25 E Street NW
Washington, D.C. 20001
Phone: 800-233-1200
Email: cdfinfo@childrensdefense.org
In 1968 Marian Wright Edelman, a lawyer and a veteran of the civil rights movement, and some of her allies, recognized the need for a voice for children, especially those from poor and minority families in Washington, D.C. Many of the founders of the Children's Defense Fund had been involved in the Washington Research Project, which had further substantiated the need for this kind of representation for children's interests.
Although Edelman founded the CDF as a litigating group, its goals are no longer carried out mainly in the judiciary. Instead, the fund conducts research and public education, engages in legislative and administrative advocacy, and provides technical assistance to state and local child advocates. When litigation is necessary, or a case arises on the national scene that will affect the rights of children, however, the CDF generally has a presence.
To improve that overall status of children, particularly minorities and the poor, the fund employs a staff of 60 and has 5 staff attorneys whose salaries range from $30,000 to $45,000. These staff members work in one or more of its five program areas: child health, child welfare, education, child care and family support services, and mental health. Its emphasis is on institutional rather than individual abuses in terms of impact and cost effectiveness.
CDF lawyers bring cases in all court levels, but prefer the federal forum. Cases come to their attention from legal services attorneys and other child and family advocates and are selected on the basis of their potential benefit on large numbers of children and the possible national impact of the particular judicial determination. Among its major cases is Mattie T. v. Halliday (1979). In February 1979 a district court approved a comprehensive consent decree enforcing federal educational rights of all Mississippi children who had been classified as handicapped. Prior to the order, handicapped children either were excluded from school entirely or inadequately served in segregated special programs. In addition, many children were misclassified. Thus, this first comprehensive order under the Education for All Handicapped Children Act was groundbreaking. Another important CDF case is Gary W. v. State of Louisiana (1987), which challenged the inappropriate placement by Louisiana of nearly 700 children, many of whom were handicapped, in 43 private Texas institutions. The district court ruled that every child placed in a Texas facility had the right to care and education suited to his needs and personal characteristics in the least restrictive environment. Furthermore, the court ordered that the children be sent back to Louisiana for independent testing.
The CDF also occasionally participates as amicus curiae, generally in concert with other groups. In Goss v. Lopez (1974), for example, it filed with the American Friends Service Committee, using CDF data to show how rampant student suspensions were and their impact on students. In another vein, in Rose v. Rose (1987), it signed on to an amicus brief jointly submitted by 28 organizations concerned with child support enforcement including the Women's Legal Defense Fund, Equal Rights Advocates, Child Support Action Network, and Parents for Child Support Enforcement, successfully urging the court to affirm decisions of the Tennessee courts that had held that court-ordered child support awards could be taken from veteran's benefits awarded by the Veterans' Administration. The CDF and other amici believed it was necessary to alert the court to the dimensions of the national child support problem and its adverse consequences on women and children.
FURTHER INFORMATION:
Komhauser, A. (1987). "Survey: Pay Still Lags in Public Interest Law" Legal Times, p. 1, November 3.
