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Summer 2005 News & Events

• Bay Area doubles capacity to detained immigrant children
• Youth Task Force - Moving On
• Federal law changes affect rights of special education children
• Pro Bono Highlight: Adrian F. Davis
• Law Firm Highlight: Bingham McCutchen LLP
• Donor Highlight: Amy Laughlin
• LSC Completes $35,000 Lurie Foundation Grant!
• LSC Welcomes New Board Members
• LSC Welcomes New Staff Members
• LSC Thanks Our Fantastic Summer Interns!

Bay Area doubles capacity to detained unaccompanied immigrant children

LSC is the sole provider of legal services to detained youth in Northern California.

Each year, an estimated 6,200 children enter the United States, unaccompanied by a parent or legal guardian. While some of these children seek asylum, others are forcefully brought into the country for sweatshop labor or sexual exploitation. The majority of the children were persecuted or abused in their own countries and often victimized by child traffickers, sexual predators, or even by their own family. Regardless of their reason for flight, children who arrive alone in the US are a population in need of care that is sensitive to their age, previous experiences, culture and displacement. Upon entering the US, unaccompanied minors are placed in the custody of the Office of Refugee Resettlement (ORR), and though they are not charged with any crime, they can be held for months or even years while their immigration status is being resolved.

The San Francisco Bay Area has one of the highest concentrations of detained immigrant children. Within this past month, a large influx of unaccompanied and refugee minors, including victims of trafficking, caused the Department of Homeland Security to double its capacity to house detained immigrant children in the Bay Area. We now have three detention facilities, including one of only 2 secure facilities in the nation. At any given day, it is estimated that 1,000 children are held in US immigration detention, and as many as 60 of these youth may be detained in the Bay Area.

Unaccompanied immigrant children are not entitled to legal representation, and as many as 90% are left to navigate the complexities of the legal system alone. Those who are fortunate to have an attorney are 4 times more likely to receive asylum or another form of immigration relief. Unfortunately, children who do not have legal representation may experience prolonged separation from close relatives, or even be deported or removed to a country where there is alleged persecution.

Through the Detained Immigrant Children Project (DICP), Legal Services for Children's (LSC's) team of attorneys and social workers meets with every detained child in Northern California and provides free options counseling and culturally sensitive legal representation.

In addition to advocacy on behalf of individual children, LSC is active in changing policies to decriminalize the status of unaccompanied children, advocate for humane and culturally sensitive living environments and treatment, and ensure expedited release of detained children to their families and relatives.

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Youth Task Force - Moving On

LSC's Youth Task Force makes an official transition to San Francisco's Children's System of Care.

Legal Services for Children's Youth Task Force (YTF) is a dynamic, talented group of San Francisco youth, led by coordinator Victor Damian. All YTF members are or have been consumers of San Francisco's Children's Systems of Care (CSOC), including the foster care, special education, juvenile justice, and mental health systems.

As a joint project of LSC and CSOC, the Youth Task Force acts as an advisory group to these systems. They regularly train, educate, and dialogue with the professionals who provide services to San Francisco youth. In their role, they transmit powerful messages representative of youth who are often silenced.

Over the years, YTF gradually transitioned to the care and coordination of CSOC, with minimal administrative support from LSC. In July, the Youth Task Force transitioned completely to CSOC and LSC will no longer receive funding from the Department of Human Services to administer the program. We are sad to no longer house YTF's weekly meetings, but remain reassured that our relations with YTF Coordinator Victor Damian and YTF's youth members will continue. Our family at LSC sends our best wishes, continued love and support to the incredible and inspiring Youth Task Force!

For more information, contact about the Youth Task Force, contact: Coordinator Victor Damian at victor.damian@sfdph.org.

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New changes to federal law affect the rights of children in special education

The Individuals with Disabilities in Education Act (IDEA), the federal law that governs special education, changed significantly on July 1, 2005 as a result of Congress's 2004 Reauthorization of the law. This reauthorization made procedural and substantive changes to all major areas covered by the IDEA. Some changes include: more stringent requirements for finding that a child's misconduct was a manifestation of their disability, a new mandatory resolution meeting between the parent and the district before a due process hearing may be held, and a longer timeline for completing due process hearings.

