Advocates
for
Children's Services
(ACS)
A special statewide project of Legal Aid of NC,
919-226-0052
NEW:
ACS
Annual Report, 2009
About us...
The mission of Advocates for Children’s Services (ACS) is to advocate for the
idea that at-risk and/or court-involved children are rights-bearing citizens,
who are entitled to safe, permanent homes and should receive the medical and
educational services currently promised by law [see the "ACS
Fact Sheet"].
The ACS project focuses specifically on providing free legal representation
for children who are in need of medical, psychiatric, special education and
foster care/adoption services to which they are entitled under state and
federal law. ACS provides free legal counsel to disadvantaged young people
who are suffering from educational failure, developmental delays, and/or
adverse health caused by lack of implementation of governmental benefits
assistance [also so "Three Big Federal Promises to Children"].
ACS is dedicated to correcting the serious misconception that children are
not independent, rights-bearing citizens, entitled by existing law to
express their opinions in matters [also see "Expressed Interest of the Child"].
ISSUE: School to Prison Pipeline (STPP)
Currently ACS’ focus is on the "School-To-Prison Pipeline" (STPP)
in North Carolina. The STPP refers to the trend of criminalizing, rather than educating, our children. The STPP operates
both directly and indirectly. Schools directly send students
into the pipeline through zero tolerance policies that involve the
police in minor incidents and often lead to arrests, juvenile
detention referrals, and even criminal charges and incarceration.
Schools indirectly push students towards the criminal justice system
by excluding them from school through suspension, expulsion,
discouragement, and high stakes testing requirements. For more
on STPP, go to:
www.legalaidnc.org/acs/stpp
Eligibility Criteria
A formal intake assessment is conducted with each client to determine
eligibility for services. Minimum eligibility criteria include:
-
A household income of not more that 185% of the federal
poverty limit.
All children involved in the foster care system
automatically meet this
eligibility criteria.
-
The child must be a citizen of the United States.
-
Priority is given to children involved in the foster care system
and to
cases involving matters directly related to Medicaid, the
Individuals with
Disabilities Special Education Act, and/or the
Adoption and Safe Families
Act.
-
Advocates for Children's Services (ACS) prides itself on providing
high-quality, comprehensive services to the children it
represents. Due to
this commitment and to our small staff size,
however, we regret that we are
unable to accept every case that
is referred to us. ACS generally takes on
cases that have the
potential to generate larger, systematic change on
children’s
issues.
ACS produces several publications that pertain to children's
issues.
In the News
"Under scrutiny, Wake County schools rethink long-term suspensions"
(August 18, 2010 article, Independent Weekly, Durham, NC)
"Wake schools hear ideas on discipline"
(July 30, 2010 article, News & Observer, Raleigh, NC)
[Also see report presented by ACS:
"Research-based Recommendations
for Improving School Discipline in Wake
County Public Schools"]
"Replace program, Wake told"
(May 11, 2010 article, News & Observer, Raleigh, NC)
[Also see:
"State
finds Wake violated law for special-education
students" (May 10, 2010 article, News & Observer, Raleigh, NC)]
[Also see
May 10, 2010 Media Release, Advocates for Children's Services]
"Judge orders Guilford County officials and state board of education
to
report concerning failing elementary and middle schools"
[May 3, 2010 Media Release by
Parents Supporting Parents
(Greensboro, NC)]
[Also see:
March 26,2010 Order by Superior Court Judge Howard
Manning, Jr.]
Advocates for Children’s Services to host Equal Justice Works
Fellowship
(April 27, 2010 Media Release, Advocates for Children's Services)
"School Suspensions lead to Legal Challenge"
...regarding case to be heard before NC Supreme Court on March 22, 2010
(03/19/10 New York Times article)
"Shut down school-to-prison pipeline"
(03/19/10 Greensboro News & Record OP Ed by ACS's Lewis Pitts)
"Wake's indefensible suspensions"
(03/19/10 News & Observer Op Ed by ACS's Jason Langberg & Cary
Brege)
"Wake County Schools rethink discipline policies"
(12/28/09 News and Observer article)
"Zero Tolerance for the School-To-Prison Pipeline in Wake County:
Magnitude of the Crisis" (ACS Issue Brief, December
2009)
"Better Discipline"
(11/09/09 News & Observer Op Ed by ACS's Jason Langberg & Cary
Brege)
Student's father credits LANC-ACS attorney for clearing his son's
name
("Student
cleared of wrongdoing in bomb threat," 11/05/09
Fayetteville Observer article)
"Board may be headed back to N.C. Supreme Court"
(Oct. 20, 2009 Washington
Daily News article)
[Click here see related
02/03/09 Beaufort Observer article
on
King v Beaufort County Board of
Education case.]
