By Nayelit Sanchez:

As we honor Hispanic Heritage Month, we recognize the incredible impact that Hispanic and Latino communities have had in shaping our future through their resilience, commitment to justice, and cultural contributions.

At EBCLO, this celebration holds a very special meaning because many of the youth we serve and many of our staff identify as Hispanic or Latino. Their voices, experiences, and futures are at the heart of our advocacy. EBCLO remains committed to ensuring that youth in foster care have access to stability, education, and the resources they need to thrive.

By uplifting the history, traditions, and contributions of Hispanic communities, we also reaffirm EBCLO’s mission to stand beside our youth, break down systemic barriers, and help create a future where every child can reach their full potential. Hispanic Heritage Month is a celebration that serves as a reminder that by carrying forward this legacy and honoring leaders for their continuous advocacy, we can continue building hope and change.

If you are looking for some ways to celebrate Hispanic Heritage Month; here are some local events around the Bay Area:

https://www.510families.com/latinx-heritage-month/

https://oaklandlibrary.org/hhm/

https://www.eventbrite.com/e/hispanic-heritage-month-cultural-crafting-series-tickets-1482218458309

https://latinbayarea.com/event/list-bay-area-latino-heritage-month-2025/

https://www.kqed.org/arts/13981143/hispanic-heritage-month-events-bay-area-guide-2025

On a typical day, Josh* and his CASA Danny Ceballos will drive around, listen to music, discuss the latest episodes of RuPaul’s Drag Race and even hit up a few wig stores. Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA) is an organization of community volunteers who mentor foster youth and advocate for them alongside children’s lawyers. Ceballos became Josh’s CASA about five and a half years ago when Josh was 10 years old. Josh was misunderstood and struggled to express himself, making it difficult for Josh to get paired with the right CASA volunteer at first, but that all changed when Danny came along. “The relationship I have with Josh is so much more than that,” said Ceballos. Ceballos visits Josh every week, and recently took Josh to the beach for the first time in Josh’s life.

Going to the PRIDE Parade in San Francisco is an annual tradition for the pair. Ceballos helps Josh learn to navigate the world as an LGBTQ+ youth, but he says Josh teaches him more than he teaches Josh. “He refuses to be pigeonholed, and he’s taught me what bravery is, without even knowing it,” said Ceballos. While Ceballos may teach Josh boundaries and life skills, Josh pushes Ceballos to wear a wig in public and to unapologetically be himself. Ceballos says there is so much to learn from kids a little outside the norm. “Be a CASA because you can change a kid and you can change the world,” said Ceballos. EBCLO is grateful to adults like Danny Ceballos who love and support our LGBTQ+ clients. We celebrate our LGBTQ+ clients this month, and always.

*not his real name

Although we regret Ms. Becker’s departure, the Board of Directors is delighted to announce the appointment of co-founder and former Managing Attorney, Kristin Mateer, as EBCLO’s new Executive Director effective April 23, 2018. Ms. Mateer, a certified Child Welfare Law Specialist, has devoted her legal career to improving the quality of legal representation and services for children and youth in Alameda County’s superior court systems. In 1998, after completing a post-law-school judicial clerkship, Ms. Mateer became a Dependency Attorney with the Alameda County Public Defender’s Office where she gained the reputation of being an intelligent, hard-working, vigorous advocate for indigent parents and children in child welfare proceedings. When the Public Defender’s Office discontinued dependency practice in 2009, Ms. Mateer became a co-founder of EBCLO where she was instrumental in establishing EBCLO’s holistic representation practice on every level. Her duties included securing state funding, developing EBCLO’s organizational structure and by-laws, hiring attorneys, social workers and administrative staff, locating office space, and developing a comprehensive benefits package for EBCLO employees. As Managing Attorney, Ms. Mateer expanded EBCLO’s scope of practice to include court-appointed representation of children in probate guardianship proceedings and has directed that practice since 2010. While managing the probate practice, carrying a personal caseload including both dependency and probate clients, supervising staff attorneys, and working with other executive team members to maintain all aspects of EBCLO’s organizational structure, Ms. Mateer also developed and ran EBCLO’s individual giving campaigns, and produced EBCLO’s Annual Report. Outside of EBCLO, Ms. Mateer finds time to be involved in numerous community activities, including serving as CASA Advisory Board Chair since 2011, and volunteering extensively at her daughters’ elementary school. The Board fully expects Ms. Mateer to lead EBCLO brilliantly for many years to come.

