Children’s Civil Rights Lawyer
Children’s Civil Rights Lawyer: Fighting for Justice When Child Welfare Systems Fail
When children are harmed in foster care, residential facilities, or disability systems, they don’t just suffer physical or emotional damage – their basic civil rights may be violated, their rights to safety and treatment based upon professional judgment. At Justice for Kids®, a division of Kelley Kronenberg, our children’s civil rights lawyer team who are foster care abuse lawyers take a unique approach that goes beyond simple negligence claims. We may be able to pursue these cases as federal civil rights violations, securing much larger damage awards and creating lasting change to protect vulnerable Children’s across the country.
Children’s Civil Rights Violations: A Crisis in Child Welfare Systems
Children’s in state care and disability services face civil rights violations at alarming rates. These aren’t just cases of poor care – they represent systematic violations of constitutional rights that demand federal intervention and substantial compensation.
The numbers are staggering. According to national data, over 670,000 Children’s spent time in U.S. foster care in 2019, with nearly 50,000 substantiated cases of abuse in care. However, surveys of former foster Children’s show that 25% to 40% report being abused or neglected while in care, suggesting massive underreporting. Even though the U.S. foster care population has shrunk to just under 400,000 Children’s , physical and sexual abuse in foster care is systemic.
There are 29 states with child welfare systems with pending class actions or consent decrees because of systemic deprivations of Children’s ’s most basic rights –the right to be safe from harm in these child protection systems. (Casey Family Programs, Class Action Summaries (2025 Update), https://www.casey.org/class-action-summaries-2025update/ (last visited July 14, 2025). New York, California, Illinois, and Florida –to name just a few states all face these class actions and systemic failures. Most of these cases raise claims for injunctive relief pursuant to 42 USC § 1983.
Foster Children’s were 7-8 times and Children’s in residential care 6 times more likely to be assessed by a pediatrician for abuse than a child in the general population. These statistics represent not just personal injury cases but may reflect systemic violations of Children’s ‘s constitutional rights to safety and protection.
The Federal Civil Rights Approach: Why It Matters
Traditional personal injury lawsuits are limited by state damage caps and sovereign immunity protections. But when our team of foster care abuse lawyers pursue these cases as Children’s civil rights violations under federal law, particularly 42 USC § 1983, we can recover much larger, uncapped damage awards and create systemic change.
42 USC § 1983: The Foundation of Children’s Civil Rights Cases
Section 1983 allows lawsuits against government officials and agencies who violate constitutional rights while acting under color of state law. For Children’s in state care or receiving government-funded services, this creates powerful legal remedies when their rights are violated.
Key advantages of federal civil rights claims include:
Constitutional Rights That Protect Children’s
Our Children’s civil rights lawyers pursues violations of fundamental constitutional rights:
Fourteenth Amendment – Due Process: Children have substantive due process rights to be free from arbitrary government action that “shocks the conscience.” This includes the right to basic safety and protection while in state care. Further, Children in custody of a state or local foster care system have the right to be treated based upon professional judgment.
Eighth Amendment – Protection from Cruel and Unusual Punishment: Children in state custody have the right to be free from punishment that violates contemporary standards of decency.
Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA): Children with disabilities have the right to equal access to government services and reasonable accommodations.
Justice for Kids® Limits Their Practice Foster Care and
Our Children’s civil rights lawyer team at Justice for Kids® has extensive experience identifying and proving civil rights violations in various child welfare settings. They are one of the few personal injury law firms that focus exclusively on representing Children in foster care and disability systems.