Launching The Children’s Voice Project
A fall launch
Last week, The Children’s Law Center (CLC) officially launched the Children’s Voice Project (CVP), a youth-led initiative designed to empower court-involved children and ensure their voices are heard—during and beyond their legal cases.
With pizza, prossecco, and a glowing sunset skyline, CLC clients, staff, and community supporters gathered to celebrate this new chapter in child advocacy.
The Children’s Voice Project
While other youth leadership boards exist within various NYC organizations that organize children in the child welfare system, none include children involved in custody, visitation, or guardianship cases. This is a group often overlooked due to the misconception that they are not impacted by larger systemic issues. Many of our clients, however, have been victims of violent Family Offenses (such as child abuse, sexual abuse or excessive corporeal punishment) and exposed to intense conflicts that impact their lives and futures. Further, there is an alarming lack of mental health and social services for youth who have experienced contested Family Court proceedings.
Jahlia Hernandez, a former CLC client, launched and now directs the Children’s Voice Project. At the event in October, Ms. Hernandez says CVP’s goal is to “educate and organize other court-involved young people about their rights and the system in which their family is litigating.”
Ms. Hernandez will work with CLC attorneys and social workers to identify clients interested in joining the CVP as Fellows once their cases are closed (only former clients can participate as Fellows). Ms. Hernandez and the CVP Fellows will create educational materials for current CLC clients. Ms. Hernandez has already created materials outlining the role of the Attorney for the Child (AFC), providing information on custody, visitation, domestic violence and other court proceedings and explaining the legal rights of children.
These materials are culturally inclusive, and their content is tailored to be age-appropriate—in short, they are materials made by young people for young people.
In addition, Ms. Hernandez and the CVP Fellows will organize events where they will share these materials and other knowledge with the broader community. Ms. Hernandez hopes that these presentations will help others “better understand what AFCs do and better understand the experience of children whose families have challenging custody and visitation cases.”
A new direction
The evening was also an opportunity for those who have followed CLC’s mission for years to hear from its new Executive Director Liberty Aldrich.
Addressing the event’s attendees, Judge Aldrich described how important CLC’s work on behalf of some of New York City’s most vulnerable children is. “These children do not vote, organize media events, or come to court on their own. What that means is that their voices too often go unheard.”
We hope the Children’s Voice Project will act as a megaphone for children navigating difficult court proceedings. We can’t wait to see how far—and loud—it can go!