Juvenile Law Center fights for rights, dignity, equity, and opportunity for youth. We work to reduce the harm of the child welfare and justice systems, limit their reach, and ultimately abolish them so all young people can thrive.

Founded in 1975, Juvenile Law Center was the first nonprofit, public interest law firm for children in the country. Juvenile Law Center advocates to abolish the juvenile and criminal legal and family policing systems so children can thrive with their families and in their communities, free of the discriminatory harm of these state systems. We work toward disrupting entry into the family policing and juvenile and criminal legal systems while simultaneously seeking to reduce the harm children experience in these systems. We do this work through a variety of strategies, including policy advocacy, impact litigation, and strategic communications.

We strive to ensure that laws, policies, and practices affecting youth advance racial and economic equity and are consistent with children's unique developmental characteristics and human dignity.