Children's Law Center
Programs and results
What we aim to solve
Our child clients are at risk of poverty, lack of family support, inequitable treatment, maltreatment and trauma. Our holistic representation provides assesses these factors to improve overall outcomes while seeking a just outcome for the child.\r\n\r\nClients are referred to CLC by parents, social workers, courts, schools, juvenile justice workers, and others. Most youth who come to CLC for assistance do not have the means to acquire lawyers, or their cases need the expertise and experience of CLC lawyers. We do not charge fees to receive services.\r\n\r\nOur child clients come to us with many needs and may be involved in multiple systems. We provide high quality legal representation in a variety of forums, including trial and appellate courts, school settings, and administrative matters. We ensure that their fundamental rights are upheld, while also working toward other positive life outcomes that can improve economic stability, achieve mental and physical wellbeing and further education.
Our programs
What are the organization's current programs, how do they measure success, and who do the programs serve?
Legal Representation
Children's Law Center (CLC) provides attorneys to represent children & youth in legal and administrative proceedings providing desperately needed legal advocacy to our region's most vulnerable children with disabilities, victims of crime and otherwise disadvantaged children. Our help means that children get educational services, have a voice in domestic cases and are protected from harm.
• CLC provides advocacy to youth transitioning into society from out of home placement and offers unique services to youth.
• CLC’s Crime Victim Project provides legal services to youth victims of family, dating and domestic violence, sexual assault, human trafficking, and a variety of other types of crimes.
• CLC’s Homeless and Education Law Program (H.E.L.P.) provides legal counsel for youth experiencing poverty and homelessness.
Training and Education
Legal professionals benefit from expertise through CLC's numerous forums, clinics and conferences in Ohio and Kentucky on children's legal, social and educational issues. In CLC's NKU Chase Children's Law Clinic, Chase students, under the supervision, represent youth clients in a variety of matters.
Research and Public Policy Development
CLC identifies areas where justice systems need reform and works to bring about far-reaching changes on local, state and national levels. The Center uses research and innovative community-based initiatives to develop sound public policies for children in the legal and social service systems.
Information and Referral
The Center receives hundreds of calls each year from children seeking clarification of their legal rights, parents requesting referral sources for their children, attorneys requiring technical assistance, and social service providers concerning the rights of their clients. CLC staff provide telephone assistance and make referrals to other attorneys and agencies as appropriate.
Special Projects
Changing economic and political climates require innovative solutions to problems facing children. CLC continually develops and reviews its programs to ensure that they meet the most prevalent needs of its child clients. In addition, CLC works with other agencies, both in Kentucky and around the country, to develop and replicate successful projects that improve the quality of advocacy services for children.
Youth Re-entry
Beyond the standard attached description the reentry project attempts to get contact youth who are at risk (crossover youth especially) and youth who are in systems well before returning home. We have advocated on behalf of youth throughout Kentucky and Ohio, testifying in court, creating reentry plans for juvenile and adult courts, reentry plans for parole boards and also reentry plans for the board of education. Our goal is to be different than standard reentry programs as we want to provide holistic services, so if the entire family needs assistance we will provide as much as humanly possible to change the culture and keep the youth from entering juvenile justice facilities. Statistics show that 80% of people who are in the criminal justice system have some encounters with the foster care system between the ages of 10-17 so we have a strong presence within foster care agencies including but not limited to JFS, Lighthouse Youth Services and the Children’s Home of Northern Kentucky.
Where we work
External reviews
Our results
How does this organization measure their results? It's a hard question but an important one.
Number of children/youth who receive high-quality legal services.
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Children and youth, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people, Victims of crime and abuse
Related Program
Legal Representation
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Context Notes
The number of youths served each year varies dependent upon the complexity of the cases taken on. In 2016, CLC switched to a new case management system. Only some data is included here.
Number of individuals attending community events or trainings
This metric is no longer tracked.Totals By Year
Population(s) Served
Caregivers, People with disabilities, At-risk youth, Economically disadvantaged people
Related Program
Training and Education
Type of Metric
Output - describing our activities and reach
Direction of Success
Holding steady
Goals & Strategy
Reports and documents
Download strategic planLearn about the organization's key goals, strategies, capabilities, and progress.
Charting impact
Four powerful questions that require reflection about what really matters - results.
What is the organization aiming to accomplish?
1) All children are entitled to obtain a free and appropriate public education.\r\n2) All children and youth should be afforded a safe permanent home using a continuum of services and the least restrictive alternative appropriate to meet their needs.\r\n3) Youth in the juvenile justice system should receive fair and equitable treatment with due process rights afforded to them at every stage, access to quality representation, and individualized strength-based services.
What are the organization's key strategies for making this happen?
We provide high quality legal representation in a variety of forums, including trial and appellate courts, school settings, and administrative matters. We ensure that their fundamental rights are upheld, while also working toward other positive life outcomes that can improve economic stability, achieve mental and physical wellbeing, further education, and connect youth with family and community. Ultimately, helping youth to self-advocate for their own needs can better help them to successfully transition into adulthood.
What are the organization's capabilities for doing this?