ACS's Cary Brege
to represent Fayetteville student at suspension hearing
("Student
denies Mac Williams bomb threat," 10/19/09 Fayetteville
Observer article)
ACS's Keith Howard cites achievement gaps between students in NC
("Convention
highlights achievement gaps," 10/09/09 Hickory Daily
Record article)
Forum focus: safe fair schools
(03/25/09 Fayetteville Observer article)
Beaufort County Schools back in court on February 11
(NC Court of Appeals,
King v. Beaufort County Board of Education)
(02/03/09 Beaufort Observer article)
Two
worlds in Guilford public education
(02/04/09 Carolina Peacemaker article by ACS's Lewis Pitts)
Equal
Justice Fellow to work with LANC's Advocates for Children
(UVA School of Law website article, February 1, 2008)
Court of Appeals rules in favor of foster child and against
DSS
(November 6, 2007 Media Release)
also see:
11/07/07
Charlotte Observer article.
11/07/07
News & Record article, Greensboro, NC
11/07/07
News & Observer article, Raleigh, NC
Legal Aid of North Carolina responds to Court’s decision to
continue routine shackling children in court
(03/06/07
LANC
Media Release; includes as an attachment)
Legal Aid requests Court cease routine
shackling of minor child
(02/05/07 LANC
Media Release; includes
Motion as an attachment)
also see:
02/05/07
Greensboro News & Record article.
02/06/07
Charlotte Observer article.
02/06/07
News & Observer article.
02/11/07
Greensboro News & Record editorial.
"UNC-G
Ethics class students help orphaned teen"
(Lewis Pitts quoted in
10/20/06
Greensboro News & Record
article)
"N.C. taking foster kids' Social
Security money"
(Lewis Pitts quoted about
John G. case in Greensboro in
June 16, 2006 article from
the
Charlotte Observer.)
NY Times article on foster child helped by
LANC's Advocates for
Children's Services
(February 17, 2006)
Lewis Pitts
receives 2005 W.W. Finlator Award
Presented by ACLU of Wake
County
"Fighting for Children's Rights:
Lessons from the Civil Rights Movement"
by Lewis Pitts
FROM: Univ. of
Florida Journal of Law & Public
Policy,
August 2005, Vol. 16, No. 2.
pdf document
Contact Information
Advocates for Children's Services
201 West Main Street, Suite 400 (27701)
MAP
PO Box 2101
Durham, NC 27702
919-226-0052 or 919-226-0053
FAX: 919-226-0566
E-mail:
ACSinfo@legalaidnc.org
PAI Coordinator: Angela Grant
("Private Attorney Involvement"/Pro Bono Contact)
919-226-0052 (Durham Office-ACS)
Staff
Lewis Pitts, Managing Attorney
K.
Cary Brege, Equal Justice Works Fellow/Attorney
Erwin Byrd, Staff Attorney
Keith Howard, Staff Attorney
Angela Grant, Paralegal/PAI Coordinator
Jason Langberg, Equal Justice Works Fellow/Attorney
Leading the charge in the fight for children’s rights is managing
attorney Lewis Pitts, who has more than 25 years experience as a public interest
lawyer. A dedicated and tireless civil rights advocate, he is recognized
nationally as an expert on children’s rights issues.
Attorney Cary Brege is
an
Equal Justice Works Fellow. She is a graduate of the University of Virginia School
of Law and also spent one year visiting at NC Central Law School.
Brege worked at the Legal Aid Justice Center in Charlottesville
before law school. She served as a legal assistant for the
North Carolina Guardian ad Litem Program and spent a summer
interning with ACS before joining us full-time.
Attorney Erwin Byrd is a staff attorney. Byrd is a graduate of the University of North
Carolina School of Law. Byrd has worked as a legal assistant with Schollander Law Offices, Winston-Salem, NC, and served as a summer intern with
Center for Death Penalty Litigation, Durham, NC and as a summer intern with the
Alaska Public Defender Agency, Anchorage, AK.
Attorney Keith Howard has performed voluntary work with Legal Aid Society of
Washington D.C. Howard is graduate of the UNC-Chapel Hill
School of Law, and is a member of the NC Bar Association and a member of the NC
Advocates for Justice.
Attorney Jason Langberg is an
Equal Justice Works Fellow. Langberg is a graduate of Boston College Law
School. During law school he interned at the Children's Law Center
of Massachusetts and the Public Defender Service for the
District of Columbia, and was a student
attorney in the Juvenile Rights Advocacy Project and the BC
Defenders Clinic. Prior to law school he worked with at-risk youth
in various capacities.
Angela Grant joined ACS as our paralegal in July 2007. She
received her undergraduate degree from Ohio University in 1998 and
her Certificate in Paralegal Studies from Duke University in 2004.
Grant worked as a litigation paralegal for three years before
joining the ACS team.
ADVOCATES for CHILDREN'S SERVICES
Fighting for the Rights of Children:
Health Care * Education * Safe & Permanent Families
Disclaimer
The materials contained on this website
are for information and educational purposes only and do not
constitute legal advice.
Also please note that Legal Aid of North Carolina does not
provide legal assistance by E-mail. Contact your Legal Aid of
North Carolina office or a private attorney if you need to speak
to an attorney regarding your particular situation.
See our
complete disclaimer.
Mission Statement
Legal Aid of North Carolina is a statewide, nonprofit law firm that
provides free legal services in civil matters to low-income people in
order to ensure equal access to justice and to remove legal barriers
to economic opportunity.