EdLaw Project Launches Statewide Mentorship Program
New grant-funded initiative will help shut down the school-to-prison pipeline
The EdLaw Project, an initiative between the Youth Advocacy Foundation and the Committee for Public Counsel Services, is pleased to announce the launch of the Special Education Advocacy Mentorship (SEAM) program, a statewide initiative designed to disrupt the school-to-prison pipeline in Massachusetts by ensuring our state’s most vulnerable children receive a quality education through zealous legal advocacy. CPCS was awarded a three-year grant in 2022 from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) to launch and manage the SEAM.
Currently, a small team of EdLaw Project attorneys are charged with supporting the 1,000-person statewide juvenile bar, including training and advising attorneys on how to prevent school exclusions, securing needed special education services for their child/adolescent clients, and ensuring school stability for homeless kids and children in foster care. The SEAM program will help the Youth Advocacy Foundation (YAF) deepen and sustain the reach of its mission so that all 20,000-25,000 children in the Massachusetts child welfare and juvenile justice systems have access to effective education advocacy.
“This is a game-changer for our ability to deliver education advocacy expertise and support, and we are incredibly grateful to the foundations and OJJDP for partnering with us to understand our mission and how to best ensure its success,” said Marlies Spanjaard, EdLaw’s Director of Education Advocacy and President & CEO of the YAF Board of Directors. “The SEAM program will create a small army of education experts located across the state, practicing in the courtrooms where the juvenile bar is representing clients. These mentors will have access to the EdLaw attorneys who are organized regionally to provide advice and expertise across the entire state.”
In the first phase of the launch of SEAM, EdLaw has selected an experienced panel of 27 special education advocacy mentors from 11 Counties and 17 juvenile courthouses across the state. These mentors will be responsible for educating and supporting local delinquency and child welfare attorneys to include education advocacy in conjunction with their court representation. The launch of this program follows perfectly on the heels of the strategic planning grant provided by the Cabot Family Charitable Trust in the first half of 2019 and a generous grant from the Chirag Foundation in early 2020 that allowed us to develop the program parameters, materials, and structure.
The SEAM panel will be overseen by SEAM & Pro Bono Panel Director, Michele Scavongelli, an attorney for the past 10 years with the EdLaw Project. If you are interested in being connected to a mentor or serving as a mentor, please contact Michele at mscavongelli@publiccounsel.net. Please note, the EdLaw helpline is also available for questions and consultation at 617 910 5829 and edlawproject@publiccounsel.net.
About EdLaw
The EdLaw Project is an initiative between the Youth Advocacy Foundation and the Committee for Public Counsel Services Children & Family and Youth Advocacy Divisions of the Committee for Public Counsel Services focused on combating the school-to-prison pipeline for indigent, court-involved youth through trainings for juvenile justice and child welfare attorneys; technical assistance for youth, parents, community organizations; and direct education advocacy.
About YAF
The Youth Advocacy Foundation was established in 2001 with the mission of protecting and advancing the legal and human rights of children to promote their healthy development through active partnerships with local communities. The Foundation vigorously defends the rights and promotes the well-being of court-involved children and helps them grow into healthy and productive members of our society by ensuring that every child has access to zealous legal representation, essential and vibrant community-based services, and a quality education.
