DHCS Launches Web Page for Medi-Cal for Former Foster Youth
DHCS has launched a web page on Medi-Cal for Former Foster Youth. This site is a great resource and contains information about receiving Medi-Cal coverage until age 26 regardless of income and instructions on how to apply for the FFY program.
Posted Wednesday, December 16th, 2015YLC Honors Unsung Heroes on December 7, 2015
Each year the Youth Law Center recognizes people who have made a difference in the lives of our clients during the past year at its Loren Warboys Unsung Heroes Reception. This year’s honorees have helped improve the lives of children and youth involved in the nation’s foster care and justice systems. It is our pleasure […]
Posted Monday, November 23rd, 2015YLC Releases Survey/Recommendations on Congregate Care
At the Youth Law Center we are continuing our work to ensure that children and youth who must be removed from home are placed in family settings rather than in congregate care facilities. We have just released a paper entitled “State Policies on Non-Family Foster Care Settings.” The paper surveys state policies that restrict congregate care […]
Posted Monday, November 9th, 2015YLC Staff Position Available
The Youth Law Center is seeking a full time attorney with a minimum of seven years of experience in the juvenile justice and/or child welfare system, or a closely-related field, to play a leadership role in our advocacy on behalf of youth in the child welfare and justice systems. Job Announcement
Posted Wednesday, October 21st, 2015Governor Brown Signs Landmark Child Welfare Bill
YLC celebrates Governor Brown’s signing of AB 403, a landmark bill that will move child welfare and probation away from reliance on unnecessary congregate care placement and towards developing capacity for children to be raised in families! These changes align California policy with child development research that establishes the importance of parenting as the most […]
Posted Tuesday, October 13th, 2015Governor Brown Signs Juvenile Defender Training Bill
YLC celebrates the signing of AB 703 (Bloom) by Governor Brown, which we co-sponsored with the East Bay Children’s Law Offices. The legislation recognizes the important role of juvenile defenders and clarifies their ethical duties. It makes clear that defenders are to represent the minor’s expressed interests, honor the duty of confidentiality with the client, […]
Posted Tuesday, October 13th, 2015Action Alert on Congregate Care Bill
Tell Governor Brown Children in Foster Care Deserve Families, Not Institutions –Now is the time to urge Governor Jerry Brown to sign AB 403! Children have the right to grow up in a family — in fact, it is a basic developmental need. Every child needs a family who can provide hands-on parenting through love, commitment, […]
Posted Tuesday, September 22nd, 2015Shackling in Transportation; Hobbling Fairness
On August 24, YLC demanded an end to indiscriminate shackling of juveniles being transported to court in Contra Costa County. The County shackles every child, irrespective of their offense. They are paraded down a public street in ankle chains, handcuffs, and waistbelts, under the watch of armed guards. Relatively few of the youth are detained […]
Posted Wednesday, August 26th, 2015Judge Orders Compliance with Flores Settlement by Oct. 23
United States District Court judge Dolly Gee ordered the Department of Homeland Security and other federal defendants to comply with the Settlement Agreement in Flores v. Lynch by October 23, 2015. The 1997 Flores Settlement Agreement establishes requirements for the release of minors who have been detained by immigration officials and specifies the types of […]
Posted Monday, August 24th, 2015Judge Rules for Immigrant Children
United States District Court Judge Dolly Gee has ruled that immigrant children who are accompanied by a parent when they are detained by immigration officials are entitled to the protections of the Settlement Agreement in Flores v Johnson. The judge found the Department of Homeland Security and other defendants in violation of the Settlement Agreement and issued an order for […]
Posted Tuesday, August 11th, 2015Locked Up and Alone
YLC Staff Attorney Sue Burrell was interviewed for a story appearing in the June 29, 2015 edition of THE CRIME REPORT, “Locked Up and Alone.” The story explores solitary confinement in juvenile facilities against the backdrop of SB 124 (Leno), currently pending in the California Legislature. Sue and other experts noted the harm caused by […]
Posted Wednesday, July 1st, 2015Court of Appeal Reverses Disposition for Immigrant Youth
The California Court of Appeal has reversed and remanded a juvenile court disposition that ordered a youth to live with his mother in Honduras after finding that return home was not in his best interest. The Court of Appeal held that the disposition was an abuse of discretion and noted that it may have been based […]
Posted Wednesday, July 1st, 2015