Loren Warboys Unsung Heroes 2006

Each year, the Youth Law Center presents the Loren Warboys Unsung Hero award to individuals who have made exemplary contributions to improve the lives of at-risk youth in the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. This year’s awardees are EIDE ALAWANEide Alawan has spent his life doing interfaith activities and explaining Islam to the American […]

Article Re State Judge Rules Against Florida DCF

State Judge Rules Against Florida Department of Children and Families and in Favor of Foster Children Who Lived in Office Conference Rooms (Tallahassee, FL – November 9, 2006) – State Circuit Judge Janet Ferris has issued a permanent order on behalf of foster children in the Florida Panhandle area in a lawsuit against the Florida […]

YLC’s AAP Victory in Ninth Circuit Upheld by Supreme Court

The United States Supreme Court has denied Oregon’s Petition for Certiorari to overturn the Youth Law Center’s Ninth Circuit victory in ASW v Oregon. The case was filed on behalf of families who have adopted children from Oregon’s foster care system and had their adoption assistance program (AAP) benefits unilaterally reduced by the State in […]

Partial Settlement in Florida Shelter Care Lawsuit

Youth Law Center announces the partial settlement of Susan C. et al. v. Department of Children and Family Services, et al., our case in Tallahassee, Florida, regarding the practice of DCF and its private contractor to make foster children live in a DCF conference room for days, and sometimes weeks, upon end. The private contractor, […]

L.H. v. Schwarzenegger Press Release

(Sacramento, CA – June 21, 2006) – A class action lawsuit filed today in federal district court in Sacramento charges that the California Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) and Board of Parole systematically violate the constitutional rights of juvenile parolees in revocation proceedings. Attorneys from three law firms, Rosen, Bien & Asaro, LLP, Youth Law […]

YLC & BALA Settle Lawsuit Challenging Housing Authority

The Youth Law Center (YLC) and the Contra Costa County office of Bay Area Legal Aid (Bay Legal) successfully completed a unique collaborative effort to restore a disabled tenant’s Section 8 housing voucher through litigation in federal court challenging the housing authority’s improper use of confidential juvenile court record information in the termination decision. The […]

Violence-Prone YA Still Fails Its Children, Its Taxpayers

By Sue Burrell and Jonathan Laba  |  SF Daily Journal – Forum Column  — Beginning in 2000, the California Youth Authority, the state’s institutional system for our most serious juvenile offenders, occupied the headlines on a regular basis. Local and national media reported rampant violence, staff-on-ward beatings, canine attacks, multiple suicides, extended 23-hour lockdowns, and kids going to […]

Florida Judge Grants Temporary Injunction

Contact: Paolo Annino, 850-644-9930Carole Shauffer, 415-320-2147 Michael Dale, 954-262-6159 State Judge Grants Temporary Injunction Ordering Florida Department of Children & Family Services and Private Contractor to Immediately Stop Sending Foster Children to Live in Office Conference Rooms (Tallahassee, FL – April 13, 2006) – Circuit Court Judge Janet Ferris today issued a temporary injunction ordering […]

Class Action Lawsuit Filed for N. Florida Foster Children

Legal action taken against  the Florida Department of Children and Family Services and private contractor Big Bend Community Based Care. (Tallahassee, FL – April 4, 2006) – A class action lawsuit filed in Florida state court today charges the Department of Children and Family Services (“DCF”) and a private contract foster care agency, Big Bend […]

Lawsuit Filed Against Florida DCFS and Big Bend

Legal Action Taken Against the Florida Department of Children and Family Services and Private Contractor Big Bend Community Based Care. (Tallahassee, FL – April 4, 2006) – A class action lawsuit filed in Florida state court today charges the Department of Children and Family Services (“DCF”) and a private contract foster care agency, Big Bend […]

Gang Label Removed in Santa Cruz County

A Special-Education Student Gets Gang Label Removed in Santa Cruz County By George B. Sanchez  |  Monterey County Herald  —  In Santa Cruz County, the mother of a special-education student took the Pajaro Valley Unified School District and the Sheriff’s Office to court after they identified her son as a gang member. Though the student was not placed on […]

Agreement to Overhaul New Mexico’s Juvenile Justice System

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: Friday, February 17, 2006 CONTACT: Peter Simonson, Executive Director, ACLU of New Mexico, 505-266-5915 or (cell) 505-620-0775 Daniel Yohalem, ACLU-NM Cooperating Attorney, 983-9433 Albuquerque – Civil rights groups have agreed to hold off on a major class action lawsuit against New Mexico’s Children Youth and Families Department in return for promises of […]