Lawyers For Children

When children are in crisis, the biggest decisions in their lives are often made for them, without their input. At Lawyers For Children, our mission is to give children in foster care, youth justice, child custody and other family court proceedings a voice in the decisions that will change their lives. Since LFC’s founding in 1984, our attorneys and social workers have been listening to their clients, protecting their legal rights, and empowering them with the tools and resources they need to grow and thrive. Each year, our staff of over 60 professionals represents over 3,000 individual children in more than 6,000 court proceedings. Our advocacy helps children be in safe and loving homes, expedites return to families, and helps minimize the trauma of being out of home. We also help youth aging out of foster care access the education, housing, and employment they need to transition to independence. We are continuously evolving our practice with special projects that focus on the most vulnerable among our clients, including LGBTQ+ youth, children with special educational needs, youth who have experienced sexual abuse and exploitation, and young people with immigration issues. Our public policy project tracks recurring challenges for young people across all of our individual cases and uses this data to promote comprehensive reform of the foster care system through both legislative advocacy and class action litigation. At Lawyers For Children, we are incredibly proud of our award-winning interdisciplinary advocacy model, but our clients say that what makes us so special to them is how we make them feel. We make sure that the children and young people we represent know that they are never alone as they face the challenges of foster care.

At Lawyers For Children, a lawyer and social worker, both with extensive experience and training, work together on every case. In addition, LFC is the only children’s law office in the country to employ two full-time Youth Advocates (young adults who have successfully aged out of foster care) to provide additional support for older clients. Each LFC team is thus comprised of individuals with expertise in both the law and the full range of existing services available to ensure a successful future for every one of our young clients. Since 1984, we have represented approximately 100,000 children in New York City court proceedings involving: voluntary foster care placement, abuse, neglect, termination of parental rights, adoption, guardianship, special immigrant juvenile status, youth justice, paternity, custody and visitation. We listen carefully to our clients, help them understand their options and vigorously protect their right to a safe, secure and supportive place to call home. For some clients, this means returning to live safely with their families. For others, it means speeding up the adoption process. For many of our clients who are over 18, the goal is to set out on their own with the knowledge and support necessary to establish stable housing, obtain jobs and embark on successful careers of their own. In addition to our pioneering interdisciplinary approach to individual representation, LFC also works to achieve systemic change on behalf of all children in foster care. LFC also offers specialized services for high-risk children in foster care. Our special advocacy projects for youth in foster care and those that are the subject of custody, guardianship, youth justice and other proceedings address: Public Policy & Special Litigation LGBTQIA+ Aging Out Sex Abuse & Trafficking Immigration Domestic Violence Mental Health & Developmental Disability Education Youth Justice