Mission Statement
Children's Law Center of Minnesota promotes and protects the legal rights and well-being of children and youth through legal advocacy, educational outreach, and policy reform.
Impact and Programs
Accomplishments
Children’s Law Center of MN provides high quality legal representation for abused and neglected youth who are wards of the state or in child protection, primarily in Ramsey and Hennepin counties, through direct legal representation, advocacy, education, and outreach efforts. CLC upholds youths’ rights and provides a voice to youth who are experiencing the complex child welfare legal system.
We recognize the importance of our role and opportunity to impact these high-risk youth before they become adults. As the only organization of our kind in Minnesota, our unique work engages local and regional attorneys to counsel and represent our clients for the duration of their time in foster care. An attorney and youth resource manager partner together to understand the specific dynamics of each client. The same attorney represents their client for the duration of each client’s case, which enables them to establish a substantial, trusting relationship where these youth feel comfortable expressing their needs and problems with the CLC team. CLC’s model allows our lawyers to prepare our teenage clients for their future by removing barriers that prevent a successful transition into adulthood.
In 2023 CLC represented 507 clients; 58% of cases were in Ramsey County and 42% were in Hennepin County, CLC saw 158 active cases to completion in 2023, meaning our clients were either reunited with family, adopted, or aged-out of the foster care program. Our clients' high school graduation achievement is a metric that demonstrates the efficacy of our representation and the attorney/client relationship. In 2023, 70% of CLC's eligible clients graduated from high school, exceeding national statistics for youth in foster care. CLC continued doing Interim Case Reviews for our clients who have been in foster care the longest and are between the ages of 14-17 so we can help facilitate their successful transition into adulthood including employment and stable housing. CLC also trained twelve new attorneys in 2023 adding to our team of over 200 active volunteer attorneys. CLC facilitated on-going training for volunteer attorneys on Ethical Pitfalls in Pro Bono Services, Legal Representation and Advocacy for Youth in Extended Foster Care (EFC), Reasonable Efforts Judicial Academy, Permanency in Practice for Child Attorneys, Addressing Sibling Relationships in Child Protection Matters, Overview of CLC and Our Practice, Effective Representation of Teens: Special Topics in Child Protection Matters, and Indian Child Welfare Act (ICWA)/Minnesota Indian Family Preservation Act (MIFPA) Best Practices in Minnesota District Courts.
Current Goals
1. To represent 95% of our active clients to a permanency plan, whether it be adoption, independent living, or reunification. 2. To provide foster children with the consistency and support needed to finish high school and find employment and stable housing so they will transition into successful community members. Our goal is to have 70% of our eligible clients graduate from High School. 3. To provide nuanced virtual training sessions for our current volunteer attorneys and on-demand training for new attorneys. 4. To provide 500 youth (ages 10-21) in the child protection system with consistent, high-quality direct legal representation and service advocacy.
Community or Constituency Served
CLC serves children ages 10-21 in the child protection system, primarily in Ramsey and Hennepin counties. Our clients are children and youth whose lives and healthy growth are interrupted by trauma and abuse. In 2023, approximately 85% of our clients identified as BIPOC, 89% had special needs, 82% were in a sibling group and 70% of our eligible clients graduated from high school.
Geographic Area Served
Our clients are primarily in Hennepin and Ramsey counties, although our advocacy and outreach extends state-wide.