Removing barriers to progress can be most successful when utilizing a variety of strategies and when the participation of multiple agencies is secured. Research has shown that outcomes should focus on four areas: 1) stability of placement for the child is secured; 2) rights and opportunities are made available to children and parents; 3) individual advocacy is provided across systems; and 4) quality of programing is addressed and policies and procedures are examined that tend to exclude youth from services.
What have they accomplished so far and what's next?
Direct Services:\r\nIn all of its direct service areas, CLC provided direct service of legal representation to 532 children and youth in 2017. In 2016 we served 576 children and youth, in 2015 we served 510 children and youth in 2014, we served 482 children in 2013, in 2012 we served 526 children, in 2011 we served 505 children and in 2010 we served 442 children. Throughout its 28 years of operation, Children's Law Center has provided direct service of legal representation to thousands of our region's children. The Children's Law Center does not charge any fees to the children it represents nor their parents or guardians.\r\n\r\nIndirect Services:\r\nChildren's Law Center helps thousands of children as our attorneys continue their advocacy for youth outside the courtroom and traditional legal settings by engaging in large scale reforms with all three branches of government – legislative, administrative and judicial – on behalf of youth. These reforms focus either on supporting changes that would have a positive impact on youth or advocating against changes that could negatively impact youth. Through its public policy work, CLC also helps to create a stronger voice for youth by working in partnership with other youth advocates, including children's attorneys and public defenders and other organizations who focus on issues facing youth both at the state and national levels. \r\n\r\nThrough our public policy work, CLC also helps to create a stronger voice for youth by working in partnership with other youth advocates, including children's attorneys and public defenders and other organizations that focus on issues facing youth both at the state and national levels. Children's Law Center is recognized in our Tri-State Region as well as nationally as an authority on children's rights and education advocacy.
Financials
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Operations
The people, governance practices, and partners that make the organization tick.
Connect with nonprofit leaders
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- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
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Connect with nonprofit leaders
SubscribeBuild relationships with key people who manage and lead nonprofit organizations with GuideStar Pro. Try a low commitment monthly plan today.
- Analyze a variety of pre-calculated financial metrics
- Access beautifully interactive analysis and comparison tools
- Compare nonprofit financials to similar organizations
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Children's Law Center
Board of directorsas of 01/29/2024
Mrs. Alethea Teh Busken
Johnson Trust Counsel
Term: 2021 - 2024
J. David Bender
Bender Law Officers
Lauren Wells Risner
PNC Wealth Management
Alethea Teh Busken
Johnson Trust Investment
Olivia Keller
DBL Law
Kyle Bunnell
Dinsmore & Shohl, LLP
Emily Cochran
Graydon, Head & Ritchey, LLC
Megan Ebenschweiger
Robbins, Kelly, Patterson & Tucker, LPA
Rayshun Holt
Cincinnati Works
Neal Patel
Frost, Brown, Todd, LLC
Kate Willis
Nevro
Alexandra Harsacky
Howard, Nunn & Bloom CPA
Benjamin Barden
Von Lehman, CPA
Louise Roselle
Hon. Karen Thomas
Kentucky Court of Justice, Retired
Board leadership practices
GuideStar worked with BoardSource, the national leader in nonprofit board leadership and governance, to create this section.
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Board orientation and education
Does the board conduct a formal orientation for new board members and require all board members to sign a written agreement regarding their roles, responsibilities, and expectations? Yes -
CEO oversight
Has the board conducted a formal, written assessment of the chief executive within the past year ? Yes -
Ethics and transparency
Have the board and senior staff reviewed the conflict-of-interest policy and completed and signed disclosure statements in the past year? Yes -
Board composition
Does the board ensure an inclusive board member recruitment process that results in diversity of thought and leadership? Yes -
Board performance
Has the board conducted a formal, written self-assessment of its performance within the past three years? Yes
Organizational demographics
Who works and leads organizations that serve our diverse communities? Candid partnered with CHANGE Philanthropy on this demographic section.
Leadership
The organization's leader identifies as:
Race & ethnicity
Gender identity
Transgender Identity
Sexual orientation
No data
Disability
No data
Equity strategies
Last updated: 01/29/2024GuideStar partnered with Equity in the Center - an organization that works to shift mindsets, practices, and systems to increase racial equity - to create this section. Learn more
- We review compensation data across the organization (and by staff levels) to identify disparities by race.
- We ask team members to identify racial disparities in their programs and / or portfolios.
- We analyze disaggregated data and root causes of race disparities that impact the organization's programs, portfolios, and the populations served.
- We disaggregate data to adjust programming goals to keep pace with changing needs of the communities we support.
- We disaggregate data by demographics, including race, in every policy and program measured.
- We have long-term strategic plans and measurable goals for creating a culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.
- We have a promotion process that anticipates and mitigates implicit and explicit biases about people of color serving in leadership positions.
- We seek individuals from various race backgrounds for board and executive director/CEO positions within our organization.
- We have community representation at the board level, either on the board itself or through a community advisory board.
- We help senior leadership understand how to be inclusive leaders with learning approaches that emphasize reflection, iteration, and adaptability.
- We engage everyone, from the board to staff levels of the organization, in race equity work and ensure that individuals understand their roles in creating culture such that one’s race identity has no influence on how they fare within the organization.