June marked the end of the 2023 Fiscal Year for Children’s Law Center of Central North Carolina. As we look back and reflect on last year the first thing that comes to light is the tremendous growth that has happened. We expanded our services, team, and programming while refining our processes to maximize our potential, and, most importantly, serving more children who need us.

Look no further than the numbers. In the last 12 months, our Custody Advocacy Program has handled 117 cases, compared to 66 total cases the previous year. That equates to 51% growth. We served 171 children, compared to 100 the year before, and increased the number of children served by 71%.

March 2023 ushered in the expansion of our Child Advocacy Program’s services in Guilford County to include representing the best interests of children entangled in their parents’ high conflict custody cases. This was identified as an underserved need in the community that we were and are equipped to address. It was also a key to growing our footprint in the county and providing uniform services across our entire service area. A few months in, it is obvious that the need for these services is there, and we are able to help more children in Guilford County as a result of this expansion.

In January 2023, we relaunched our Volunteer Attorney Initiative. We have seen strong growth in the number of attorneys interested in advocating for children with CLC. As our services grow and we continue to serve more children, this program will be critical to our ability to take on cases. The added capacity that our volunteers and law firm partners create allows us to continue to take on every case in Forsyth and Guilford County that we are appointed to.

Due largely to expanding services in Guilford County and relaunching our Volunteer Attorney Initiative, along with the dedication and tenacity of our CAP staff, we were able to add 43 new cases and serve 55 new children in April, May and June.

As we refine our practices and develop processes, we continue to streamline our work and increase our capacity to help the vulnerable children of our community. Elevating children’s voices and rights leads to better outcomes and safer, brighter futures.

We are helping more kids every day and working to make sure that every child who needs us will have an advocate to ensure their voice is heard and their needs are addressed.