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Juvenile Rights Practice


Kathryn A. McDonald Education Advocacy Project - Early Intervention and Pre-School Special Education Project for Foster Children (Law Firm Project)

Pro bono counsel in our Kathryn A. McDonald Education Advocacy Project represents New York’s foster children to secure social and educational resources that can be critical for their healthy development and educational success. Volunteer counsel engages in multiple levels of legal advocacy to document needed services, negotiate an appropriate service plan, monitor its lawful implementation, and represent the child’s interests at an administrative hearing.


Special Immigrant Juvenile Status Cases (Law Firm Project)

Volunteer attorneys provide legal assistance necessary for undocumented foster children to obtain “Special Immigrant Juvenile Status” before they reach majority and face the risk of deportation. Counsel compiles the extensive documentation required, prepares a comprehensive and persuasive petition, and appears before the United States Citizenship and Immigration Services in order to secure the adjusted status.


Juvenile Delinquency Representation Project (Law Firm Project)

Law firms are matched with Juvenile Rights Practice trial offices to represent children in Family Court accused of acts of Juvenile Delinquency. Pro bono attorneys act as counsel from the initial intake stage through disposition of the case. They participate in client interviews, investigations, motions, conferences, settlement discussions, and act as counsel at trial and disposition.


Juvenile Rights Appeals (Law Firm Project)

Pro bono counsel serves as appellate lawyers for abused and neglected foster children to ensure they obtain permanent homes. The volunteers perfect the appeal in order to sustain the trial court’s determination that generally is the final legal step for commencement of an adoption proceeding. Pro bono attorneys also serve as appellate counsel for children under the age of sixteen accused of juvenile delinquency acts.


Juvenile Rights Paralegal Project (Law Firm Project)

Pro Bono paralegals, working primarily from their offices, serve as virtual paralegals to Legal Aid attorneys to assist adolescent foster children in securing permanency plans that support their successful transition to independent living. The volunteers conduct interviews and obtain records, participate in service plan review meetings, confirm the status of court-ordered services, and monitor agency compliance with court directives. This important paralegal work facilitates the provision of post-foster care housing and benefits to these young adult clients, and helps ensure that they become economically independent and psychologically prepared to leave foster care.


Trusts & Estates Assistance for Children

Legal Aid attorneys periodically require the expertise of pro bono trusts and estates attorneys when the child they are representing receives an inheritance or an award in a personal injury matter. In some cases, the Legal Aid lawyer seeks advice. In others, pro bono counsel may be needed to represent the child in settling an estate, create a trust for the child, or represent a relative to be appointed guardian of the child’s property. Pro bono attorneys may volunteer to handle specific proceedings or to be available as an advisor on an as-needed basis.


Juvenile Rights Trial Attorney

The mainstay of the Juvenile Rights Practice is the extensive trial work on behalf of abused and neglected children and children who are the subject of delinquency and Person in Need of Supervision petitions. These cases typically involve motion practice, discovery, court conferences, client and witness interviews and preparation as well as a bench trial. Cases often involve more than one client and may involve settlement discussions with parent and city attorneys. Commitment to trial work requires dedicated time spent in one of the practice’s five borough trial offices as well as the availability to work on specific case matters as they arise.


Other Kind of Matters Assisting the Rights of Children

Volunteer Attorneys seeking to assist children may be interested in the many pro bono opportunities arising from Legal Aid’s extensive representation of indigent children in our Civil Practice. These include enforcing children’s rights to federal entitlements, to safe, permanent homes, and to permanent residency in the United States.