Foster Youth – Voices for Civil Justice

Advocates Demand Lawyers for Children in Foster System

News Story (Indiana)

Advocates Demand Lawyers for Children in Foster System

February 7, 2019 | David Wells | Courthouse News Service
A national children’s advocacy group filed a federal lawsuit Wednesday claiming three Indiana counties are violating children’s rights to due process and equal protection by denying them legal representation during foster care proceedings.
Tags: Civil Right to Counsel | Foster Youth

Barancik and Legal Aid of Manasota start groundbreaking foster care program

News Story (Florida)

Barancik and Legal Aid of Manasota start groundbreaking foster care program

February 6, 2019 | Sarasota Herald Tribune
The Legal Lifeline for Youth program will represent youths ages 14 and up in the 12th Judicial Circuit.
Tags: Foster Youth | Funding: Private/Foundation

She Ran Away From Foster Care. She Ended Up in Handcuffs and Leg Irons.

News Story (New York)

She Ran Away From Foster Care. She Ended Up in Handcuffs and Leg Irons.

December 6, 2018 | Ali Watkins | New York Times (NYT)
It is not a crime to run away from foster care. But in Family Court hearings each week, the city is getting arrest warrants for children who do.
Tags: Children & Juvenile | Foster Youth

When schools use child protective services as a weapon against parents

Feature (NATIONAL)

When schools use child protective services as a weapon against parents

November 17, 2018 | Caroline Preston , Rebecca Klein | Hechinger Report
Many school employees are legally obligated to report any suspicion of child abuse and neglect, but sometimes that authority is misused.
Tags: Foster Youth

Institutions for foster kids aren’t doing enough to educate them

Feature (NATIONAL)

Institutions for foster kids aren’t doing enough to educate them

November 10, 2018 | Caroline Preston | Hechinger Report
Missing credits and easy, worksheet-based education add to the learning challenges of children in foster care
Tags: Foster Youth

Attorneys: Social Services again illegally keeping Baltimore foster children overnight in offices

News Story (Maryland)

Attorneys: Social Services again illegally keeping Baltimore foster children overnight in offices

September 4, 2018 | Tim Prudente | Baltimore Sun
State law requires foster children sleep in a licensed facility, but the agency’s offices are not licensed. Such a sleeping arrangement is forbidden by the 1988 consent decree that resulted from the ongoing class-action lawsuit brought on behalf of the children.
Tags: Foster Youth

Philly’s humanitarian crisis: Too many kids in foster care

Op-Ed (Pennsylvania)

Philly’s humanitarian crisis: Too many kids in foster care

August 5, 2018 | Susan Pearlstein | Philadelphia Inquirer
As a legal aid attorney for the last 20 years in Philadelphia, I have witnessed this firsthand. I have seen countless parents forced to wait months to have any contact with their child.
Tags: Foster Youth