Legal Services for Children

Tune in to KQED's half hour show for a discussion on the impacts this pandemic has had on the lives of youth in foster care, with insights from LSC's dependency project lead, Jen Daly, and other Bay Area youth advocates.

Our young clients immigrant youth, students, and foster youth- are facing new challenges as we learn to navigate the world during a pandemic. Some will also face new opportunities in a changing political landscape. For all our youth, your support ensures they are heard and listened tothat they have a voice in the decisions that impact their lives. Your generosity will help children get vital educational services during remote learning, ensure that foster youth continue to have family visits despite the difficulties of COVID and that newly eligible young immigrants can apply for DACA. Please stand with LSC by making a contribution today! https://www.lsc-sf.org/donate/

Please join the Coalition Against Herrera's Injunctions (CAHI) tomorrow at 11 am for a Zoom Press Conference announcing the campaign against Injuctions! City Attorney, Dennis Herrera's Injunctions are the cruel continuation of this country's failed "war on drugs" policies that (annually) waste +47 billion dollars while destroying our communities through incarceration & overdose deaths. LSC social worker, Daisy Gavarrete, will be there to speak briefly on the impact these injunctions have on our youth, trends we’ve seen, and what SF can do to reallocate funds for better services to our community. #CarenotCriminalization #CAHI #Tenderloin

Join us tomorrow for this statewide call to action to demand the closing of all detention facilities. This call to action is also uplifting demands for Governor Newsom and Geo Group to end all direct transfers of immigrants from state prison to ICE detention. LSC attorney, Stephany Arzaga, and social worker, Gloria Jimenez, will be there to speak briefly on the effects prolonged detention have on the detained youth they represent. #FreeThemAll

LSC’s office will be closed, beginning Monday, March 16th, due to concerns about corona virus. We will do everything we can to avoid any disruption of client services. Staff are continuing to work remotely and will be staffing our advice line during the regular hours. Please leave a detailed message on our advice line voicemail and your call will be returned. Our drop-in clinic is closed until further notice. Our English advice line is (415) 323-5814. Staff can be reached b...y leaving a voicemail or sending an email. Staff will respond as soon as possible. Staff emails are here: https://www.lsc-sf.org/about-us/our-staff/ Thank you for your understanding, LSC Staff ______________________________________________________________ La oficina de Servicios Legales para Niños (LSC) estará cerrada, a partir del lunes 16 de marzo, debido a las preocupaciones sobre el coronavirus. Haremos todo lo posible para evitar cualquier interrupción de los servicios a nuestros clientes. El personal continúa trabajando de forma remota y continuaran llamando a las personas durante las horas regulares de consulta telefónica. Por favor, deje un mensaje detallado en el buzón de la línea de consulta telefónica y un personal de LSC le regresara su llamada. Nuestra clínica está cerrada hasta nuevo aviso. El número de la línea de consulta en Español es 415-484-8173. Puede contactar al personal dejando un correo de voz o enviando un correo electrónico. El personal responderá tan pronto como sea posible. Los correos electrónicos del personal están en la página de red de LSC: https://www.lsc-sf.org/about-us/our-staff/ Gracias por su comprensión, El personal de LSC

On the final day of National Pro Bono Week, we want to highlight the many, many ways our pro bono panel and community support LSC and our clients. Thanks to those of you who are providing direct representation to a client in a guardianship, immigration, or school expulsion case. Thanks to those of you who are writing comments to oppose the government’s proposed rules as part of the ongoing onslaught of asylum seekers’ rights. Thanks to every act you each have taken to make li...fe a little better for our youth during these difficult times from Grace Won picking up bread donations for our clients, to Roopa Reddy and Mark Barmore, who have truly gone the extra mile for their clients (guardianship and education cases), to those of you who have donated to our gift card drive. There are so many ways to help. Email [email protected] to find out what you or your firm can do! #PBWeek2020 #ProBono #LSC #ProBonoWeek #PB

