Youth & Community
The National Center for Youth Law believes in the incredible power, agency, and wisdom of youth and is dedicated to centering their voices and experiences in all our transformative work.
Our Youth- and Community-led Initiatives
The National Center for Youth Law works directly with young people, lived-experience experts and community members to amplify their voices and experiences to advance the solutions, policies, and practices they want and need in their communities.
Advancing Reproductive Health Equity
Our Reproductive Health Equity Project — also known as RHEP — convenes a Youth Advisory Board who lead strategies to normalize, support, and promote the bodily autonomy and healthy sexual development of youth in foster care. From webinars to podcasts to guides, our team works with young people to uplift youth voices and advocate for policy changes that support healthy sexual development.
Assembling Survivor Experts to End the Commercial Sexual Exploitation of Children
Our Center Youth philosophy led to the creation of a first-in-the-nation state Advisory Board in California. This landmark Advisory Board is led by survivors of commercial sexual exploitation who are dedicated to turning their knowledge into action to better meet the needs of youth and families impacted by commercial sexual exploitation.
Ending Court Fees and Fines for All Youth in the Juvenile Justice System
Our DebtFree Justice initiative partners with local communities and organizations, like in Kansas, to organize and support local campaigns to raise awareness of and help abolish the injustice of charging fees and fines to youth and families who come into contact with juvenile justice systems.