As we prepare for summer break and LGBTQ+ Pride, we are excited to share a recap from BDOG! Check out the highlights from the past month, including a spotlight on CLC’s Compassion Fatigue Committee and a legislative update from Sacramento.
Celebrate PRIDE this June!
Every June, Pride Month is celebrated to recognize the LGBTQ+ community and honor the 1969 Stonewall Uprising in New York as the tipping point for LGBTQ+ rights in the United States. Over the years, Pride has grown to include pride parades, picnics, parties, workshops, and concerts that attract millions of participants worldwide.
CLC is proud to promote equity, inclusion, and belonging for our staff and clients. LGBTQ+ youth are over-represented in the child welfare system. 1 in 5 youth in foster care in Los Angeles identify as LGBTQ+. 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.
This year, CLC’s internal LGBTQ+ Committee has grown to nearly 50 members. The committee works to gather resources for staff, clients and caregivers, connect clients with additional support and tools, and educate themselves and others about current needs. Please join CLC in supporting LGBTQ+ youth in foster care and across our communities as we celebrate Pride Month – and all year long!
BDOG Recap
On May 3, CLC kicked off the Big Day of Giving with a beautiful evening in Old Historic Sacramento. Courtney Dempsey of Good Day Sacramento joined the event as our emcee and brought her one-of-a kind charm and grace to the event. Â
We are pleased to share that we raised over $12,000 for our Sacramento clients and the numbers are still climbing! If you did not have a chance to contribute to our BDOG efforts, there is still time!Â
A huge thank you to all of our donors and sponsors who made the event extra special, especially board member Rusty Areias, Monica Haulman, our friend at the Sacramento Region Community Foundation, and of course our emcee extraordinaire, Courtney Dempsey!Â
Next year the goal will be even bigger, and we hope you will help us get there!Â
Legislative Update
CLC is excited to report that all six of our sponsored bills (AB 1735, AB 2665, AB 2189, AB 1794, AB 2085, and AB 740) passed out of the Assembly with overwhelming support and will be heard in Senate policy committees in the upcoming weeks. We are grateful for our legislative partners Assemblymembers Bryan, Carrillo, Friedman, Gipson, Holden and McCarty and their ongoing commitment to improving the lives of children and youth in foster care. Learn more about CLC’s six sponsored bills and how you can take action to support these important pieces of legislation.Â
Spotlight: Compassion Fatigue Committee
One cannot pour from an empty cup.Â
CLC is proud to boast some of the hardest working attorneys, social work investigators, and support staff. Our clients are still feeling the impacts of the pandemic, and the needs are still great. Day in and day out, CLC staff work relentlessly to fight for our clients’ safety and well-being. For this reason, CLC’s Compassion Fatigue Committee works year-round to find ways to combat vicarious trauma and burnout – planning thoughtful events and relaxation methods, and providing meaningful resources and services intended to help staff refresh and renew. Recently, Federal Court Improvement Funds were granted to CLC to support the quality of legal representation in juvenile dependency cases by addressing issues stemming from the pandemic. The funds helped CLC manage the residual compassion fatigue. We are so grateful for this funding and to our committee for the opportunities created to empower, uplift, and strengthen our committed staff.Â
CLC Celebrates Juneteenth!
Every year on June 19th, Black Americans celebrate Juneteenth because it is the day when many enslaved people in Texas finally received word that they had been freed. It is the oldest known celebration commemorating the ending of slavery in the United States. Last year, President Biden signed into law June 19th as a new federal holiday.  At its heart, Juneteenth is a day of celebration, often marked with joyful community and family gatherings. The day celebrates African American freedom and achievement while encouraging continuous self-development and respect for all cultures. Many use this day to reflect, rejoice, self-assess, and plan for the future.  Make plans to celebrate! Find local celebrations in Southern California here and Northern California here.  Â
June is National Reunification Month
For over a decade, the child welfare community has celebrated June as National Reunification Month. The American Bar Association (ABA) Center on Children and the Law and other national partners created the National Reunification Month in 2010 to recognize that reunifying parents and their children is the best outcome for families separated by the child welfare system.
This year’s theme is Reunification: Shifting Power and Reconnecting Families All Year Long! Learn more about National Reunification Month and meet Reunification Heroes by visiting the ABA website.
FJI Spring Newsletter
Check out the Spring newsletter from the Family Justice Initiative (FJI)! The latest edition includes an outcome report from the FJI demonstration sites that invested in high-quality legal representation for parents and children, reflections from the ABA Center on Children and the Law Conferences, and additional resources for your practice.
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