This National Pro Bono Week, we acknowledge and amplify the call to action to confront racism and specifically anti-blackness in our own spaces and work. We know that the non-profit and pro bono sectors are not immune from the forces of systemic and individual racism, and there is much work to be done. We are grateful for our partners at OneJustice, and other organizations throughout California, with whom we are working to examine these issues more closely and to develop trainings, tools, and better systems of accountability within our sector. We invite all of you to join us. Resources are abundant due to the courageous work and leadership of the BIPOC* community, but this is a good place to start: https://blacklivesmatter.com/resources/. *See https://www.nytimes.com/article/what-is-bipoc.html

On Day 3 of National Pro Bono Week, we’d like to give a special shout-out to the amazing attorneys at Keker, Van Nest & Peters LLP who recently achieved a huge triumph on behalf of one of LSC’s longtime clients. Our client was a victim of human trafficking, who was placed in foster care only to be then picked up by ICE, transported across the country to spend months in juvenile hall, and then adult ICE detention, before LSC was able to get him out on bond. Despite this govern...ment-inflicted trauma, on top of the previous trauma he’d experienced, our client has shown tremendous fortitude and resiliency, rebuilding his own life while also helping others. Keker attorneys Jose Martinez, Travis Silva, Nick Goldberg, and Deeva Shah challenged the egregious denial of our client’s T visa by filing a case under the Administrative Procedure Act in federal district court and won!! Our client now has his T visa, is authorized to work, has been freed of the ankle monitor he was required to wear for THREE YEARS, and is preparing to apply for lawful permanent residency. Thank you Keker, for your ongoing work on behalf of this inspiring young person, and for never shying away from the tough cases that are so worth the fight. See more

On Day 2 of National Pro Bono Week, LSC would like to thank the many pro bono attorneys who hustled like crazy to file their clients’ applications for lawful permanent residency in an extremely tight timeframe last month. On 10/2, USCIS was set to implement the latest of many obstacles thrown at our immigrant clients - a dramatic change to its fee rules, by which our clients seeking residency through Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (who by definition have suffered abuse, ab...andonment or neglect; and who are not permitted to work), could face $1,680 in fees that were previously waived. Given that these fees would be prohibitively expensive to most of our clients, our pro bono attorneys scrambled to file over a dozen applications for residency before the rule was to go into effect. Thanks to these attorneys, many youth are now on their way to getting green cards! And thanks to our colleagues at the Immigrant Legal Resource Center (ILRC) and these 8 other immigrants’ rights organizations, the fee rules have been enjoined! East Bay Sanctuary Covenant American Immigration Lawyers Association Asian Counseling and Referral Service (ACRS) Illinois Coalition for Immigrant and Refugee Rights Catholic Legal Immigration Network, Inc. (CLINIC) Coalition for Humane Immigrant Rights OneAmerica International Rescue Committee #ProBonoWeek2020 #PB #ProBonoWeek #LSC

Happy National Pro Bono Week! LSC is so grateful for our incredible team of pro bono attorneys who have taken on cases to help improve young people’s lives. This past fiscal year, 111 attorneys volunteered to represent LSC clients in immigration, guardianship, and school discipline cases, contributing a total of 4,955 hours of work, representing over $2.5 million in- kind donations. Thank you for your excellent service, and all that you do to support our clients! If you are interested in joining our pro bono panel, please email [email protected] or click this link to learn more: https://www.lsc-sf.org/get-involved/pro-bono-panel/. #ProBono #LSC #ProBonoWeek #PBW2020

LSC Executive Director, Abigail Trillin, joined Mark Cohen on the You Are Doing What? podcast for a discussion of Legal Services for Children’s advocacy work as part of the San Francisco Immigrant Legal Defense Community. Click this link to listen to the podcast: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1122341/5770426

