Child Advocates

The Child mental health wraparound program (cmhw) serves as the statewide access site for families whose children face serious mental health or behavioral challenges. We help families apply for wraparound services, known as cmhw, through the Indiana division of mental health & addiction (dmha). Our family liaisons will assist youth & families with the application process which includes an initial assessment process to collaborate with families in identifying any ongoing need for supports.for all children & families who may not qualify for the wraparound services through dmha, Child Advocates will assist in making referrals for these individuals within their community in an effort to support their social, emotional, and behavioral well-being.

The legal department at Child Advocates is comprised of ten attorneys with many years of experience in Child welfare. Our attorneys are committed to providing legal assistance to gal (guardian ad litem) and casa (court appointed special advocate) agencies with the goal of achieving permanency for children in the Child welfare system.our attorneys at Child Advocates provide a wide variety of legal services to best accommodate the specific needs of our community's most vulnerable children. These services include but are not limited to; appellate work, motion practice, legal consultation, petitions, testimony and trial assistance, training, immigration, capta, etc.the courts strive to protect abused and neglected children using an adversarial approach to problem solving. Many families benefit from a different approach. For over twenty years, the mediation and facilitation program has been creating opportunities for parents, case managers, guardians ad litem, social workers, service providers, foster parents, and lawyers to bring their knowledge and unique skills together in a confidential process to craft individualized solutions to the problems that these children and families face.

Interrupting racism for children - in marion county, black children represent 11% of the Child population; however, they represent 40.9% of children in the Child welfare system. Racial disparities in Child welfare, income, education and health continue to exist and serve as a barrier to just and sustainable communities. Interrupting racism for children educates and moves individuals to take action to stop racism in its tracks, creating a future where children thrive and race does not predict their life outcomes.

The direct representation program provides attorneys to represent children in chins (Child in need of services) and tpr (termination of parental rights) cases. Children have many rights, such as the right to be present and participate in hearings, the right to be part of their dcs case plan, and the right to information regarding their case. Sometimes, children need attorneys to advocate for what they want. The goal of the direct representation program is to empower children with information so they can make the best decisions about their case, and to ensure the Child's procedural justice, or fairness, in the court process.

The mediation and facilitation program assists parties in finding amicable resolutions to challenging problems. Our experienced team provides mediations for Child in need of services (chins) cases, actions to terminate the parent-child relationship (tpcr), and contested adoptions. Additionally, we offer permanency facilitations to address barriers that can keep children in care indefinitely.mediations and facilitations invite open conversation and creative exploration of possible solutions to real problems facing children and families. Resolutions reached through collaboration are individually tailored to meet the specific needs of individual families and children, have higher rates of compliance, and help avoid delays inherent in protracted litigation. Mediations and facilitations have resulted in timely reunification, informal adjustments, chins adjudications, changes of custody, guardianships, third party custody arrangements, and adoptions often with post adoption contact agreements.

The educational liaisons serve at risk children and/or children and youth who are in the Child welfare system by gathering family, teachers and other school resources to create a plan to improve a Child's educational progress, despite their challenges with school, behavior, and/or mental health.