Every year, the month of June ushers in the celebration known as ‘Pride.’ Pride recognizes the unique contributions of the LGBTQ+ community. Read the latest from CLC in our June E-Newsletter.
PRIDE
Every year, the month of June ushers in the celebration known as ‘Pride.’ Pride recognizes the unique contributions of the LGBTQ+ community and aims to raise awareness of the challenges faced by LGBTQ+ people across the world.
CLC is proud to promote the ideals of equity, inclusion, and belonging for our LGBTQ+ clients, who are overrepresented in the foster care system. We believe that every child deserves to feel safe, wanted, loved, and heard; we celebrate individuality and strive to build connections between our clients and the communities with which they identify. Our commitment to improving outcomes for children includes advocating for the needs of every LGBTQ+ client and integrating these issues into our training and organizational goals.
This summer, we are proud to welcome Tamar Alexanian, who was awarded the prestigious Skadden Fellowship. Tamar will launch her legal career at CLC by developing and promoting an innovative and multidisciplinary approach to advocacy for CLC’s LGBTQ+ clients. Tamar will work under the supervision of Phyllis Stricklan, CLC’s new Director of Equity and Inclusion. CLC is thrilled and grateful to elevate the needs of the LGBTQ+ community within our practice.
Please join CLC in supporting LGBTQ+ youth in foster care and across our communities as we celebrate Pride Month – and all year long!
CLC Spotlight: Education Team – Attorneys Craig Liu & Elizabeth Solares
Youth in foster care face unique challenges in access to an appropriate education – often resulting in adverse educational outcomes compared to children in the general population. The pandemic has only exacerbated the existing achievement gap.
CLC is dedicated to advocating for our clients’ educational needs with the support of our amazing team of in-house team of experts. CLC’s Education Team has the specialized knowledge needed to navigate California’s complicated web of school districts and special education laws. The team regularly attends Individualized Educational Plan (IEP) meetings and coordinates with case-carrying attorneys to obtain services for our clients.
CLC also offers volunteer opportunities through our “Education Rights Holders” program. Community members can receive training to support our clients when a parent or caregiver is unable to participate in a youth’s education.
CLC recently launched a new collaboration with the Children Youth and Family Collaborative (CYFC), an organization providing on-site academic support for foster youth across 48 local schools. This partnership allows us to expand our educational advocacy and ensure more youth can access critical services – from tutoring to homework assistance, standardized test and college preparation support, and more.
Craig and Elizabeth truly go the extra mile to ensure our clients have access to the tools they need to thrive and succeed in the classroom. To support these critical efforts and ensure that every foster youth receives needed educational supports, please visit www.clccla.org/donate and donate today!
CLC is thrilled to announce our new partnership with the She Ready Foundation!
Comedian Tiffany Haddish founded the She Ready Foundation to empower, support, and encourage children living in the foster care system. As a former foster youth herself, Tiffany believes that every child removed from their home deserves at a minimum to have a suitcase, a safe place to lay their head, and a platform to follow their dreams. Through our new partnership, CLC will distribute new, quality luggage provided by She Ready to clients who are removed from their homes – or are moving from one foster home to another – instead of having them use a trash bag or pillowcase.
Last year, the She Ready Foundation gave away over 1000 pieces of luggage. The need is great, and we are thrilled to join She Ready to meet that need – one suitcase at a time.
Stay tuned to learn more about future collaboration with the She Ready Foundation that will improve access to educational support for children and youth in the Los Angeles County foster care system!
Things are moving quickly in Sacramento! We are thrilled to share updates on CLC sponsored legislation:
- AB 670 and AB 829 passed Senate Human Services Committee! One step closer to providing protections for parenting youth in foster care and improving access to legal immigration services for youth in foster care. Both bills now head to the Senate Judiciary Committee, with a hearing scheduled for July 6, 2021.
- SB 354 passed the Assembly Human Services Committee today! SB 354 seeks to remove barriers that have a disparate impact on families of color when seeking placement of a child in foster care with a relative or non-relative extended family member who has a criminal history.
- AB 366 is awaiting a hearing in the Senate Human Services Committee on July 6, 2021. AB 366 addresses obstacles to ensuring that siblings are placed together in foster care.
- BUDGET NEWS! CLC has been advocating for increased funding for dependency counsel, as well as funding to promote greater access to sexual health education and reproductive health care. The Legislature included funding for both in their budget, and we hope Governor Newsom will keep this critical funding in his final budget.
Find fact sheets, bill language, and updates on our policy advocacy here: https://bit.ly/CLCPolicy
Back to School Drive
Imagine a child starting the school year without a new backpack or even basic school supplies. Unfortunately, this is the reality for far too many foster youth across California. Thousands of children in our communities will go back to school without the most basic supplies, feeling different from their classmates.
This summer, you can help change that! Please support CLC’s Annual Back to School Drive – your donation will help boost a child’s confidence and be ready for school with a NEW backpack filled with school supplies. Together we can make sure that CLC clients begin the school year prepared to learn and reach their full potential.
How you can help:
- Shop our Amazon Wishlist, and your donated items will be delivered directly to us
- Donate! A $40 donation will provide one child with a backpack and supplies*
- Share our campaign! Share our link on social media: https://bit.ly/CLCDrive
*Please include the word “backpack” in the comments section on the donation page to designate your
ICYMI: CLC Highlights
- ICYMI: Check out our recent Instagram Takeover featuring Kevin Flores, a CLC Peer Advocate. Make sure to follow the #CLCTAYover hashtag for future opportunities to view behind-the-scenes videos about our work.
- California will offer pandemic relief cash to young people currently or recently in extended foster care. Think of Us and California Youth Connection (CYC) has launched a public awareness campaign to spread the word! The state will issue $600 to those eligible up to age 21, and $1,500 for former foster youth between 22 and 26. The application process for the pandemic relief is already open and available on the #CheckforUs website. The deadline to apply is September 3rd.
- Earlier this month, we joined First Focus and the National Association of Counsel for Children for the Counsel4Kids Twitter chat, all part of Children’s Week 2021. Children (and parents) navigating the child welfare system deserve legal representation in the court decisions that impact their lives and futures. Check out our Twitter feed to join the conversation!
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