Children's Rights
Are Human Rights

Across the country, Children’s Rights investigates, exposes and combats violations of the rights of children.

Through relentless strategic advocacy and legal action, we hold governments accountable for keeping kids safe and healthy.

More About Our Impact

We’re Advocates

For

Child Health

To ensure that governments provide necessary and appropriate medical and mental health care services to children in systems.

For

Families Together

To stop the unnecessary institutionalization of children and ensure families have the community resources they need to keep kids at home in the care of loving adults.

For

Government Accountability

To expose violations of children’s rights in government systems and hold states accountable for keeping kids healthy and safe.

For

Immigration Rights

To ensure the fair treatment, placement, and release of all immigrant minors in the custody of the federal government.

For

LGBTQ+ Rights

To ensure LGBTQ+ youth and families have the legal protections they need to live their lives free from discrimination and mistreatment.

For

Racial Justice

To dismantle racist laws and policies that lead to the unjust removal of Black children from their families.

For

Youth Justice

To end the mistreatment of detained and incarcerated youth, and derail the foster care-to-prison pipeline that funnels children into the juvenile and criminal legal systems.

SPEAKING UP for Change

View All Stories

It is unfair and cruel to expect young people who have already suffered so much, been denied support and the unconditional love every child deserves to get no help in the biggest transition of their lives — adulthood. Imagine being expected to pay the rent and be responsible with no information and no resources. Not fair.

Read Jonathan’s Story

Child welfare is heart work. When organizations listen to people like me there is a shift in power and dynamics at that table. We can’t afford to get it wrong anymore, these are our children’s lives we are talking about.

Read Alexandria’s Story

I see it in my work every day. The things that can keep a family whole are so basic. … Get someone that housing voucher, or help them find a job or fix their credit score. It’s usually very doable things that can mitigate the harm and preserve families.

Read Iesha’s Story

America has a legal and moral obligation to provide children in its custody with proper shelter, food, recreation, and medical care. And to reunite them with their families.

Read Leecia’s Story

Our expectation of systems who put children and youth in their care, is that children not only have their basic needs met, but are put in conditions that allow them to thrive. The expectations of systems have clearly not been met, and I thank each and every brave young person who shared their experiences to compel those in power to change the current conditions.

Read Bobbi’s Story

I have seen how policies and practices perpetuate the destruction and devaluation of Black families, resulting in disparate and ongoing harm. These harms are not a coincidence. They are the predictable result of laws, policies, and practices that are rooted in white supremacy and designed to subject Black families to surveillance and policing by an inherently racist system.

Read Shereen’s Story