The Impact of Children’s Law Center’s Custody Advocacy Program (CAP)

Written By Lisa Fox

FY25 Snapshot: Protecting Children, Strengthening Families, Transforming Futures

Children’s Law Center provided legal advocacy in 97 high-conflict custody and domestic violence cases, directly serving 156 children. These aren’t just numbers, they represent children experiencing instability, fear, and trauma at a level that will shape their futures without intervention.

And that’s where CAP steps in.

Our staff and volunteer attorneys carried out 631 targeted advocacy actions this year to ensure children’s safety and well-being are front and center in court decisions.

The Children We Serve: High Risk, High Need, High Impact

Children referred to CAP experience trauma at rates far above national averages:

  • 85% live with domestic violence in the home

  • 45% are eligible for Medicaid, indicating deep financial hardship

  • 42% live in households impacted by substance abuse

  • 51% have at least one parent struggling with mental illness

  • 52% suffered emotional abuse

  • 52% suffered physical abuse

  • 12% suffered sexual abuse

  • 27% experienced neglect

Most striking of all: The average ACE score for children in CAP is 4.2.

A score this high is strongly associated with long-term risks including chronic disease, depression, substance abuse, and decreased life expectancy.

Without intervention, these children face a future shaped by trauma. With CAP, they have a path toward safety, stability, and healing.

Direct Advocacy Actions That Change Outcomes

178 Court Hearings

We made sure the voice of the child was heard and considered in every hearing. Judges cannot make informed decisions without accurate, unbiased insight into the child’s lived experience

178 Court Hearings

We made sure the voice of the child was heard and considered in every hearing. Judges cannot make informed decisions without accurate, unbiased insight into the child’s lived experience.

176 Home & School Visits

  • 104 home visits

  • 70 school visits

  • 2 additional community visits

These visits allow us to see the child’s world firsthand and are critical for assessing risk, ensuring stability, and understanding what the child actually needs to be safe.

277 Interviews

  • 38 child interviews

  • 136 parent interviews

  • 103 interviews with teachers, therapists, counselors, and other collateral contacts

These voices, layered together, create the most complete picture of a child’s safety and well-being that exists in the courtroom.

Why This Work Matters

Safety for 156 Children

CAP’s involvement often prevents further harm — physical, emotional, or otherwise — during a period of intense family conflict.

Stability That Supports Healing

Safe home environments. Consistent routines. Educational continuity. All of these are essential for children with high ACE scores to recover and thrive.

Strengthened Families and Reduced Community Harm

When CAP clarifies risks, recommends services, and redirects parental conflict, long-term outcomes improve not only for children, but for families and the broader community.

Breaking Generational Cycles

Given the high prevalence of trauma, abuse, mental illness, and substance use in CAP cases, our work is a critical intervention point that helps prevent the cycle from repeating in the next generation.

The CAP Difference

In FY25, CAP didn’t just respond to crisis. We reshaped futures.

  • 97 cases

  • 156 children protected

  • 631 advocacy actions

  • High trauma indicators

  • ACE scores averaging 4.2

Behind every statistic is a child who is safer today because Children’s Law Center was there.

Lisa Fox
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