After 17 years as an assistant Polk County attorney specializing in child welfare issues, Cory McClure went to work Oct. 22 in the family law practice at Babich Goldman P.C. in Des Moines. His career has focused on families in distress. Along with the Iowa Department of Human Services, McClure created the Child Welfare Mediation Program for the Polk County attorney’s office and put into place a countywide program to aid victims of abuse and neglect who may have “fallen between the cracks” of Polk County’s formal child welfare responses. As a result of his work, McClure received Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack’s Shining Star Award in 2004. His career also includes 10 years as an adjunct professor and instructor in juvenile and child welfare law, as well as being published extensively in law journals and other publications.

Why the switch from the public sector to private practice?

I spent 20 years in the child welfare realm, and that’s a long time. I loved it, I loved every second of it, but I felt like in terms of my own professional career, it was probably better for me to go into private practice. I get to work with longtime friends whose work I’ve always admired.

Your work isn’t going to get any easier.

Some judges have mentioned “you’re going from the frying pan into the fire.” I’ve kind of seen the worst of the worst. In the county attorney’s office, there were lots of happy endings to a lot of those cases. Those are the ones you never forget. They are miraculous turnarounds by parents, by kids. I’ve been witness to angelic foster parents, people who do amazing things and who completely fly under the radar.

How will your role change?

I went from representing the Department of Human Services by statute on cases where abuse or neglect was alleged to the family law context, where I would represent those parents in those same situations, or a parent in a divorce situation, which for a family are as devastating as abuse and neglect. It has the potential not reach that level of ugliness. Family law encompasses divorce, guardianship, domestic abuse, children getting into trouble, representing parents when they are alleged to have committed some acts of abuse, anything that impacts the family.

Family law, especially as it relates to children, seems at times to operate in a stumbling bureaucracy.

In the 20 years that I worked with the Department of Human Services, I have seen such a forward-thinking, unbelievably transformative approach to cases. … They have some leadership now that is just wonderful. The caseloads are out of control, the numbers are terrible … it’s hard to get dollars allocated to these poor children. Any bureaucratic nightmares are the result of a lack of access to funds.

How is the family doing?

The perception of family has changed. It has been an amazing thing. I have been witness to the family that has brutalized their children in ways none of us want to admit, then I’ve also been witness to wonderful foster parents, gay, straight, single, who have raised kids in amazing ways. I just don’t think you can put one cloak on here’s what a typical family is. To me, whoever is going to do the best job by children is the best parent. There’s no typical about it.

Has the economy wrought more havoc?

We find that desperate economic times make for more frustrations for families, make for poor choices, in terms of when you’re depressed, you self-medicate. Self-medication comes through some form of substance abuse, and substance abuse is responsible for 85 percent of the cases of abuse and neglect. There is some sort of substance abuse nexus – and typically it is methamphetamine. It’s a scourge. The ravages of meth are unbelievable. You can’t parent your kids when you’re using meth. You’re going to leave them in the tub or you’re going to neglect them. You just do. It’s going to get a hold on you, and it’s going to take over your soul.

How do you relax?

I’m a big baseball fan. My kids are involved in youth activities and sports. I read way too much. This is the 200th anniversary of Charles Dickens’ birth, so I’m reading all of his novels this year. I’m a big John Irving, Philip Roth, Charles Dickens fan. My favorite movie is “It’s a Wonderful Life” and my favorite book is “Great Expectations,” so maybe people would say I have a saccharine, overly optimistic world view … but I love a redemption story. Working at the county attorney’s office, I saw so many redemption stories.