What We Do
Every year, thousands of children in New York City face life-changing decisions in Family Court — without a say in what happens to them. The Children’s Law Center (CLC), which is assigned by the court to around 400 cases every month, is the only nonprofit exclusively dedicated to representing children in custody, visitation, guardianship, and domestic violence cases in New York City.
- 5,000+ vulnreable children and youth empowered every year
- 51 Attorneys and 8 Social Workers
- 9 in 10 client families cannot afford legal representation
- More than 85% of clients live in predominantly Black and brown communities
- Working in Brooklyn, The Bronx, Queens and Staten Island
- More than 180,000 clients served since 1997
Table of Contents
Click on each row to learn more about CLC’s work
The Need for Legal Advocacy
Giving Young People a Voice
Family Court decisions shape the lives of young people. These decisions can determine who they live with, where they go to school, whether they can develop a relationship with both parents, and much more.
Children and youth are, however, drastically under-represented in Family Court. As a result, their voices often go unheard in high-stakes legal battles.
At the same time, a disproportionate number of children involved in the court system face chronic disinvestment, racial bias, and poverty. 84% of families in Family Court earn less than $50,000 per year. Our young clients are caught in a legal system that all too often disempowers people of color.
Why We Represent Children
Research shows that there are numerous positive benefits to including children in court proceedings.*
- When children’s voices are heard, they feel more empowered and gain a sense of agency over their lives (1).
- Including children’s perspectives often leads to better decisions that are more in tune with their actual needs and well-being (2).
- Children can better accept ultimate decisions because they are ‘part owners’ of the outcome–even when the outcome isn’t what they wanted.
- When children are involved in goal setting and planning, it not only empowers them but also facilitates cooperation.
- Involving children in decisions fosters better relationships and mutual trust between children and adults (3).
Not only that, but including young people’s perspectives is beneficial for everyone involved: children and youth possess important information that can help the court make faster, more informed decisions! Young people can share critical details about their parents’ relationship and styles of conflict resolution, their sibling relationships, the person(s) with whom the child has a primary relationship, and so much more.
At CLC, we work to ensure that children’s voices shape Family Court decisions, following the rights outlined by the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child.
Children have the right to be heard, the right to protection from harm, and the right to legal fairness.
* Research compiled by Dr. Michael Saini, Professor and Factor-Inwentash Chair in Law and Social Work, University of Toronto
(1) Elrod, L. D. (2007). Client-directed lawyers for children: It is the right thing to do. Pace Law Review, 27(4), 869-886. https://digitalcommons.pace.edu/plr/vol27/iss4/5
(2) Cashmore, Judith & Parkinson, Patrick. (2009). Children’s Participation in Family Law Disputes: The Views of Children, Parents, Lawyers and Counsellors. 82.
(3) Vis, S.A., Strandbu, A., Holtan, A. and Thomas, N. (2011), Participation and health – a research review of child participation in planning and decision-making. Child & Family Social Work, 16: 325-335. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1365-2206.2010.00743.x
Core Program
A holistic, research-driven model
CLC’s core program provides legal representation and social work support to children up to 21 years of age in a wide range of Family Court proceedings. These include custody, visitation, domestic violence (Family Offense), guardianship and related child protective cases.
These are cases in which CLC, for example, secured the removal of the child from a dangerous environment and placement in kinship care; secured Supervised Visitation with a non-custodial parent with whom the child wants contact; or helped our client’s family secure access to Medicaid or other health insurance programs.
CLC’s Attorneys for the Child and Social Workers collaborate to advocate for a client’s legal and non-legal needs.
- Attorneys for the Child: AFCs vigorously represent our clients’ position in court. AFCs handle all aspects of litigation, including filing motions, subpoenas, presenting testimony and examining experts. They provide trauma-informed representation, recognizing the emotional and psychological impact of family conflict and court involvement.
- Social Workers: Social Workers address non-legal issues facing our clients. They exercise attorney-client privilege, which means that their discussions with clients remain confidential. Social Workers connect clients to a host of services: they can refer victimized children to our Clinical Practice for therapy, help clients secure IEPs to promote their educational success, assist families in accessing government support, and much more.
IDV Court Practice
Our Integrated Domestic Violence Court Practice focuses on representing eligible children aged 11 to 21 in obtaining Orders of Protection against family or household members accused of sexual assault, and in cases of intimate partner violence including dating violence, stalking, and sexual assault.
In 2025, CLC represented more than 8,000 clients in Family Courts across New York City, with our attorneys making nearly 400 referrals to the Social Work team for assistance with child protective/safety, mental health and other service needs.
Advocacy and Leadership
Shaping Law for New York’s Children and Families
In its 29 years of operation, CLC has handled over 1,000 appeals. Many decisions rendered in these cases have had a substantial impact on the law pertaining to custody, visitation, guardianship, paternity, domestic violence, and other areas of child welfare.
In addition, we:
- Work with State and City legislators on important legislation
- Provide expert testimony on Family Court issues
- Publish policy reports on a range of topics
- Lead working groups, attend national conferences and publish law review articles
- Host Continuing Legal Education (CLE) programs to train legal professionals on best practices in child-directed advocacy
Clinical Practice
Therapy Services for Victimized Clients
Our in-house Clinical Practice, located in The Bronx, provides therapeutic support to children and young people from ages 3-21 who are victims of crime or neglect or have been exposed to domestic violence. We treat youth using evidence-based, trauma-informed therapy models including Child and Family Traumatic Stress Intervention (CFTSI), Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy (TF-CBT) and Eye Movement Desensitization and Reprocessing Therapy (EMDR).
All services are offered in English and Spanish, as a large portion of Bronx residents are predominantly Spanish-speaking.
Youth Guardianship Project
A Pathway to Citizenship
Our Youth Guardianship Project helps young migrants under the age of 21 who have been abused or abandoned gain lawful residency in the US through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). This pathway is open to children whose best interest is not served by being forced to return to their country of origin. The YGP helps these young migrants submit their SIJS application and represents them in related guardianship proceedings in Family Court.
Since September of 2025, the Project has successfully secured a SIJS order by a Family Court jurist for 55 of young migrants.
The Children’s Voice Project
Youth-led advocacy and education
The Children’s Voice Project is our trailblazing community engagement program. Launched in 2024 by a former CLC client, the Project enlists former CLC clients to empower young people currently navigating the court system while spreading awareness about Family Court to the broader community.
CVP participants receive a yearly stipend to create educational materials (such as booklets, videos, pamphlets, and worksheets) that are distributed throughout our borough offices. These materials introduce clients to various Family Court-specific terminology, events and processes.
In addition, project participants develop community presentations to spread awareness about Family Court to the broader community. The Project provides clients and families with accessible information about Family Court and children’s rights—in doing so, it aims to demystify the legal process, reduce fear and confusion, and support more informed participation in proceedings. .
CVP Director Jahlia Hernandez speaking at the 2026 State of the Judiciary
Measuring our impact in 2025
In 2025, The Children’s Law Center remained steadfast in its mission to advocate for the well-being of children and youth navigating some of the most difficult moments of their lives
- 8,385 children and youth empowered
- 6,189 cases handled in Family Court and the IDV Parts of Supreme Court
- 1,000 copies of informational materials distributed through the Children’s Voice Project
- 35 appellate briefs filed
Success stories
CLC’s work transforms lives. These are real stories of children whose voices were heard—and futures changed.
Make an Impact
Every child deserves a say in their future. With your support, CLC can continue to provide life-changing legal advocacy for thousands of children every year.