THE MISSION of East Bay Children’s Law Offices is to protect and defend the rights of children and youth through holistic, vigorous legal advocacy. EBCLO strives to provide a voice for children in and out of the courtroom and to promote positive outcomes for them.

WE BELIEVE that all children should live a safe and fulfilling life, connected to their families, and connected to the resources to heal from childhood trauma. We believe that every child’s voice should be heard and that in listening to children, we can change their world for the better. The problem is that the systems designed to protect children often add another layer of trauma. Foster youth are more likely to be diagnosed with mental illness, less likely to graduate from high school and more likely to enter the criminal justice system. We are committed to disrupting those patterns through effective and compassionate multi-disciplinary representation. We empower our clients’ voices in decisions that matter both inside the courtroom and out. We stand with the children.

What We Do

Dependency Advocacy Program: We are appointed by the Alameda County Superior Court to represent children and youth brought to juvenile dependency court because they have been abused or neglected. We represent children at all stages of juvenile court proceedings from detention through permanency. Within the court process, we identify and request services for our clients, including advocating for their educational, developmental, physical and mental health needs.

Probate Guardianship Counsel for Children Program: EBCLO also accepts appointment to represent children in probate guardianship proceedings. The EBCLO team assesses the appropriateness of the guardianship and assists the children and their families in obtaining necessary community based services.

Community-based Advocacy for Resources and Education (CARE): The CARE program uses a trauma-informed approach to address the needs of our child clients beyond the four walls of the courtroom. CARE provides intensive and individualized support through specialist attorneys who hone in on key areas of practice—education, mental health, transition age youth and 0-5 year olds—to maximize positive outcomes for our child clients.

Staff

Meet the team at EBCLO.

 

Our History

 Learn about how EBCLO was founded.

Board of Directors

EBCLO has an outstanding Board of Directors that helps support our mission and ongoing work. Learn more about our board members.

Publications

EBCLO’s Annual Reports and other Publications provide a great background to our work.

Additional Links

Get Involved

Learn about the different ways to engage in EBCLO’s work.

Donate

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Careers

View EBCLO’s latest job opportunities.