Causes: Alliances & Advocacy, Arts & Culture, Education, Health
Mission: We improve the lives and futures of children in Mecklenburg County through legal representation & individual advocacy and by addressing community-wide issues through research and policy work.
Target demographics: children involved in the legal and education systems
Geographic areas served: Mecklenburg county
Programs: In all of our programs, we serve the best interest of the child and only the child. Children's Defense Advocacy - The Council serves as the specialized juvenile public defender in Mecklenburg county. The Council's attorneys represent all children charged with crimes in juvenile delinquency court. In addition to performing the public defender role in juvenile court, the Council represents every child that is facing confinement in a mental health institution. The Council provides the voice of the child and ensures that his/her constitutional and statutory rights are protected. The council is the only specialized juvenile public defender in North Carolina. During the most recent fiscal year, 1,428 children were served through this program and 743 children were represented at mental health commitment hearings, with nearly 90% receiving assistance with treatment planning, discharge planning and/or liaising between the children, the family and the treating professionals. Research & Policy - The Research & Policy team uses internal and external data and research to inform our advocacy for system reform in juvenile justice, child welfare, mental health, and education. We examine the ways our clients' needs are not being met by current systems, and we identify gaps in capacity, defects in policies and procedures, and failures in performance. We promote the adoption of best practices and the allocation of sufficient resources to fill the gaps identified and to improve outcomes for all system-involved children. By partnering with other public and private child serving agencies, community researchers, funders, and stakeholders, we supplement our data to create a more comprehensive picture of what children in our community need. This research informs our public policy work, which currently focuses on four issues : (1) at the state level, raising the statutory age in North Carolina for automatic prosecution as an adult from 16 to 18, and (2) at the local level, (a) racial and gender disproportionality and disparity in the application of discipline in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, (b) the adverse educational, health and economic opportunity effects of concentrations of poverty and racial identification of more than one-third of the schools in CMS, and (c) the inadequacy of mental health services and therapeutic placements for children in Mecklenburg county. Custody Advocacy - The Council serves as the court-appointed best interest attorney to represent the best interests of children who are caught in the middle of high conflict custody cases. Using a combination of staff attorneys, volunteer attorneys and volunteer child advocates, the council ensures that the child's voice is heard and that the judge has all the necessary information to make a decision that is in the best interest of the child. The council receives cases through court appointment from a district court judge; this program operates only through court order. The council's custody advocacy services are provided on a court-ordered fee based on the income of the parties. The council represents only the child - not the court or the parents. During the most recent fiscal year, 139 children were served through this program and 94% of recommendations made by the organization's attorneys were accepted by the judges. Education Law Program - The council's attorneys and advocates serve as best interest advocates for children who are in need of services. These advocates work in the complex areas of special education, mental health, abuse/neglect, public benefits, domestic violence and juvenile delinquency. The council receives cases through a court order from a district court judge or through a parental consent from a concerned parent/guardian that contracts the council's office. The council helps clients navigate the difficult social service systems so that they can receive appropriate services to meet their needs when advocacy or other intervention efforts are unsuccessful, the council files impact litigation on behalf of an individual child to ensure that his/her legal rights are protected. The council specializes in working with children that have complex needs in multiple social services systems, who are at risk of languishing and falling through the cracks during the most recent fiscal year, 237 children were served through this program and 90% of clients achieved their case goals.
Mission: We improve the lives and futures of children in Mecklenburg County through legal representation & individual advocacy and by addressing community-wide issues through research and policy work.
Target demographics: children involved in the legal and education systems
Geographic areas served: Mecklenburg county
Programs: In all of our programs, we serve the best interest of the child and only the child. Children's Defense Advocacy - The Council serves as the specialized juvenile public defender in Mecklenburg county. The Council's attorneys represent all children charged with crimes in juvenile delinquency court. In addition to performing the public defender role in juvenile court, the Council represents every child that is facing confinement in a mental health institution. The Council provides the voice of the child and ensures that his/her constitutional and statutory rights are protected. The council is the only specialized juvenile public defender in North Carolina. During the most recent fiscal year, 1,428 children were served through this program and 743 children were represented at mental health commitment hearings, with nearly 90% receiving assistance with treatment planning, discharge planning and/or liaising between the children, the family and the treating professionals. Research & Policy - The Research & Policy team uses internal and external data and research to inform our advocacy for system reform in juvenile justice, child welfare, mental health, and education. We examine the ways our clients' needs are not being met by current systems, and we identify gaps in capacity, defects in policies and procedures, and failures in performance. We promote the adoption of best practices and the allocation of sufficient resources to fill the gaps identified and to improve outcomes for all system-involved children. By partnering with other public and private child serving agencies, community researchers, funders, and stakeholders, we supplement our data to create a more comprehensive picture of what children in our community need. This research informs our public policy work, which currently focuses on four issues : (1) at the state level, raising the statutory age in North Carolina for automatic prosecution as an adult from 16 to 18, and (2) at the local level, (a) racial and gender disproportionality and disparity in the application of discipline in Charlotte-Mecklenburg schools, (b) the adverse educational, health and economic opportunity effects of concentrations of poverty and racial identification of more than one-third of the schools in CMS, and (c) the inadequacy of mental health services and therapeutic placements for children in Mecklenburg county. Custody Advocacy - The Council serves as the court-appointed best interest attorney to represent the best interests of children who are caught in the middle of high conflict custody cases. Using a combination of staff attorneys, volunteer attorneys and volunteer child advocates, the council ensures that the child's voice is heard and that the judge has all the necessary information to make a decision that is in the best interest of the child. The council receives cases through court appointment from a district court judge; this program operates only through court order. The council's custody advocacy services are provided on a court-ordered fee based on the income of the parties. The council represents only the child - not the court or the parents. During the most recent fiscal year, 139 children were served through this program and 94% of recommendations made by the organization's attorneys were accepted by the judges. Education Law Program - The council's attorneys and advocates serve as best interest advocates for children who are in need of services. These advocates work in the complex areas of special education, mental health, abuse/neglect, public benefits, domestic violence and juvenile delinquency. The council receives cases through a court order from a district court judge or through a parental consent from a concerned parent/guardian that contracts the council's office. The council helps clients navigate the difficult social service systems so that they can receive appropriate services to meet their needs when advocacy or other intervention efforts are unsuccessful, the council files impact litigation on behalf of an individual child to ensure that his/her legal rights are protected. The council specializes in working with children that have complex needs in multiple social services systems, who are at risk of languishing and falling through the cracks during the most recent fiscal year, 237 children were served through this program and 90% of clients achieved their case goals.
info@cfcrights.org
601 E 5th St Ste 510 Children and Family Services Center, Charlotte, NC 28202
704-372-7961
Arts & Culture
Charlotte
