30 Years of Tenacity
As we celebrate our 30th anniversary, we’re shining a spotlight on three pillars that have powered our work for decades: tenacity, innovation and impact.
In our Spotlight on Tenacity, we share just a few examples of our persistence.
Tenacious Advocates for Teens
At 16, Princess entered foster care, having experienced neglect and abuse for most of her childhood. During the time she was in care, she struggled to find a place where she belonged. Unfortunately, older youth entering foster care often experience significant instability and can exhibit difficult behaviors navigating the transition to adulthood.
Throughout Princess’s time in foster care, her Children’s Law Center attorney, Megan Conway, remained a steady source of support.
Megan never gave up on Princess and now Princess is paying it forward.
Princess joined dozens of other youth to reshape the very system they once navigated by drafting and advocating for a new law that will help older youth create their “SOUL family.”
leader, Dayar, before meeting with DC
Councilmembers at the Wilson Building.
Learn more about SOUL and Princess’s advocacy efforts in this article from The Washington Post.
Transforming DC’s Behavioral Health System
Over the past 30 years, Children’s Law Center has reached more than 60,000 children and families directly — and hundreds of thousands more through our systemic advocacy. We’ve seen how poverty, trauma and racism can impact a child’s behavioral health.
When we began our work on behavioral health care in 1996, thousands of children were struggling – waiting months for evaluations, at a loss for how to navigate confusing systems or unable to find a therapist who accepted their insurance.
We met children like Davon who had been diagnosed with bipolar disorder and struggled academically. It wasn’t until his Children’s Law Center lawyer stepped in that his school provided the right support. His grades jumped a full letter just a few months later.
For every Davon, thousands more children were falling through the cracks.
So we added systemic advocacy to our work, pushing for widespread changes while continuing to fix children’s urgent needs.
While we work to fix the system, our lawyers, social workers and medical partners step in to get children the support they need. Their victories reinforce what we’ve always known: with the right support at the right time, a child’s future changes.
Our Tenacity Leads to Reforms
Our work to reform DC’s behavioral health system began in 1996 and continues today:
Today, we’re protecting the gains we’ve made – hoping to prevent devastating cuts to critical behavioral health programs.
Taking on Recurring Policy Battles
Imagine raising two young children on just $800 a month. With DC’s high cost of living, it’s nearly impossible. Yet every day, parents who live on a meager income try to stretch every dollar to provide a better future for their children.
TANF – the only cash assistance program for DC families – is a lifeline for parents struggling to pay rent, their utility bills or even just purchase diapers. That small amount of money can make a huge difference in creating stability.
In 2016, local government leaders sought to cut TANF. We led a coalition to fight these changes – and won. Ten years later, DC leaders are once again trying to balance the DC budget by cutting this essential program — pushing 15,000+ children deeper into poverty.
Some families will see their support drop from $800 to only $200 per month. And given significant federal cuts to other important services and an already fragile economy, the harm will be exponentially worse.
Today, we’re leading the TANF is a Lifeline Coalition to prevent these changes from becoming a reality.
Read our op-ed on the impact on these TANF changes in the 51st.
Thank You
In a city where policies and practices can change quickly, progress requires persistence. During times of crisis, it is our tenacity combined with the support of our community which keeps us going. The children and families we work with, our medical and pro bono partners, donors and supporters — these are the relationships that turn ideas into action and action into results.
Interested in helping DC children?
Make a gift today to help protect DC children and families from the impact of federal and local budget cuts. Your support strengthens our tenacity, fuels innovation and delivers lasting impact.
30 Years of Tenacity, Innovation and Impact
Throughout the year, we are releasing a series of newsletters – each providing a spotlight on our work. Click below to watch a short video about our impact over the past 30 years, and scroll to the bottom of our page to make sure you’re receiving our emails.