Advocates for children should be catalysts for systemic change.

Reform

TeamChild’s legal representation of youth provides a unique perspective for us to share with policy makers. Our staff works to ensure that institutions and systems serving children and families understand and respond to their actual needs. Washington youth benefit from our participation in discussions, advocacy and litigation relating to juvenile justice, child welfare, education and mental health reform. We are increasingly called upon as an agency to participate in local, statewide and national planning and policy efforts.

We invite you to learn more about these and other reform efforts. For example, TeamChild created a Youth Law and Policy Internship program in which high school and law school students work as a team to identify a particular problem or policy impacting youth’s legal rights. The team researches the problem, meets with decision makers, and proposes solutions to longstanding barriers that prevent youth from succeeding. TeamChild also is advancing training and technical assistance resources for juvenile public defenders under the MacArthur Foundation’s Models for Change Initiative.