The Children’s Voice Project
Amplifying children’s voices
Launched in 2024, the Children’s Voice Project (CVP) is a one-of-a-kind program that gives court-involved youth a platform to share their experiences with the court and community, and just as importantly, with each other.
Young people join the CVP as fellows, receiving a stipend to collaborate with CVP to conduct community outreach and create child-first educational materials.
The CVP uniquely focuses on young clients in custody, visitation and guardianship cases—groups that are often overlooked. CVP makes sure that young people navigating Family Court are heard, supported, and empowered to take action.
📍Where We Work: Brooklyn, Queens, and the Bronx
💡Who We Serve: Youth affected by Family Court
📢 What We Do: Create educational materials, lead community workshops, and advocate for children’s rights in Family Court
Why children’s voices matter
Children involved in Family Court don’t often have a say in decisions that affect their lives. Many experience family instability, unsafe living situations, and a lack of social services to help them cope.
The Children’s Voice Project was created to change that. The CVP aims to reduce the negative impact of family problems and court involvement on young people as well as equip them with the tools and confidence to spread community awareness and ask for political change.
Through education and advocacy, the CVP:
- Equips children with knowledge about their rights
- Gives youth a space to process their experiences
- Creates and shares materials and sources
- Advocates for changes to improve Family Court for children
How the Children’s Voice Project works
At the heart of the Children’s Voice Project are our fellows—young people who have experience Family Court firsthand. We recruit fellows through direct contact and engagement with our services and materials.
Our young leaders receive a stipend to create resources, lead outreach, and provide peer support. The resources are culturally inclusive, informative materials for children, by children. Fellows speak at trainings and events, to educate attorneys and judges on youth perspectives, and advocate for policy changes to make Family Court fairer for children.
“Our main goal is to educate and organize other court-involved young people about their rights. We hope to empower youth to use their voices and advocate for positive change.”
Jahlia Hernandez, founding fellow of the Children’s Voice Project
Our First Year
In our first year, the Children’s Voice Project:
- 🎤 Recruited and trained CVP Fellows—our inaugural fellows helped create resources, lead outreach, and advocate for their peers
- 📖 Created 5 original educational materials (including brochures, guides, and activity books) designed by youth, for youth
- 📢 Distributed 1,000+ copies of these materials to children, families, and attorneys across NYC
- 🗣️ Spoken to hundreds of children, attorneys, and judges about improving the Family Court experience for young people
- 🏆 Expanded to the Bronx with new funding from the Bronx Community Foundation
What’s next for the CVP?
We’re just getting started! In 2025, the CVP aims to:
- Expand our network of youth leaders
- Publish new educational materials
- Partner with more organizations involved in youth representation
- Continue our advocacy efforts with policymakers and judges
Want to get involved? If you’re a young person who has been through Family Court – or an interested volunteer or potential partner – please get in touch.
Interested in supporting the work of Children’s Voice Project?
You can make a donation today!