Kao Saelee is a Mien refugee, firefighter, and service animal trainer. He has been incarcerated since he was a teenager, and was granted parole in September after 22 years in state prison. Instead of coming home to his family, California Department Correction and Rehabilitation (CDCR) collaborated with ICE to have him transferred to a detention facility in Louisiana. Join us now to #FreeSaelee! 1. Sign and share the petition: https://www.change.org/p/gavin-newsom-demand-gov-n...ewsom-to- 2. Call Governor Newsom at 916-445-2841 and demand that he stop prison to ICE transfers (script below): Hi my name is ___, resident of (city/county) and (organization). Right before this year’s devastating wildfires in California, Gov. Gavin Newsom and CA’s prison system (CDCR), handed Kao Saelee, a formerly incarcerated firefighter and refugee to ICE. Instead of reuniting with his family, Kao is now detained by ICE, thousands of miles away from his loved ones in Louisiana. Gov. Gavin Newsom and CDCR must stop handing immigrants and refugees to ICE upon completing their time in state prison and jails. In addition, the Governor should pardon Kao Saelee now! 3. Share this resource guide: http://bit.ly/FreeSaelee To read more about his story: https://www.theguardian.com//california-inmate-firefighter

Join IIBA for a free Virtual DACA Renewal Workshop on Tuesday, October 2nd. Únase a IIBA para este taller virtual y gratuito para renobar su DACA el martes 2 de octubre.

Únase a este taller virtual: "Cómo Defender a mi Ser Querido Encarcelado durante COVID-19 y las Detenciones de ICE" este miercoles, 16 de septiembre para una tarde llena de información vital para las familias con un ser querido encarcelado en California o a punto de ser trasladado a una detención de inmigración después de ser liberado de la cárcel. Conozca sus opciones y derechos y aprenda cómo ayudar a su ser querido desde su casa. Familiarícese con las organizaciones peleando por los derechos del sistema judicial y criminal y lo que usted puede hacer para advocar. https://lspc.zoom.us/web/register/WN_CGllwDd0QcmV8t3uJVwLWA

Keiana is a 25 year old survivor of sex trafficking who has been incarcerated for the last 8 years. She "is completely isolated because of the COVID-19 conditions at the California Institute for Women. Her mental health is rapidly deteriorating and she has recently attempted suicide." Please take a few minutes to sign and share this petition to advocate for Governor Newsom to commute her sentence now. https://www.change.org/p/governor-newsom-end-the-unjust-dan

LSC hopes you are staying healthy and safe as the wildfires continue to rage on across the state. We recommend visiting the following pages if you are in need of disaster assistance or have been affected by the fires in any way. For the August 2020 California Wildfires Resources Handbook click here: https://media2.mofo.com//2020-ca-wildfires-helping-handboo For disaster legal assistance click here: https://disasterlegalservicesca.org/... For online assistance with civil legal questions click here: https://ca.freelegalanswers.org/

ACTION ALERT: Today, Nayeli is 26 years-old and has been incarcerated for 6 years. She is scheduled to parole one year early on September 11, 2020, due to her many accomplishments including earning certifications in substance abuse counseling, construction maintenance, and computer coding. She graduated as Valedictorian of her class with two AA degrees in Criminal Justice and Business from Chaffey Community College. Despite Nayeli’s accomplishments, personal work on healing and growth, and completing her time, CDCR will hand Nayeli to ICE on her first day of freedom. Nayeli faces permanent separation from her family and community, unless Gov. Newsom intervenes and tells CDCR to release Nayeli to her loved ones. Call to urge Gavin Newsom to #StopICETransfers. #FreeThemAll

LSC is heartbroken and outraged over the racist shooting of Jacob Blake and the murder of two protesters. We stand in solidarity with Mr. Blake, his family and the people of Kenosha who are standing up for racial justice. Get involved. Watch the Black National Convention tonight: https://blacknovember.org/. Call to demand the resignation of Kenosha's police chief and sheriff. To demand the resignation of Kenosha County Sheriff David Beth, call Governor Tony Evers' office at (608) 266-1212. To demand the resignation of Kenosha Police Chief Daniel Miskinis resignation, call the Kenosha Police and Fire Comission at (262) 653-4135.

When I spoke to some of the youth during a virtual presentation I did inside, there were concerns about whether people were thinking of them. They hear about this mass exodus of people being released and they are wondering, ‘Am I a part of that? Am I going home? - Miguel Garcia, policy coordinator for the Anti-Recidivism Coalition, on young people detained amidst coronavirus outbreaks. #FreeThemAll