The proposed new regulations for the 2004 IDEA were published on June 21, 2005, beginning the 75-day public comment period, which will end on September 6, 2005. Comments may be submitted in writing during the public comment period to: IDEAComments@ed.gov or Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, U.S. Department of Education, 400 Maryland Avenue, S.W., Potomac Center Plaza, Room 5126, Washington, DC, 20202-2641. Emails must include "IDEA-Part B" in the subject line. Comments by mail should be sent well in advance of the deadline due to screening delays.

Legal Services for Children has prepared short publications outlining changes in the areas of initial assessment of children who may have special education needs, suspension and expulsion of children with disabilities, and parents' procedural rights when a dispute between the parent and the district arises over school discipline. If you would like more information on these changes, please call our offices after August 1 during our intake hours, Monday through Friday, 1:30 - 5:00 p.m., and ask to speak with the attorney of the day.

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Pro Bono Highlight:

Adrian F. Davis

Adrian Davis is a beloved individual at LSC's office. He's a champion for detained immigrant children's rights, a supportive and talented pro bono attorney, a liaison and ambassador for LSC and the legal community, a friend-raiser as well as a donor.

As a member of the Pro Bono Committee at Latham & Watkins LLP and the previous Pro Bono Coordinator, Adrian was instrumental in coordinating pro bono support for LSC's Detained Immigrant Children's Project which secures immigration relief for unaccompanied immigrant children in the Bay Area. His Mandarin Chinese language skills were especially instrumental in representing detained immigrant children from China.

In addition to his work on the panel, Adrian assists LSC's fundraising efforts as a member of the Event Committee and Lawyers' Committee, makes a personal contribution and obtains annual contributions from his law firm.

LSC salutes Adrian Davis for all of his past and continued support to children and youth in the Bay Area.

Adrian Davis is a litigation associate in the San Francisco office of Latham & Watkins. His practice is focused on commercial litigation, including the areas of consumer actions and securities and professional liability.

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Law Firm Highlight:

Bingham McCutchen LLP

LSC salutes Bingham McCutchen LLP for all of their support and dedication through our pro bono panel. Bingham McCutchen has one of the highest concentrations of volunteer attorneys on LSC's panel, with fourteen current members on the panel. We would like to specifically acknowledge the support of LSC Board Member Karen Nardi, for all of her volunteer work through the pro bono panel, board of directors, and various fundraising committees, as well as for her personal investment in the organization. In addition, Bingham McCutchen's Pro Bono Coordinator Carey Sebera has been particularly instrumental in finding Bingham attorneys to take on some recent challenging cases. Thank you all for your continued support!

To allow LSC to serve more clients than our staff can represent, LSC trains and provides ongoing support to a panel of pro bono attorneys from private law firms in San Francisco and the surrounding counties. There are currently 90 volunteer attorneys serving on our pro bono panel, collectively contributing over 1,000 hours ($200,000) of free legal assistance per year. LSC conducts the trainings, coordinates the assignment of cases to panel attorneys, and provides technical assistance and social work consultation on specific cases. Volunteer attorneys can receive training in the law and procedure related to probate guardianship, school discipline and/or immigration, and can accept cases in any or all of these areas.

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Donor Highlight:

Amy Laughlin

Over ten years ago, Amy Laughlin joined LSC's Guardianship Pro Bono Panel and helped children find a safe and stable living environment with a trustworthy and loving caregiver. Compelled by our work and witnessing first-hand the great positive impact legal advocacy has on youth, Amy joined LSC's Board of Directors and guided LSC through many tough years of growth and development. LSC is deeply appreciative of Amy's generous support through the years, and we thank her for ten years of dedicated service on our Board of Directors. In July 2005, Amy is resigning from the board and will continue to pursue a Masters of Fine Arts degree in Creative Writing for Children from Vermont College. She just finished writing a middle grade novel of historic fiction, entitled Iris Time.

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LSC Completes $35,000 Louis R. Lurie Family Foundation Challenge Grant!

Thanks to all of your support, LSC was able to fulfill the requirements of the Louis R. Lurie Family Foundation Challenge Grant, and was recently awarded a $35,000 grant for LSC's 2005-2006 fiscal year.

