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Bringing the mountain to the person: legal clinic operates in high needs high school
Randi Weiner
August 4, 2014
Staying in school is hard enough for some kids, but legal issues -- from immigration threats to abuse -- can make it impossible.
A non-profit organization in Connecticut that provides free legal representation to kids assigns a lawyer to Bridgeport’s William Harding High School during the school year to help teens at risk.
“Ultimately, my role is to help them overcome their legal barriers to help them complete high school,” said Edwin D. Colon, a staff attorney with the Center for Children’s Advocacy who has been assigned to Harding for four years. “It’s an added service, sort of akin to school-based health clinics.”
School-based legal clinics are not a new idea although there are few of them in the country. The New York Bar Association could not pinpoint any in this state, although free legal aid for children is available through other venues. There is a similar program in Chicago, Colon said, adding “I’m the only one in (Connecticut) that works in a school-based legal clinic.”
The first school-based legal clinics were created in the 1970’s, he said, but they remain few and far between.
Last year, Colon saw about 50 students in his school office with another 87 students a year served in other venues. He also provided this data:
“Close to 95 percent of the clients we serve remain in school (have not dropped out) at the time we end our involvement or reach our goal for representation,” he wrote. “Also, a large percentage of youth served were able to increase their access to adequate educational or related services, and a substantial number of youth served experienced a reduction in a non-school issue (substandard housing, no guardian, etc.) that was negatively impacting their attendance and school achievement.”
Stacy Violante Cote with Children’s Advocacy said that her organization created the program in Hartford in 2001, when it was one of six in the country. Bridgeport’s on-site legal clinic opened in 2008. It is funded by grants, the Connecticut Bar Foundation and private donors, and provides the service free to both the school and the student.
At least in Connecticut, youth can be represented by counsel without parental consent; everything said to the school attorney is covered under attorney/client privilege, Colon said. If a child is abused and wants to get their guardianship changed from a parent, if a child has been abandoned, if a child immigrant has come to this country on their own or if a parent refuses to release financial data to a student so they can apply for college loans -- Colon is there with information and help.
He’s also advises teens about their responsibilities for a pregnancy, including paternity issues and child support. He’s handled special education issues, foster care requests and what a child can expect when their family is being vetted by Child Protective Services.
“Bridgeport has a high number of students in need,” said Michael Mulford, assistant superintendent for student support services for Bridgeport schools. “We like to provide our assistance to advocates for children and families and (they) asked us for a space in our building. It’s worked out well. They’ve been invaluable, particularly with special education issues. If nothing else, it helps us do our job in providing the best services for kids.”
Colon said providing legal services in school is another way of being accessible.
“The idea is that if we provide legal services in the community where kids are more likely to come into contact with them, they’re more likely to graduate and be successful,” he said. “These are serious issues they’re dealing with. Harding is a very high-level need school. We’ve really become part of the school community and ... work in cooperation with the staff. Obviously, we can’t take every case that comes through the door, but we really are reaching out to the most vulnerable kids.”