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our philosophy
Justice for Children is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) child-advocacy group that provides legal and social services to abused children when the System fails to protect them.
We are the only organization of its kind in the country. Using our knowledge of the System learned over 28 years of representing abused children, Justice for Children provides a safety net of skilled caseworkers, volunteer lawyers, and lay advocates to make judges, prosecutors, CPS caseworkers, and law enforcement take a look at the evidence and the law and listen to the child.
Our experience and unique knowledge of the process and problems allows us to focus on the agencies that are preventing the child from receiving the safe placement they deserve to avoid further physical or sexual abuse or neglect.
Informed by almost 3 decades of experience, we provide our community leaders and elected representatives with recommendations for legislation and changes to governmental agencies to improve the protection of children.
1. Children must receive fearless, uncompromising, unflinching advocacy for their safety in a System often fraught with inappropriate goals for the child or complete disinterest in their welfare.
2. When a child is at risk of being physically and sexually abused by his or her parents, Justice for Children believes the child should have a right to independent and competent legal representation like every other party in the case.
3. Our focus must be on the child’s well-being and only indirectly on the protective parent.
4. We must open up the process of adjudication of children’s rights to public scrutiny.
5. There can be no appeasement of judges or public officials to achieve protection of the child.
6. Bureaucracy is an enemy to child protection.
7. The System fails children systematically.
8. “Family Preservation” is antithetical to protection of child.
9. We must remain our independence from the System in order to avoid the co-opting effect of dependence.
10. Investigation of crimes against children is the exclusive responsibility of law enforcement. While child abuse is a social problem, it is first and foremost a crime against the child.
11. The institutions that we have entrusted and funded to protect the most vulnerable members of our society must be held accountable for their actions.
12. While the initial act of abuse may not be preventable, it is inexcusable for it to reoccur once it is known to exist.
We intervene on behalf of abused and neglected children to prevent their re-abuse when no one else will.
We ensure that abused children receive legal representation that is diligent, free of conflicts of interest, and meets the highest standards of care. As we can now plainly see, a child’s life literally hangs in the balance.
We provide direct legal and social services in cases involving the protection of children when the System fails.
Our pro bono attorneys advocate zealously for the child within the bounds of the law.
We help the child and their protective parent navigate a complicated administrative and judicial process that is often absurd and unjust.
JFC fearlessly brings the failures of the System to the attention of our community, our governmental leaders, and works for reforms to prevent the reoccurrence of these tragedies in the future.
For almost 3 decades, Justice for Children has successfully intervened on behalf of abused children to ensure that their safety during custody determinations is given the highest priority.
We accomplish these tasks in the following ways:
1) Our Cloud-based online Intake. Our Intake Staff provides Information and Referrals based upon the information you provide by completing our online Intake Form. Because we are thinly staffed, we cannot efficiently handle all the requests for assistance through a telephone Hotline. After reviewing your intake package, our Staff of veteran caseworkers and student interns from local Universities and Law Schools will contact you by phone or email if we believe that we can help.
Our Intake Staff provides expert Information about the System (how it works or does not work) and Referrals within and without the System to empower the protective parent, foster-parent, relative, or care-giver including teachers, nurses, and other front-line professionals and help them negotiate through the maze of governmental agencies and courts. We explain what the key aspects of the law, though our Staff does not provide legal advice.
2) Our Casework. Our Intake Staff refers certain the most urgent cases to the Director of Casework for follow-up and intensive assistance to the care-giver consisting of the following services:
The Child’s Case is created in our Intake Database for monitoring, storage of additional information as the case progresses, collection of evidence (medical reports, psychological reports, photos, witness statements) and cataloguing of the participants in the case (Prosecutors, Police, Doctors, Psychologists, Family Court personnel.)
3) Pro Bono Legal Services. In an appropriate case, the child and/or caregiver is provided with pro bono legal representation in the court case to seek protective custody of the child. In addition, attorneys provide the following services outside the courtroom:
4) Courtwatch. Volunteers and/or Hotline staff attend court cases to observe proceedings, provide assistance, testimony, speak to the media, etc.
5) Therapy. On rare occasions, JFC provides paid therapy for abused children. We can also assist with the applications for crime victims compensation where provided by state law.
6) Training. Provide formal training to volunteer attorneys and other lay volunteers. For pro bono counsel, provide in-depth training and resources to attorneys who represent our clients in the courtroom.
7) Education and Advocacy. We author editorial opinions, conduct research, speak at seminars, work on authoritative literature regarding child advocacy, participate in community forums, etc.
8) Resource to Community Leaders and Legislators. We provide live and written testimony on various legislation and provide expertise to legislators in drafting of legislation, both state and federal. We also work on Systemic changes to state and federal agencies to improve protection of abused children.
9) Community Watchdog. When the System fails a child, we serve as the voice of the community and the child, who has no voice. We are frequently called upon as child abuse experts by the media (local, state, and national).
Ayudar a un niño que lo necesita ahora.
Justice for Children provides guidance through the legal and judicial processes, assists in court watch, and advocates on behalf of children to law enforcement and other governmental agencies. JFC connects individuals with legal resources including pro bono attorneys and helps with protective orders. Justice for Children JFC is also involved in a variety of legal research projects and has contributed to amicus briefs, researching legal issues and providing data on important legal issues affecting the rights of abused children.
Justice for Children assists and refers several thousand callers annually through the complicated and unsympathetic maze of governmental agencies established to protect abused children. Advocating for an abused or neglected child takes on many different forms of participation and involvement. These include researching and gathering supporting documentation; reviewing supporting documentation; referring persons to professionals; guiding them through the legal and judicial process; providing legal assistance with protective orders; initiating child abuse investigations; serving as a liaison to law enforcement and other governmental agencies; generating advocacy correspondence and amicus briefs; acting as facilitator of professional services; court watch; and providing pro bono legal representation and connecting persons with attorneys.
Justice for Children has proposed and drafted legislation to improve the laws pertaining not only to child abuse and child protection, but also laws concerning the funding for protective services. We have also presented legislation designed to make the legal process more child-friendly. Additionally, because of its experience in this area, Justice for Children receives numerous requests to provide testimony regarding various pieces of legislation around the country.
Justice for Children has traditionally provided information and materials to combat child abuse and to educate the public of the signs and symptoms of child abuse or neglect in its efforts to interrupt its dismal cycle. In 2012, it is initiating a project called “Just in Time”, to develop a series of informational and instructional modules to be placed on its website. Each is designed specifically to aid a field on the front lines of identifying and re-mediating child abuse: the community, medical first responders, school personnel, pediatricians, court personnel, and counseling professionals.
We seek to collaborate with other concerned national and community leaders, professionals, institutions, non-profit organizations, and governmental agencies to further a common goal of solving the deficiencies in our present child protective systems. By expanding our relationships within the community and on a national level, we are working to create a system that will effectively handle a child’s initial report of abuse, provide immediate safety, and ultimately, prosecute and convict the child abuser.
Justice for Children’s expert opinion continues to be recognized and valued by local and national media, legal and medical professionals, child abuse experts, and various other children’s rights organizations. We have been featured on ABC’s Primetime Live, ABC’s prime-time documentary entitled ‘Crimes Against Children,’ a PBS documentary entitled ‘Boy Crying, Baby Crying,” as well as appearances on Good Morning America, Donahue, the Discovery channel’s “Justice Files,’ HBO and in 2011, the BBC.
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Houston is the primary site of Justice for Children’s Call Center, and the site of its National Headquarters. It began its operations in a Houston church basement. Historically, most National Board members, including founder Randy Burton, have lived in and around the Houston area.