Name of Host Organization: National Center for Youth Law

City, State: Oakland, California

Issue area: Children/Youth

Sponsor: The Morrison & Foerster Foundation

THE INSPIRATION

After college, I worked with at-risk teens for several years, first advocating for foster kids involved in the juvenile justice system in New York and later, directing a delinquency prevention program in Brooklyn. Almost every child I worked with had some type of unmet mental health need, but their advocates, whether they were attorneys or parents, did not know how to get them appropriate services. I realized early on the importance of ensuring that children and families have a voice in their treatment. I now have an opportunity to make this happen.

Tens of thousands of California's foster children struggle with unmet mental health needs. Although legally entitled to adequate care, thousands are forced to go without it. When children are denied care or provided inadequate treatment, they are more likely to fall prey to the state's juvenile or criminal justice systems, become homeless or drop out of school. I am addressing this problem by working with children's advocates to develop concrete techniques for improving their ability to get adequate mental health care for their clients.