Our Legal Services attorneys are committed to advocating for and serving children of all ages in the child welfare system and helping them find a safe, secure, and permanent home.
Child Advocates provides a wide variety of legal services to best accommodate the specific needs of our community’s most vulnerable children.
Our Legal Services are comprised of attorneys with many years of experience in child welfare and in working with children, youths, and families. Our attorneys provide legal assistance in cases involving children who are victims of abuse and neglect.
Child Advocates is the only organization in Indiana that offers free, in-house attorneys to represent older children in the child welfare system in court and what they want for their lives. We believe they should have a voice in determining their future. Indiana is one of a minority of U.S. states that does not mandate or guarantee an attorney for children. We advocate for children’s rights.
In 2024, reports show that Indiana foster children wait an average of 1,017 days to get adopted. That means they are in the child welfare system about 39% longer than the national average of 730 days for children.
One of the goals of Our Mediation and Facilitation team is to help resolve conflicts between the parties involved in determining a child’s future such as parents, guardians, foster parents, and social workers. This can prevent long court trials so that children can be placed in a safe and permanent sooner.
Child Advocates Immigration Team assists children in the child welfare system with immigration issues. Often when youth are involved in both the immigration and child welfare systems, the steps to obtaining a safe, stable and permanent home can be overwhelming. Learn more about how our attorneys serve these children to help ease the trauma and eliminate immigration related barriers to finding a permanent and safe home for them.
