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    Commission on Youth at Risk

    The Commission on Youth at Risk’s mission is to address the legal needs of children, youth and young adults who are disadvantaged or marginalized due to legal system involvement, poverty, race, national origin or ethnicity, gender or gender identification, disability, or religion. The Commission was established in 2006 as part of an ABA Presidential Initiative focused on the legal needs of children and youth ages 13-19 years old. 

    Approach

    The Commission addresses youth legal needs by: (1) Increasing the capacity and accessibility of legal representation for youth; (2) Improving the quality of legal representation for youth; and (3) Engaging in policy reform efforts on behalf of children and youth.

    Areas of Focus

    The Commission's work focuses on six areas, as recommended by an interdisciplinary group of professionals and youth at the Youth at Risk Planning Conference held in February 2006.

    View the Commission's - Areas of Focus

    Coordination with the Center

    In 2018, the Commission on Youth at Risk became a part of the ABA Center on Children and the Law. The Commission contributes a critical component of ABA member engagement to the Center’s work by elevating child and youth law topics in the legal profession within and outside the ABA. Commission member responsibilities include: 1) Setting the ABA’s national policy agenda on child and youth law; 2) Ensuring the ABA speaks with a unified and coordinated voice on child and youth law topics; and 3) Developing presentations to engage and inform the legal field about child and youth law.

    Members

    Every year the ABA President appoints 16 Commission members and 12 Advisory Committee members to the Commission. These members represent diverse personal and professional backgrounds and a range of jurisdictions throughout the country.

    Members and Leadership

    ABA Resolution 606 – Race and Child Welfare

    Policy Text

    In a policy passed before the House of Delegates on Monday, August 8, 2022 the American Bar Association has called on all legal professionals to recognize the connection between child welfare and our country’s long history of over-surveillance of and deliberate underinvestment in the lives of Black families. This Resolution urges the ABA and the legal profession to examine that history, acknowledge our role in shaping it, and begin to untangle it by following the lead of Black children, parents, and kin who have experienced child welfare and know both the potential for harm and the importance of investing in the strength of Black families as foundational to our country.

    ABA Policy Resolution 613 - Presumption of Child Presence

    ABA Policy Resolution 115

    ABA Family Integrity & Family Unity Policy

    This new ABA policy recognizes that children and parents have rights to family integrity and family unity. Its provisions emphasize the role of the legal system in efforts to preserve families and maintain family connectedness during child welfare system involvement.

    Family Integrity Policy - Learn More