4freeCLE: free continuing legal education: June 23: Webcast - Working with Homeless Youth: Patching the Broken Safety Net – Legal Options, Advocacy Strategies, and Policy Solutions

Wednesday, June 8, 2016

June 23: Webcast - Working with Homeless Youth: Patching the Broken Safety Net – Legal Options, Advocacy Strategies, and Policy Solutions

Few groups of children are as maligned or as misunderstood as homeless youth. Alternatively characterized as runaways and victims, as incorrigible and misunderstood, homeless youth provoke strong, contradictory, and often inaccurate reactions. They also happen to be a group of children who are most often in need of a lawyer because of myriad civil legal needs arising from systems which are not responsive but which legally are required to respond.
Homeless children are particularly vulnerable and in need of care and services. They often have high rates of unmet mental health needs, have experienced high rates of abuse and neglect, and are disproportionately impacted by sexual exploitation and/or involvement in the criminal justice system.
Erin Palacios and Brian Blalock, who direct the homeless youth work at Bay Area Legal Aid, will discuss ways to help homeless youth through legal advocacy and possible policy strategies to attack systemic problems facing this vulnerable population. The discussion will include:
Discussing the demographics of homeless youth and mapping legal strategies to the greatest needs
Outlining a comprehensive civil legal services approach to homeless youth
Suggesting arguments and evidence that might be helpful in obtaining services through Medicaid/EPSDT, SSI, transitional housing programs, permanency options, and foster care
Discussing policy strategies, including ways to better leverage existing entitlement programs to remove barriers to services and promote stability for youth as they transition to adulthood
Don’t miss this important free briefing.