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The Rocky Mountain Children's Law Center, formerly The Children's Legal Clinic, was founded in 1981 by Executive Director Shari F. Shink and child advocates. This group was looking for ways to improve the poor quality of legal representation for maltreated children. Without effective advocacy in court, children drifted in foster care for decades, did not get the physical and mental health care they needed, and were not protected from dangerous living conditions. The Federal government and the Denver-based National Association of Counsel for Children originally co-sponsored this project.
The Children's Clinic was one of three models tested out by a national pilot project looking for the best ways to legally represent abused and neglected children. After three years of research, the National Evaluation and Research Associates group found that the Children's Clinic model delivered the highest quality of legal representation for children. Clinic attorneys took the time to get to know a child, understand his history, find out his most pressing needs, and then pushed hard to make his life better.
The Children's Law Center established itself as an independent organization in 1985. We are proud to have evolved from a demonstration project to a major force that advocates for the protection of children in the Rocky Mountain Region and across the country. Today, we have a staff of twenty, including nine full-time attorneys, two social workers, and administrative staff. We also maintain an expert panel that gives pediatric health care, psychological, and psychiatric technical help to our staff attorneys, volunteers in our Pro Bono Attorney program, and law students in our Child Advocacy Clinic. Our dedicated Board of Directors, consisting of a dozen community leaders and child welfare advocates, provides the long-term, strategic guidance that has helped the Children's Law Center to flourish. Together, this team strives to give maltreated children the high quality legal services they deserve.
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