Northern Kentucky Childrens Law Center Inc

Individual Advocacy: Through our holistic approach to individual representation, CLC identifies those factors which place our clients most at risk and which contribute to the legal issues which bring them through our doors.  We seek to not only achieve fair and just legal outcomes, but to provide the opportunities for youth to achieve better life outcomes.

Who are our clients?: Children and youth, typically up to the age of eighteen (18) years old, come to CLC for a variety of reasons. Many if not most have experienced poverty, childhood maltreatment and/or trauma exposure, or lack stable supports within their families and communities. Some have received inequitable treatment as a result of their race, ethnicity, sexual orientation or disability.  Frequently, they are involved in the juvenile or criminal justice systems, family court, the child welfare system, the mental health system, or they lack access to appropriate education.

How do children and youth come to us for help?: Clients are referred to CLC for representation by parents, social workers, courts, schools, juvenile justice workers, and others.  We typically do not take cases where there is a right to appointed counsel; rather, most youth who come to CLC for assistance do not have the means to acquire lawyers, or their cases need the expertise and experience of CLC
lawyers. We do not charge a fee for children to receive our services.

What do our lawyers do?: CLC lawyers identify the risk factors of our young clients and work holistically to resolve the legal issues which brought them to our door, as well as helping youth to better advocate for themselves.

What do we hope to achieve for our clients?: Our child clients often come to us with many needs and may be involved in multiple systems. We provide high quality legal representation in a variety of forums, including trial and appellate courts, school settings, and administrative matters. We ensure that their fundamental rights are upheld, while also working toward other positive life
outcomes that can improve economic stability, achieve mental and physical wellbeing, further education, and connect youth with family and community. Ultimately, helping youth to advocate for their own needs can better help them to better transition into adulthood. 

Description of Systemic Impact work: CLC lawyers have been the catalyst for a number of civil rights cases that helped to transform systems responsible
for the care and treatment of youth.  These cases typically begin with information received from parents, youth and others about longstanding systemic problems which violate the civil rights of children or youth. In short, they stem from the policies and practices of government agencies which substantially deviate from accepted professional standards for the care and treatment of children.

For more than two decades, CLC lawyers have worked to ensure that youth in out of home care are not subjected
to harmful practices which violate their constitutional and statutory rights.  Children in custody have the right to education, protection from harm, medical and dental care, treatment, freedom from excessive force, and access to the courts. Holding state and local agencies accountability to ensure these rights are upheld can produce better
outcomes for children and make facilities safer.

Youth in custody are entitled to access the court systems to challenge matters relative to their confinement.  Having access to legal assistance is critical for youth, who, by virtue of their age and immaturity, need help to challenge the fact, duration or conditions of their confinement.  CLC has worked to ensure this access through establishing legal assistance programs for incarcerated youth in Ohio and Kentucky.

School discipline policies often impact youth of color and youth with disabilities in disparate numbers.  The suspension, expulsion and/or prosecution of children for school related conduct may produce long term harmful effects on academic performance and ultimate, graduation rates.  CLC attorneys have long challenged school
systems to find more positive ways to engage students, minimize school disruption, and increase attendance and performance. 

Similarly, children in custody are disproportionately youth of color, and many are diagnosed with mental health or educational disabilities that may impact educational performance. These youth need highly qualified teachers, effective behavior management programs, and intensive programming to help them successfully complete a course
of study.  CLC has an extensive history of class advocacy on behalf of children in custody to ensure the right to
education is upheld.