The Children and Youth Justice Unit has a social work practice nested within our legal practice. Our social workers/advocates work together with attorneys to arrive at the best legal solution recognizing the need for social services to facilitate appropriate support as youth learn to navigate a complex legal system.

Our social work practice’s guiding principles are:

• Prioritizing our client’s humanity holistically throughout their contact with a broken criminal legal system
• Eliminating barriers to client’s success while creating barriers for those systems that oppress them; and
• Supporting clients and communities in elevating their voices in self advocacy

We believe that educating children early is a critical factor in preventing them from contact with the criminal justice system. Educating children about their rights in the criminal justice system is crucial, especially when they are at higher risk of getting in contact with the enforcement officers.

To that end, we aim to educate the community about the history of the Juvenile Act, the history of Philadelphia’s Family Court System, Landmark Legislation that impacts our work, and much more.