Counsel for Kids

From the moment a child is placed in foster care, everything is at stake – their home, school, relationships with parents, brothers and sisters, community, and future.  Although the child welfare system is intended to assure safety, youth in foster care commonly experience a damaging trajectory of disruption, inadequate services, and further maltreatment. These negative experiences are exacerbated by racial bias and economic inequality which have deep historical roots.  Courts and access to due process are a young person’s only recourse for accountability within the system.  Lawyers provide critical information to the court and give youth a voice in the processes that shape their lives.  Children’s lawyers also provide critical checks and balances on the child welfare system and the courts.  Children in court need lawyers of their own - we're working to make sure they have them!