– Kathy Siegel, EBCLO Board chair person

East Bay Children’s Law Offices is a proud partner of Parents & Caregivers for Wellness.  It’s a project of the Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Commission striving to ensure that families are able to obtain the mental health services they need.  All types of caregivers are welcome.

For more information click here: Caregiver Resiliencey Conference.

The Judicial Council hosted former EBCLO client and his adoptive parents when they proclaimed that November is Court Adoption and Permanency Month.  The Rockafellows’ ten minute presentation celebrates their new family, the tireless advocacy of Drew’s EBCLO attorney, Rob Waring, and even suggests they want to do it again.

To read more about the presentation please click here.

East Bay Children’s Law Offices is part of a Mental Health Services Oversight & Accountability Committee grant working with parents & caregivers statewide to improve services and support families and strengthen the voices of parents and caregivers in the process.  Are you a caregiver?  Please fill out this survey:

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/EBCLO-PC4W

If you are interested in getting more involved, please contact Jessie Conradi at Jessie.Conradi@ebclo.org.

In 2016, EBCLO attorney Rob Waring decided to file a writ of mandate in the California Court of Appeal on behalf of his client N.S. Because preparing all the necessary briefs involves many days of preparation on very short timeframes, he partnered with lawyers from Bay Area Legal Aid. This strategy paid off: our client’s writ was granted and the decision was published earlier this year. The decision, N.S. v. Superior Court, has important implications for many of EBCLO’s clients, who, like N.S. struggle with mental health issues.

A longtime EBCLO client, N.S. entered foster care at the age of 11 where she remained upon reaching adulthood. Thanks to the AB12 extended foster care program N.S. was able to continue receiving services after turning 18. N.S. was homeless and struggling with drug addiction, and desperately needed continued access to foster care services. Luckily, in 2015 the county recommended that N.S. be found eligible for extended services in light of her mental health issues.

Unfortunately, a year later the county sought to dismiss N.S.’s case from extended foster care. At a trial the county called N.S. to testify, and she spoke to her understanding of her eligibility for extended foster care services: N.S. stated that she was told she was eligible in light of her mental health. The county later called N.S.’s therapist to testify as to N.S.’s mental health diagnoses. She refused, citing therapist-patient confidentiality. The judge agreed with the county that N.S. put her mental health at issue and ordered the therapist to testify. EBCLO attorney Rob Waring, wary of what this would mean not only for N.S. but other EBCLO clients and their therapists, asked for a stay in order to file a writ seeking appellate review of the trial court’s order.

The Court of Appeal agreed with EBCLO and issued a stay. It ordered the trial court to vacate the order requiring N.S.’s therapist to answer the county’s questions. The appellate court found that N.S. had not independently placed her mental state at issue, because she discussed her mental health only in response to the county attorney’s questions. Further, N.S.’s testimony as to her eligibility was informed by the county’s own recommendation, made in 2015, that she be found eligible for services in light of her mental health needs. N.S. had not put her mental state at issue by testifying to the county’s prior recommendation.

This appellate ruling is not only important for N.S., but for all of EBCLO’s clients with mental health issues and those similarly situated throughout the state. It takes talented therapists to build trusting relationships with EBCLO’s clients, who often have traumatic backgrounds. These therapeutic relationships begin with a therapist’s promise that what our clients discuss in therapy will be kept private. With that promise therapists open up lines of communications that not only help our clients heal from their experiences, but also help them build trusting relationships with other adults. Thanks to this recent decision, our clients and their therapists know that EBCLO will go the extra mile to protect the private nature of the work they do together.

To read the entire opinion, see: N.S. v. Superior Court (2016) 7 Cal.App.5th 713