Juvenile Law Center

SUPPORT YOUTH ADVOCATES!

by Juvenile Law Center

***  TODAY ONLY:  MAKE A GIFT BEFORE 12:00 MIDNIGHT on DECEMBER 31 AND YOUR GIFT MAY BE COUNTED TWICE! A generous Juvenile Law Center board member has agreed to match up to $500 of all gifts raised to today! ***

 

Why are youth advocates important?

Too often, youth who have been in foster care or the juvenile justice system are excluded from local, state, and national discussions focused on reforming these systems. Many court-involved youth feel marginalized, stigmatized or are ashamed of their experiences in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. They feel like their voices don’t matter. Our youth advocacy programs, Juveniles for Justice and Youth Fostering Change, give young people opportunities to use their first-hand experiences of these systems to advocate for change and help keep kids safe in systems that are supposed to help them.

 

Through their advocacy work in Juveniles for Justice and Youth Fostering Change, our youth advocates learn how to use their experiences, many of which are negative or traumatic, to improve the systems for others. Your donation ensures that young people will be able to advocate directly for change in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems.

 

In the push for reform, no voice is more powerful than the youth who have first-hand experience with these systems. Our youth advocates meet with policy-makers, speak at conferences, develop strong leadership skills, learn how to organize their communities, and have a stronger sense of civic engagement. And, all youth advocates are paid for a full year of advocacy work. You can support these important programs by choosing a donation level for a one-time gift or selecting a recurring gift of $10 a month.

 

What does my donation do?

  • $10 pays for safe transportation to and from Juvenile Law Center's office for one youth advocate for 1 week.
  • $20 makes sure youth advocates get a meal when they come to work.
  • $35 helps one youth advocate run a training workshop for child welfare and juvenile justice professionals.
  • $50 pays for one youth advocate to speak at a conference.
  • $75 covers the cost for a clinical social worker who helps youth advocates develop skills and techniques for sharing their personal stories without re-experiencing their trauma.
  • $100 covers printing and shipping costs of the youth advocates' publications, tool kits, and guides for child welfare and juvenile justice professionals.
  • $200 buys round-trip train tickets to Washington, D.C., so that youth advocates can meet with congressional staffers.
  • $500 provides professional public speaking training for all youth advocates.
  • $1,000 pays 1 youth advocate for a full year.

 

What do youth advocates do?

Each year, Juveniles for Justice and Youth Fostering Change each select one reform issue and develop a project focused on that topic. Past projects have ranged from juvenile records expungement to age-appropriate placements for older foster youth to improving educational outcomes for youth in both systems. Our youth advocates regularly speak at local organizations, agencies, and law schools and are frequently invited to meet with state and national policy makers.

 

In the past year, our youth advocates:

  • Attended the Foster Youth in Action “Leaders for Change” Conference in Washington, D.C., and presented their recommendations to congressional staffers.
  • Spoke at a national conference on the school-to-prison pipeline, attended by over 200 education professionals
  • Were featured in a national PSA on extended Medicaid coverage for former foster youth until age 26
  • Spoke at local law schools, including classes at University of Pennsylvania Law School and Temple Law School
  • Met with representatives from the U.S. Department of Labor, the U.S. Department of Justice, and the U.S. Department of Education
  • Presented their recommendations for reform to staffers from the offices of U.S. Senators Corey Booker, Lamar Alexander, Pat Toomey, and U.S. Representative Bobby Scott.
  • Presented their recommendations for reform in national training webinars attended by over 100 child welfare and juvenile justice professionals in numerous states