Juvenile Law Center is a nationally recognized leader in advocating on behalf of young people. Over the course of nearly two decades, Juvenile Law Center’s Youth Advocacy Program has accumulated substantial expertise in policy advocacy, social work, and program management. The program has developed a sophisticated set of principles and activities that support and elevate the insights and leadership of young people with lived experience in the juvenile legal system or child welfare system.
As a Stoneleigh Foundation grantee, Juvenile Law Center is expanding its Youth Advocacy Program’s Fellowship to increase the overall number of fellows. The fellowship will now be called the Stoneleigh Youth Advocacy Fellowship. Juvenile Law Center will also deepen the integration of its fellows with lived experience and its Youth Advocacy Program participants in the organization’s legal project teams. Each Stoneleigh Youth Advocacy Fellow will be embedded in one of four Juvenile Law Center legal teams to ensure that youth voices, perspectives, and leadership are infused in the organization’s efforts to advance systems change. This expanded model will provide a standard for other organizations interested in fostering authentic youth partnership and leadership. In addition, Juvenile Law Center will provide consultation to the Stoneleigh Foundation, sharing its expertise and experience in promoting youth leadership with Stoneleigh’s staff, Fellows, and other grantees.
