Iowa

Iowa Legal Aid

1111 9th St. Suite 230
Des Moines, IA 50314
Telephone:    1-800-532-1275
Website:         https://www.iowalegalaid.org/

Does use volunteer attorneys

Iowa Legal Aid (ILA) provides free legal help with civil law problems for eligible low-income Iowans. ILA has offices in Davenport, Des Moines, Cedar Rapids, Iowa City, Mason City, Dubuque, Sioux City, Ottumwa, Council Bluffs, Waterloo, Nevada, and Muscatine. ILA provides services in the areas of family and juvenile law, housing, public benefits, disaster relief, disability, education, health, immigration, and more. 

Kids First Law Center

420 6th St. SE Suite 160
Cedar Rapids, IA 52401 (offices also in Des Moines)
Telephone:       (319) 365-5437
Website:            www.kidsfirstiowa.org

100% Children’s Law

Does Use Volunteer Attorneys

In 2005, Kids First Law Center opened in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, to give children a voice in custody and divorce conflicts. Since then, the organization has grown to a staff of twelve with five programs serving more than 1,500 children a year in Linn, Johnson, and Polk Counties.

Kids First attorneys provide legal advocacy and social and therapeutic services for children whose parents are engaged in high-conflict custody battles. 

Middleton Center for Children’s Rights Drake Law School

2507 University Ave.
Des Moines, IA 50311
Telephone:     (515) 271-3851
Website:          www.law.drake.edu/centers/middleton

100% Children’s Law

The Joan and Lyle Middleton Center for Children’s Rights began in 2001. The center has four components: legal services, multidisciplinary training, public information and public policy formation. The children’s rights clinic employs one staff attorney who supervises 10 student attorneys to handle approximately 80 cases a year. The clinic is an interdisciplinary clinical education program in which representation teams are comprised of student attorneys licensed to practice law under a provisional license rule, a practicum graduate student in social work from one of the major state universities, graduate students in special education or counseling students from Drake’s Graduate School of Education. This enables the clinic to provide a holistic approach to case management and provision of services to children in abuse and neglect cases. The clinic employs an in-house social worker as well. The clinic does accept calls from children and the public seeking legal information.

In addition to the clinic, the center trains attorneys, judges, teachers, social workers and other professionals working in the juvenile justice system. The program provides not only instruction in relevant law and legislation for non-lawyers, but also the latest medical and social research on child abuse for lawyers and judges. Beginning in 2003, the center works to improve laws pertaining to children. Law school students identify issues, draft legislation and work with lobbyists to pass the legislation.

Youth Law Center

300 Walnut St., Ste. 295
Des Moines, IA 50309
Telephone:    (515) 244-1172
Email:              [email protected]

100% Children’s Law

Does Use Volunteer Attorneys

The Youth Law Center was founded in 1978 to provide legal representation to children in a wide range of issues. The center is a full-service nonprofit law office for children, combining the skills of specially trained and experienced attorneys and caseworkers to help victimized and troubled children. Clients are referred from juvenile court, social service agencies, schools, health care professionals and other attorneys. Volunteer lawyers are recruited through local bar associations and law schools. Training is offered to law students. The center also operates a state-wide toll-free hotline for youth law issues and a list serve for child advocates. The center also works on state legislative issues affecting children.