
The JustChildren Program is Virginia’s largest children’s law program. We rely on a range of strategies to make sure the Commonwealth’s most vulnerable young people receive the services and support they need to lead successful lives in their communities.
Our strategies include individual representation, community education and organizing, and statewide advocacy. From our Charlottesville, Richmond, and Petersburg offices, we provide free legal representation to low-income children who have unmet needs in the education, foster care, and juvenile justice systems. We produce popular training materials for lawyers, parents, and other service providers to help them become informed and skilled advocates.
JustChildren’s attorneys and organizers also seek local and statewide reforms to improve the systems that our children depend on. Through coalition building, policy advocacy, and litigation, we make lasting improvements for all children in Virginia.
Our lawyers and advocates:
• Help our clients enroll in school, stay in school, and obtain services to help them finish school;
• Prepare and distribute educational materials for youth, parents, attorneys, and service providers and train them to be effective advocates for themselves and for young people;
• Support parents and community leaders in calling for improvements to the local and state systems that provide services to youth in poverty; and
• Promote public policies and systemic reforms that keep children in school and living successfully in their communities.