Empower Hour – It’s Almost Here!
We are less than a month away from CLC’s first ever Empower Hour event at Prelude Kitchen and Bar where we will fill backpacks with school supplies, words of encouragement, and lots of TLC!
We hope you will join us on August 26 as we mix, mingle, and prepare backpacks for CLC clients heading back to school. We are grateful to our sponsors HopSkipDrive, Wilton Rancheria, and others who helped make this event happen. The event is free, family friendly, and just a few short steps from the capitol building.
Sign up here to drop in, say hello, and stuff a backpack or two for a great cause!
Advocates in Action Just Months Away!
Exciting plans for CLC’s annual Los Angeles-based fundraiser are up and running! Our newly branded “Advocates in Action” event will take place on October 23rd, 2025, at the historic Union Station in Downtown Los Angeles, a building in the heart of our great city that holds so much history.
We are thrilled to announce this year’s amazing honorees:
Assemblymember Blanca Rubio will be recognized as our Champion Honoree for her unwavering commitment to introducing legislation that empowers, protects, and uplifts children and youth in the foster care system.
Our two Community Hero Honorees have gone above and beyond time and time again to uplift CLC’s clients through their limitless generosity. The CarePortal – a faith-based community of churches, individuals, and businesses – has fulfilled hundreds of requests for critical support for children and families – everything from groceries, rental support, baby items, and so much more. They remind us every day that with a little faith, we can move mountains. BEIS luggage company, often featured on the cover of magazines and always on influencers’ recommended lists, is a company with a big heart. For two years in a row, BEIS has organized donations of travel bags filled with high-quality hygiene essentials for CLC clients in need. Earlier this year, BEIS responded to assist not only CLC clients, but also our staff who were displaced after the Los Angeles fires ravaged our city.
We are humbled and grateful to honor these dedicated advocates for children who are creating meaningful, lasting change for our community. Please join us as we celebrate these fellow advocates and so much more at Advocates in Action on October 23rd!
Stay tuned as we share details about the event and how you can support CLC and the children and youth we serve. To become an event sponsor or donate to this event, please contact Stephanie Talavera at talaveras@clccal.org or at (323) 980-1538.
Staff Happenings!
EDGY CONFERENCE
Pride Month may be over, but at CLC, we celebrate the diversity of our LGBTQ+ clients all year long!
CLC attorneys Blakely Hamilton and Christine Espejo led a training at this year’s EDGY (Embracing the Diversity of GLBTQ+ Youth & Families) conference on the basics of dependency law, the overrepresentation of LGBTQ+ youth in care, and how advocates can work together toward better outcomes. They shared tools and resources critical to supporting LGBTQ+ youth and walked attendees through real-life case examples and discussion.
We are very proud to have some of CLC’s own out there educating the public and improving our community’s ability to support this population that is often misunderstood and insufficiently cared for.
A huge thank you to Blakely, Christine, and Parent Support Case Manager Fabiola who tabled at the event and shared CLC’s work with conference attendees!
And thank you to everyone who joined us in learning, growing, and advocating for a more inclusive and equitable child welfare system.
TRANSFORMATION OF YOUTH JUSTICE SYMPOSIUM
A very proud moment at the Transformation of Youth Justice Symposium in San Diego!
CLC juvenile justice team members Isabel Daniels, Rene Newson, and Cherokee Perez Rogers took center stage to share how CLC’s Dual Status CARE program is transforming outcomes for youth impacted by both the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Their powerful session was featured during the morning plenary — a true testament to the innovation, compassion, and commitment these staff bring to this work every day.
Thank you to our team – your hard work does not go unrecognized, and we applaud your unwavering dedication to our clients and CLC’s mission!
Gratitude Corner: W.M. Keck Foundation
For the past two years, the W. M. Keck Foundation has given critical support to our Family Support & Advocacy Center (FSAC), which provides preventative services to former foster youth in Los Angeles County at risk of experiencing family separation with their own young children. With Keck’s support in expanding our team, FSAC has achieved overwhelming success in supporting clients. The team has assisted dozens of families in stabilizing, avoiding court involvement, and staying together without the trauma of separation. On behalf of CLC and the clients we serve, CLC thanks the Keck Foundation for your commitment to keeping Los Angeles County’s most vulnerable and at-risk families together and breaking the intergenerational cycle of foster care.
