mission; and judicial leaders, including the Nassau County Family Court Supervising Judge, the Family Court Improvement Project Liaison, and the Family Court Chief Clerk, to provide a platform to explore expanded utilization of CASA. Judge Kent worked with the NYS CASA Association, advising Jackie Boisonnault, Executive Director of CASANYS on the impact of Covid-19 on child welfare proceedings and how CASA/GAL programs could assist in reaching the at-risk population most effectively in the Covid -19 climate and aftermath.
Judge Kent continually addresses the complexities of child welfare systems with solutions-focused governance.
Judge Kent has been utilizing CASA advocates “for as long as I can remember.” Most indicative of her support is her inclusion of CASA as a member of the Executive Planning Committee for a Nassau County Family Treatment Court initiative, comprised of chosen participants across the spectrum of community leaders, child welfare organizations, and service providers. Her demonstrated utilization of the CASA/ GAL program and her independent efforts to raise awareness among other judiciary officers are indicative of Judge Kent’s desire to utilize CASA most effectively; she would be instrumental in suggesting ways to grow CASA strategically for the national network.