Past and current advocacy efforts

History

Juvenile Rights Project began as part of Multnomah County Legal Aid in 1975. Attorneys and law students represented youth in delinquency cases in Multnomah County Juvenile Court and in a class action against the MacLaren Training School, a state juvenile correctional facility. In 1980, Juvenile Rights Project became part of Oregon Legal Services, continuing its advocacy for children and young people through a series of lawsuits aimed at preventing the incarceration of minors in adult jails and in a suit over the conditions suffered by a young boy in state foster care. The office also worked with administrative agencies and the legislature to improve conditions for children and youth in the state. In 1985, the Juvenile Rights Project became an independent non-profit corporation, in part because of restrictions imposed by the Legal Services Corporation on the kind of work which could be undertaken on behalf of poor children and youth.

Children in Foster Care

• Negotiated settlement on behalf of children in foster care throughout the state. Appropriations to implement system-wide changes since the 1995 Settlement Agreement total more than $50,000,000. The settlement agreement with the Oregon Department of Human Services continues to be in force through the 2003-05 biennium.
• Restoration of System of Care flexible funds for the 2003-05 biennium after they were cut in February 2003. Flex Funds are used to support the safety, well-being, attachment and permanency needs of children in the child welfare system when other funds are not available. `
• Legislation establishing the Oregon Former Foster Child Scholarship through the Oregon Student Assistance Commission.
• Publication of A TEEN'S LEGAL GUIDE TO FOSTER CARE IN OREGON
  
• State court litigation regarding the liability of SCF caseworkers to children who are neglected and abused in foster care.
• Legislation establishing citizen oversight of children in foster care.
• Legislation establishing mechanism for adults with a psychological parent relationship to a child to appear in court and seek custody or visitation.
• Legislation speeding up court processes involving abused and neglected children.
• Federally funded research project regarding Oregon juvenile courts’ operation.
• Ongoing monitoring and commenting on state and federal administrative regulations affecting children in foster care and institutions.
• Project with CASA program to establish innovative model for representation of young children in juvenile court.
• Publication of Juvenile Court Improvement Project: An Assessment of Oregon’s Juvenile Courts.

Children in Public Schools

• The SchoolWorks program was established in 2002 with a federal Edward Byrne Memorial Juvenile Violence Prevention Grant. SchoolWorks assists JRP clients, ages 8 to 15, who face barriers to receiving a free appropriate public education. The Byrne Grant was renewed for SchoolWorks by the Oregon State Police for 2003-2004.
• The Education Project was awarded a grant from the Oregon Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee in 2001-2003 to impact the disproportionate rates of suspension and expulsion of racial minority students in Portland Public Schools.
• Information, referral, and legal services to children who are not in school or are not in an appropriate educational placement. Legal services include special education proceedings and representation of students at suspension and expulsion hearings.
• Training on the educational rights of children, especially special education rights, for over 5,000 parents, caseworkers, juvenile court counselors, foster parents, CASAs and CRB members in 25 Oregon counties.
• Publication of Educational Needs Assessment for Multnomah County Department of Community Justice: Systemic Barriers To Successful School Completion For Multnomah County Children And Youth In The Child Welfare And Juvenile Justice Systems.

• Participation in the Homeless and Runaway Youth State Policy Group, created by the Oregon Legislature in 2003.
• Information, referral and advice line for children, youth and those acting on their behalf which handles 600 calls per year from all over the state (25% referred from legal services programs).

Children in Youth Correctional Facilities

• Federal litigation regarding the conditions at the MacLaren School for Boys, which houses children as young as twelve.
• Participation in legislative oversight hearings about conditions and treatment at Hillcrest Youth Correctional Facility after five youth committed suicide. Results of the hearings included emergency appropriations to significantly enhance mental health treatment services at Hillcrest.
• Publication of Report to House of Representatives Interim Judiciary Committee and Senate Interim Judiciary Committee, October 12, 1998, regarding the need for mental health services at Hillcrest.

Children in Detention

• Legislation ending the practice of confining status offenders in detention, making Oregon eligible for federal funds under federal law.
• Federal litigation regarding the conditions at the juvenile detention center in Multnomah County, resulting in a consent decree requiring the county to build a new juvenile detention facility and to upgrade conditions and practices in the existing facility.
• Participation in the Annie E. Casey Foundation-funded alternatives to detention project in Multnomah County.
• Administrative challenges to extended detention programs in some counties.

Children in Adult Jails & Prisons

• Federal litigation resulting in a landmark constitutional decision holding that the confinement of juveniles who have not been tried as adults in adult jails is unconstitutional. The decision has been credited as a major factor in an 80% national decline in juvenile jailings.
• Research and advocacy project in collaboration with physicians to evaluate physical and mental health needs of 16- and 17-year-olds convicted as adults and housed in adult jails and prisons.
• Education of approximately 1,500 middle and high school students regarding mandatory adult sentences for youth 15 and older who are charged with certain crimes (Oregon’s Ballot Measure 11).
• Publication of A Look at the Health Of Oregon’s Adolescents In The Adult Correctional System.

Children’s Mental Health

• Investigation of access to mental health services by children covered under the Oregon Health Plan.
• Collaboration with the Oregon Advocacy Center on reforming the availability and delivery of intensive mental health services for children in Oregon.
• Training on access to mental health services for foster children and other children who are covered by the Oregon Health Plan (Medicaid) for over 700 child welfare caseworkers, supervisors and managers, juvenile court counselors, foster parents, CASAs and CRB members. These trainings have been conducted at over 20 sites all over the state.
• Administrative advocacy with state and county mental health agencies.
• Investigation of access to mental health services by children covered under the Oregon Health Plan.