Legal Counsel For Youth And Children

YOUTH HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM: LCYC's Youth Homelessness Program (YHP) provides free, community-based legal services to youth who are at risk of or are currently experiencing homelessness, helping them to maintain and/or secure stable housing. This program serves people 12-24 years old and experiencing or at risk of homelessness in communities across Washington State. Services provided may include legal advice, mediation or negotiation, and in-court advocacy. We are able to assist with a number of civil legal issues including, but not limited to: child protective services, emancipation, gender marker and name changes, identity theft, landlord/tenant issues, public benefits, consumer and medical debt, family law, warrants, immigration, and orders of protection. An independent evaluation conducted by MEM consultants LLC found that "LCYC's legal advocacy had an immediate, positive impact on clients...65% clients reported safe and stable housing after working with an LCYC attorney, compared to 39% at intake. LCYC advocacy improved housing stability for 70% of minors served." LCYC works with community partners to provide multidisciplinary support to minors through a model called the Youth Engagement Team, which provides holistic support through legal services, housing navigation, and behavioral health services.

JUVENILE COURT. LCYC provides holistic legal advocacy to youth in King County with juvenile court matters, ranging from misdemeanors to felonies, as assigned by the King County Department of Public Defense. LCYC advises and addresses the specific charges against the youth, while also offering advocacy around issues such as homelessness, special education, school discipline, access to benefits, and safety at home. In addition, LCYC is one of several legal service entities that provides on-call legal advice to youth who are placed under arrest, before they waive their right to silence. This service, Youth Access to Counsel, is offered through the Washington State Office of Public Defense.

SYSTEMIC ADVOCACY. LCYC is uniquely situated to provide input on system-wide issues impacting young people because of our exclusive focus on children, youth, and young adults' rights and legal interests across multiple systems. Through our direct services work, young people and attorneys may identify systemic gaps and barriers through direct representation that can be elevated and addressed on a broader level for greater impact. We elevate systemic issues, in partnership with organizations led by youth, BIPOC, and LGBTQIA+ people, to create changes in administrative policy, court processes and procedures, and state law. Staff with specific subject matter expertise inform our systemic advocacy priorities and strategy. LCYC adds our unique legal services lens to advocacy efforts through the following tools: * Coalition work: partnering with community-based organizations-including those whose advocacy is driven by youth advocates with lived expertise-to identify systemic issues impacting young people *State and local legislative advocacy: reviewing bill language & providing technical assistance on draft bills, sending letters & emails to bill sponsors & committee members, testifying in public hearings, drafting & signing-on to advocacy letters, & engaging in legislative implementation work, * Administrative advocacy: hold public agencies accountable for implementation rooted in best-practices and ensure policies & practices appropriately meet the needs of young people, and * Appellate advocacy: Drafting and joining briefs in appellate courts, primarily as amicus.

YOUTH AND FAMILY IMMIGRATION: LCYC authored and continually updates the Immigrant Safety Plan, a collective community resource to help parents plan for the care of their child(ren) (with or without status) in the event that a parent is unable to care for their child, particularly if the parent is detained or deported. The Safety Plan is intended to reduce the inevitable trauma of separation by providing children with as much stability as possible and avoiding unnecessary involvement in the child welfare system or prolonged separation from their parents. In addition to the Safety Plan, LCYC supports youth seeking Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS ). Youth up to 21 years may be eligible for SIJS if a state court determines that the youth was abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parent(s) and that it is unsafe for the youth to return to their country of origin. LCYC partners with organizations such as Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) and Kids in Need of Defense (KIND) to support youth seeking SIJS. LCYC also provides direct legal representation to young people whose parents have been placed into custody by ICE.

PRO BONO. LCYC's Pro Bono Program expands LCYC's capacity to serve young people and advance our mission with the support of volunteer attorneys and community members. Volunteers primarily assist with LCYC's immigrant youth and youth homelessness programs. Volunteer attorneys provide pro bono legal representation and legal expertise. Other volunteer opportunities for non-attorneys include research, language interpretation/translation, creation of legal literacy materials, development of technology tools to increase capacity and efficiency, and writing of content for LCYC's blog and social media. Through Pro Bono, LCYC can increase the number of youth served, extend the organization's geographic reach, and strengthen our programs.