PRO BONO PANEL
Advocate with us
Children’s Legal Services of San Diego, Inc. (CLS) is a nonprofit, interdisciplinary legal organization that protects and defends the rights of children and youth in the juvenile dependency court system through quality and compassionate legal representation.
For many years, youth who turned 18 and aged out of the foster system suffered increased rates of homelessness, pregnancy, incarceration, or human trafficking. Upon turning 18, these youth were considered adults and their foster support system ended; many had no permanent adult connections upon which to rely for guidance or life skills.
Effective 2012, Assembly Bill 12 extended foster care to provide support for these youth, ages 18 to age 21. This sub-group of juvenile dependent adults are known as Non-Minor Dependents (NMDs). Participation in Extended Foster Care (EFC) is voluntary. Youth must maintain qualifying criteria to receive a monthly stipend.
NMD PRO BONO ATTORNEY PANEL
In 2018 CLS was awarded a grant from the San Diego County Bar Foundation to create the Non-Minor Dependent Pro Bono Attorney Panel. The panel assists NMDs in resolving their unmet legal needs outside of the juvenile dependency system.
NMD’s commonly need legal assistance include paternity, custody, guardianship, landlord-tenant/ housing, and restraining orders. We are seeking panel attorneys in all practice areas. Our goal is to recruit several pro bono attorneys per legal specialty to prevent from overburdening any one volunteer attorney.
PROGRAM PROCESS
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Panel attorneys must be in good standing with the Bar.
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The panel attorney must be willing to provide a free consultation to the youth. The panel attorney is under no obligation to accept the referral.
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Once accepted to the panel, panel attorneys will be provided with a training on Juvenile Dependency, Extended Foster Care, the NMD Pro Bono Panel process and working with NMD’s.
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When an NMD requests legal assistance, CLS will provide the youth with the panel attorney(s) contact information in the youth’s area of need. If the youth requests assistance, the CLS attorney may assist the youth with the referral.
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NMD’s often have limited resources. The hope is panel attorneys will provide legal assistance pro bono. However, any fee or legal agreements are solely up to the NMD and the panel attorney.
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Panel attorneys will inform CLS of the status of referrals and case developments, as authorized by the NMD.
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CLS will provide information to the panel attorney as authorized by the NMD.
Interested? We’d love to have you on-board to advocate for and support these youth as they transition into adulthood. If interested, please reach out with your contact information and the legal area(s) where you are willing to provide assistance:
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Karen Prosek, Esq., MSW, CWLS
Director of Legal Services
Children’s Legal Services of San Diego
(858) 264-7460
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