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| Advokids Office |
Advokids continually works to make the California foster care system function as the law intended, keeping children safe and secure and providing them with stability and permanency when they cannot be returned to their parents. When the system does not work right, children get hurt.
The role of the Juvenile Court is critical for oversight of a foster child’s case. The system works best when the juvenile court has complete and accurate information about the child. Advokids teaches people how to effectively bring information about the welfare of the child to the court’s attention.
Advokids provides an educational website, a free telephone hotline for anyone who is concerned about a California foster child, and training for attorneys, social workers, mental health professionals, caregivers and other child advocates on how to use the law to make the child welfare system actually serve the best interests of the child.
Advokids is about making the child welfare system and the adults in it accountable to the children they serve and to the people of California.
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| Thank You notes from the children of Advokids |
Margaret Coyne is the Executive Director for Advokids, and during our interview with her we have learned so many amazing accomplishments that have prevailed throughout the years, however from a personal point of view Margaret has shared with us, from behind the scenes at Advokids, a personal story of triumph and dedication.
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| Miss California, a former foster child, at an event for Advokids |
Throughout the years since the establishment of Advokids, Margaret has learned that too often our children in foster care in this country have no voice. Their lives and futures are determined by policies and philosophies that fail to consider their best interests. With the best interest of our children in mind, she has proclaimed that finding and working with like minded, passionate child advocates from every field and discipline who refuse to accept the status quo and will fight for the right of every child to be safe and secure in a stable and loving home, to be the best advocate she can be.
Dealing with our most precious, delicate human beings, working as an advocate for children can be very emotional, and very personal at times, really bringing the circumstances of a child in foster care close to home. All of the wonderful advocates at Advokids cope with the emotional instances by fighting hard for every individual child who comes to their attention, using every legal tool available to bring the child’s best interests to the attention of county administrations and judges, and enlisting help from their pro bono attorneys who will fight in the trenches on behalf of the child. They also learn from every hard case and use the opportunity to strategize on how to prevent that situation from ever happening again.
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| Margaret Coyne, Executive Director, Advokids, with Miss California, former foster child |
Within every organization there is always a mission, there is always a dream, however Margaret shared with us the dream they have set out to achieve, and we believe in them, and are so amazed by their past, present, and future accomplishments. As a group of advocates for the most delicate children in the United States today, the goal of all advocates at Advokids is to teach and encourage everyone in the child welfare field to respect and follow the law! Our laws are child focused and encourage safety, stability, and permanency, but they are too often side stepped to accommodate bureaucracies, the overwhelmed judicial system, and the adults who have loud grown up voices.
Established in 1993, Advokids has a uniqueness unlike any other organization in the U.S. today. Advokids’ legal services integrate the recent compelling social science and neuroscience research that proves the devastating effects that instability and placement disruptions have on the brain development of young children in foster care. In light of this research, over the past five years, Advokids has a dedicated focus on advocating for the right of foster children to have the child welfare system meet their developmental and emotional needs, as well as their need for physical safety. No other legal advocacy group is dedicated to this interdisciplinary model of advocacy.
Inspiration often times derives from the heart, however when carried with a mission greater than the mind could ever imagine, comes inspiration to move mountains.
"When we fail our children in foster care, the consequences are life long. When we commit ourselves to meeting their critical emotional and developmental needs at the start, we spare them the heartache, and we spare society the burden of meeting their needs throughout their lifetimes." - Margaret Coyne
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| Miss California at one of the 2012 Fundraising Events for Advokids |
Such a beautiful organization, and we truly urge you to take a moment to visit their website, and introduce yourself to them, and see the amazing work, the achievements, and the up and coming events, so you to can carry the legacy with you, which is that of Advokids.
From the bottom of our hearts, and with the greatest gratitude, we thank Margaret for taking the time to speak with us here at the Keane Law Firm, and will always remain a passionate supporter of Advokids!
To learn more about Advokids, please visit their website at: http://www.advokids.org or follow Advokids on Facebook: Click Here
If you have any questions or concerns about what can be done to help children due to child abuse, shaken baby syndrome, brain injuries, or day care injuries, please call Christopher Keane and The Keane Law Firm toll-free for free consultation at (888) 592-5437 (KIDS), click on contact us here, or use the web form provided at http://www.keanelaw.com
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