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Double Your Impact - Now Through May 31
Between now and May 31, The Leon Levine Foundation will match all new and increased contributions to Council for Children's Rights dollar for dollar up to $25,000. Your $1 contribution becomes $2, $10 becomes $20, $50 becomes $100, $500 becomes $1,000.
The more you give, the more children you help to overcome the obstacles that hold them back from  a childhood that leads to a brighter future. This is a great opportunity for you to stand up for children.
We are grateful for your support and the generous support of The Leon Levine Foundation.
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Client Profile: Abby's Story
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Teenagers Make Mistakes...
Abby* was 14 years old when she was arrested. She made a mistake. It wasn't her first and, as you know, it won't be her last. She's human. She's only a teenager.
With wealthy parents, a nice home and all the latest electronics, she had anything she wanted, except them. They were never around. When she needed them the most, they just weren't there. And when she got arrested, her parents kicked her out. They gave up on her. Abby was put into social services custody and appointed a Guardian ad Litem from Council for Children's Rights.
Abby wanted to stay with her family, so the Council worked with the courts and arranged for her to move out of state to be with her older sister. Unfortunately, it didn't work out. School wasn't going well. Neither was her new living situation
Read more here
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Council Releases
School Assignment Survey Summary
Council for Children's Rights released results from a survey on school assignment we distributed in February 2016. The 4-question survey, circulated throughout Mecklenburg County, asked participants if they would support redrawing school boundaries as part of new school assignment plan. The 2016 School Assignment Summary Report offers an overview of 953 responses out of 43 zip codes from folks with and without school-age children.
"As an agency advocating for the children in the community, it is important that we understand community will and where there are opportunities for and barriers to finding solutions that are good for children and their families," explains Emily Tamilin, Council's Director of Research and Public Policy. "We also know that part of our job is to help bring some of that community will to light and work with other entities to foster will that is good for children, which is why we provided all 953 responses to CMS and why we continue to collaborate with agencies around the community on using data and good information to identify solutions to big problems."
Thank you to all who participated and responded. One of our goals in collecting these responses was to inform and enrich our own advocacy in this area. "Understanding the value systems that people bring with them to solving community problems is critical in defining both the problem AND the solution," adds Emily. "The results were richer and more informative than we had anticipated." And that success is due to your help. The report summarizes key findings, includes quotes and data from the participants and suggestions for next steps. Read it
here
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New Advocates for Children
We had a full-house at our May 6th Custody Advocacy volunteer training workshop. Candice Knezevic, one of our new CAP volunteers, speaks for many when asked about why she's chosen to get involved. "I dedicated the first part of my career to international human rights because I have always had a passion for advocating for those without a voice. When I moved to Charlotte two years ago, top on my list was finding a way to pursue this passion in the local community. When I learned about the Custody Advocate Program through Council for Children's Rights, the light bulb went off. It is incredibly gratifying to know that I can, in some small way, help give a voice to children who wouldn't otherwise have one." Missed our workshop? Want to know more? Information and online training can be found here
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Charlotte Wine and Food Weekend
Our thanks to all who came out and helped to make Charlotte Wine and Food Weekend a great success.
We are so grateful to be a beneficiary of this outstanding event. Special thanks to all who volunteered with the Council on our shifts, bought tickets and auction items and helped do good while having a good time!
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Investigating the Racial Divide
ED Bob Simmons was interviewed by Derrick Russell of WBTV recently on the problems of implicit bias in school discipline. "When children are subjected to suspensions out of school it has an adverse effect with their education," Simmons said. "It makes it more likely they will have trouble. It results in more dropouts and that feeds into the juvenile justice system and the adult criminal system."
View the video
here.
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Make Charlotte Ring for
Children's Mental Health Awareness Day
Did you know 20% of children ages 13-19 have or will have a serious mental health illness? And nearly 50% of all lifetime cases of mental illness begin by age 14. We gathered at the Government Center on May 7 to "Make Charlotte Ring" in support of Children's Mental Health Awareness Week. In the 1800's the color green was used to brand people who were labeled "insane." Today green signifies hope, new growth and new beginnings and we wear it because Children's Mental Health Matters!
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Trinity Episcopal School Project
These 8th grade students at
Trinity Episcopal School
invited Council defense attorney Drew Kukorowski to speak to their class and assist them in their preparations for an upcoming class trip to Washington, D.C. Eager to share more about juvenile court and Raise the Age legislation, Drew offered an overview of key juvenile
justice issues, answered their questions and even shared his own story on why he chose to become a public defender for youth. The students chose juvenile justice as their project because "this is something that affects us now. This is about us."
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