July 2004, the Lurie Foundation challenged LSC to raise $35,000 in new or increased gifts to receive a one-to-one match up to $35,000 from the Foundation. During the period July 1, 2004 - May 1, 2005, LSC successfully raised over $43,000 in first-time, new contributions and nearly $36,000 in increased contributions, for a total amount over $79,000! This amazing feat was only possible due to the phenomenal contributions of all our individual, foundation, law firm and corporate supporters. The funds raised through this challenge grant directly benefit our programs and services to at-risk youth in the Bay Area. Thank you all so much for your dedication and investment in our community's children and youth.

If you have any questions about your investment, or would like to make your own contribution or challenge grant, please contact Kelli Nakayama, Development Director at (415) 863-3762 ext. 318 or kelli@lsc-sf.org.

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LSC Welcomes New Board Members

Donna Furth represents child clients in dependency and family law appeals. She also teaches Juvenile Law at the University of San Francisco School of Law, where she founded the Child Advocacy Clinic. In addition, she serves as a director of the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC), the National Juvenile Attorney Certification Advisory Board, the Northern California Association of Counsel for Children, (NCACC) and the Furth Family Foundation. Donna joined the Board in July 2005.

Karen J. Nardi (photo) is a Partner in Bingham McCutchen's San Francisco office. She is past chair of the firm's Environmental & Land Use Group, ranked in the top three nationally by the American Lawyer in 2000. She counsels clients on a wide range of environmental and health and safety laws and works with companies to manage these liabilities in business transactions. She also represents clients in environmental enforcement actions. In 2004, Karen was named as a "Super Lawyer" in her field and ranked among the top fifty female "Super Lawyers" in Northern California. She has volunteered at Legal Services for Children as a pro bono lawyer assisting children and youth in obtaining guardianships for the past twelve years. Karen joined the board in April 2005, and is a member of LSC's Lawyer's Committee.

Carol Lynn Thompson (photo) is an attorney and shareholder at Heller, Ehrman LLP where she has a complex commercial litigation practice, and has been with Heller since 1994. She is Co-Chair of the San Francisco Litigation department. Carol Lynn joined the board in April 2005 and is Co-Chair of LSC's Lawyer's Committee.

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LSC Welcomes New Staff Members

Lisa Knox, Development Associate provides administrative support to the Executive Director and Development Director and assists with fundraising, marketing and communications projects. Previously, Lisa spent several months traveling and studying in Latin America, after completing an internship with the Oakland Redevelopment Agency. She enjoys yoga, photography and reading Latin American fiction in her spare time.

Karina Marini-Lieben, Social Worker has been part of LSC's staff since 2001. She obtained her law degree in Honduras specializing in labor law, and a Masters in Social Work, graduating with honors at the University of Chicago in May 2001. Throughout her career, Karina has been committed to the Latino population on a variety of issues including domestic violence, early intervention and out-patient psychiatric care. Karina re-joined LSC's staff after a one-year leave following the birth of her beautiful daughter, Angeni. At LSC, Karina works primarily with the Detained Immigrant Children Project, assessing and counseling children detained by the Department of Homeland Security.

Bernard Voon, Social Worker provides crisis intervention, case management, advocacy, short-term counseling and referrals to at-risk youth. A former flight attendant, Bernard has traveled extensively. When not working, Bernard is pastorally involved at Notre Dame des Victoires Church. He also enjoys swimming, running, creative endeavors and listening to music in his spare time. Bernard is fluent in both Cantonese and Mandarin.

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LSC Thanks Our Fantastic Interns!

Each year, LSC hosts 6-7 summer interns. Legal and social work interns are graduate level students completing their JD and MSW programs, respectively. LSC is also fortunate to have a Summer Search administrative intern, sponsored by Dana Emery.

Lauren Brady, Legal Intern, Stanford Law School, 3rd year

Kimbra Hall, Social Work Intern, University of Southern California, 2nd year

Neha Marathe, Legal Intern, UC Davis, School of Law, 2nd year

Luis Marin, Legal Intern, UC Hastings, College of the Law, 2nd year

Catherine Sakimura, Legal Intern, UC Hastings, College of the Law, 2nd year

Christy Sichér, Administrative/Summer Search Intern, Ohio Weslyan University, 3rd year undergrad

Deborah Spalansky, Legal Intern, UC Los Angeles, School of Law, 2nd year

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