ADVOCOURT For Kids

Serving the Family Courts for children from families with low income is the primary mission of AdvoCourt for Kids. As the amicus attorney or guardian ad litem, it is our obligation to ensure that all evidence discovered about the children is introduced in court, for the purpose of protecting the best interests of children. Our paramount goal is to protect the legal rights of disenfranchised children who would not otherwise be afforded the protections granted by our judicial system.

Imagine being six years old, locked in a bedroom or outside in a small patio, with the responsibility of caring for your three-year-old brother and infant sister. Your dress is two sizes too small and you have on no underwear. Your parents, both drug addicts, are asleep in another bedroom, all day every day. At night, they have multiple sex partners and a prostitution business in the home, to earn funds for the drug habits. The parents and their children are hungry and filthy; all have lice in their hair. Eventually, a relative petitions the family court for custody of the children. Other relatives join the lawsuit. Who is competent to accept the responsibility of caring for these children?

Suppose the parents are both in jail. No one has brought the children to authorities, but an older brother petitions the court for custody of his eleven- and twelve-year-old brothers; he has been sexually abusing them. After investigating, the amicus attorney discovers what the older brother was doing. The children did not know that what their brother was doing was a crime. In most cases, the family courts should appoint an amicus attorney or guardian ad litem to investigate the circumstances of the children. Too often, the children are living in circumstances of unconscionable neglect, sexual abuse or physical abuse. Insuring that the courts hear all evidence regarding the children is our job. Despite the frequent, horrific circumstances in which some of the children are found, we are confident that, with the help of volunteers from the Houston community, these children will experience vast improvements in their lives. We need help from many members of the community in order to provide the volunteer advocates needed daily in the family courts.


	OUR MISSION: Serving the Family Courts for children from families with low income is the primary mission of AdvoCourt for Kids. As the amicus attorney or guardian ad litem, it is our obligation to ensure that all evidence discovered about the children is introduced in court, for the purpose of protecting the best interests of children. Our paramount goal is to protect the legal rights of disenfranchised children who would not otherwise be afforded the protections granted by our judicial system. MAKE A DIFFERENCE IN A CHILD'S LIFE... Imagine being six years old, locked in a bedroom or outside in a small patio, with the responsibility of caring for your three-year-old brother and infant sister. Your dress is two sizes too small and you have on no underwear. Your parents, both drug addicts, are asleep in another bedroom, all day every day. At night, they have multiple sex partners and a prostitution business in the home, to earn funds for the drug habits. The parents and their children are hungry and filthy; all have lice in their hair. Eventually, a relative petitions the family court for custody of the children. Other relatives join the lawsuit. Who is competent to accept the responsibility of caring for these children? Suppose the parents are both in jail. No one has brought the children to authorities, but an older brother petitions the court for custody of his eleven- and twelve-year-old brothers; he has been sexually abusing them. After investigating, the amicus attorney discovers what the older brother was doing. The children did not know that what their brother was doing was a crime. In most cases, the family courts should appoint an amicus attorney or guardian ad litem to investigate the circumstances of the children. Too often, the children are living in circumstances of unconscionable neglect, sexual abuse or physical abuse. Insuring that the courts hear all evidence regarding the children is our job. Despite the frequent, horrific circumstances in which some of the children are found, we are confident that, with the help of volunteers from the Houston community, these children will experience vast improvements in their lives. We need help from many members of the community in order to provide the volunteer advocates needed daily in the family courts.