download PDF - Robert Sterling Clark Foundation

10
Children's Rights, Inc. $80,000
New York, New York
Marcia Robinson Lowry, Director
Children's Rights, Inc. (CRI) is a newly formed organization created by the staff of the ACLU Children's
Rights Project to expand upon the Project's child welfare reform efforts and address the needs of
children in the care of state mental health and juvenile justice agencies as well. In New York State, CRI's
work focuses on three major pieces of litigation. The first, Wilder v. Bernstein, is a 22-year-old lawsuit
alleging that the City of New York's use of foster care agencies affiliated with religious institutions
violates the constitutional separation of church and state, and results in unequal treatment of children in
foster care. The second case, Martin A. v. Gross, alleges that the City's preventive and protective service
systems do not meet the requirements of state law and do not adequately protect abused and neglected
children. In December 1995, CRI filed Marisol v. Giuliani in federal court, asking the court to appoint
a receiver to administer New York City's child welfare agency. With our support, CRI will continue its
efforts to obtain damage awards for the individual Martin A. plaintiffs, facilitate the implementation of
the court-approved Wilder settlement, and conduct the research and analysis of the City's child welfare
system necessary to bring Marisol to trial. The successful resolution of these cases is expected to
improve the services provided to children in New York's child welfare system.
Citizens Committee fot Children $30,000
New York, New York
Gail Nayowith, Executive Director
Citizens Committee for Children was founded in 1945 to defend the rights and welfare of New York
City's children. Through a variety of public education, monitoring, and advocacy activities, CCC
seeks to ensure that public expenditures of public dollars for child and family services are informed
by current knowledge about effective practice and the needs of the City's children. Last year, staff
helped organize a Kids First Budget Advocacy Roundtable bringing together representatives of over
forty organizations to help mobilize public support for effective children's programs. This year, with
our help, Citizen Committee and the Roundtable will focus their data analysis, advocacy, and public
education efforts on securing adequate funding for school capital construction and educational materials,
child care, and after-school programs. They will also press for the establishment of data
collection and monitoring systems to ensure that policymakers are held accountable for the quality of
children's services.