In a landmark ruling, the Pennsylvania Supreme Court has held that Fourth Amendment protections extend to home inspections conducted by child welfare agencies investigating anonymous hotline calls, and that child welfare agencies may not search family homes without first demonstrating probable cause under the law. This case has broad-ranging racial justice implications for Black and…
CLS contributed to a big victory for Pennsylvania families! On June 16, 2020 the PA Supreme Court unanimously held that Children & Youth agencies cannot force a parent to submit a drug screen in the context of a child welfare investigation. This case was brought after a child welfare agency attempted to compel a parent…
CLS staff attorney Caroline Buck won a victory for families in an important new Pennsylvania Supreme Court case, In re N.B.-A.. The court clarified that parents should not be punished for child abuse perpetrated by others in cases where the parent did not know, and could not have known, that their child was in danger…
For decades, the Family Advocacy Unit at Community Legal Services has provided holistic family defense for parents involved in child welfare cases, pairing attorneys with social workers and paralegals to provide wrap-around support to our clients. Recently, there has been a growing recognition that children do better when their parents are provided with intensive, tailored…
The conversation about child welfare is changing, both locally and nationally. While over 440,000 children are in foster care on any given day in our country, society is beginning to question a model that for far too long has seen family separation as the solution to poverty and instability. In the words of our federal Children’s Bureau leadership,…
Join the Youth Action Board! The Youth Justice Project is looking for Fellows to join our Youth Action Board for the coming year. Youth Action Board Fellows will spend a year working together, along with CLS Advocates, to develop ideas, goals, and projects to support young people in Philadelphia. April 2022 — April 2023…
Community Legal Services has a proven track record of helping low-income families access significant public benefits that help them feed, house and get medical care for their children. Regulations regarding the receipt of public benefits are often so complex and difficult that a lawyer is required to correctly interpret and apply them. While a social worker can help a family fill out an application for benefits, it usually takes an attorney to appeal an incorrectly denied application, or to interpret how to access the appropriate level of benefits. For instance, a family may appear to be over the income level for a benefit, but they may not have used the appropriate deductions that would allow them to qualify for it. Because of CLS’ in-depth knowledge and our ability to advocate with public agencies, CLS often obtains successful outcomes for our clients.
The following testimony was delivered by CLS Managing Attorney Kathleen Creamer to Philadelphia City Council on June 14, 2016. Printer-friendly download Good afternoon Chairwoman Bass and members of City Council. Thank you for the opportunity to testify on this very important issue. My name is Kathleen Creamer and I am the managing attorney of the…
For over three decades, the Family Advocacy Unit at Community Legal Services has represented thousands of low-income parents in child welfare cases. We have a unique interdisciplinary practice model and a demonstrated commitment to holistic, high-quality parent representation. In addition to individual representation, Community Legal Services engages in systemic advocacy at the local, state and…
We all know instinctively, and it is borne out in the research, that children do better with their families. Removal from home is a serious intervention into a child’s life, one of the most serious that our society allows. It should only happen for the most important reasons, to ensure a child is safe while…
