Form 990 for tax year 2022

Totals

Total revenue

$3,708,587

Total expenses

$2,089,520

Contributions and grants received

$3,154,811

Grants paid

$39,639

Program service revenue

$550,675

Investment income

$3,101

Other revenue

$0

Total assets, end of year

$3,267,719

Total liabilities, end of year

$0

Net assets or fund balances, end of year

$3,267,719

Program services expenses (Part IX)

$1,713,549

Management and general expenses

$227,778

Fundraising expenses

$148,193

Program service expenses (Part III)

$1,713,549

Program services were 82.0% of total expenses calculated — Part IX's program-services column over total expenses, both as filed.

Line items

Every line the filer filed in Parts VIII, IX and X, as filed and in filed order. Blank columns are left out, and the lines are not forced to add up to the totals above.

Mission and programs · 2022

• CHILD WELFARE:LCYC has represented almost 550 youth in child welfare cases in King County, ranging in age from 1 to 21 years; most youth served are 12 years and older. LCYC's low caseloads, and youth centered service model positively affects the lives of the children we serve. LCYC provides proactive advocacy around issues like placement, family visitation, permanency planning, education, medical and mental health services. LCYC provides proactive advocacy, engaging with children, caregivers, schools, family, services providers, and other community supports. We strive not only to meet the immediate basic needs and rights of the child, but we look towards the future. We follow the child's stated goals, build support around these goals, and help our youth clients to realize long-term stability, positive connections, and school success. In addition to low caseloads, LCYC's model is grounded in a strong community of practice. LCYC attorneys engage in monthly all-staff meetings, regular supervision and case management, and in-house trainings on legal issues and child development. We routinely come together to problem solve on individual matters and to identify systemic barriers and potential solutions. We also engage with the broader community on larger advocacy efforts and trainings focused on children's representation, preparing adolescents for independence, extended foster care, and youth homelessness. LCYC is raising awareness of children's legal rights and the role of counsel in protecting and advocating for young people. Our unique position in this positive movement forward is through the example we set in our advocacy, the trainings we help plan and provide for children's attorneys around the state, and the data we collect and share regarding legal services and results.

  Expenses $463,432 · Revenue $440,966

• YOUTH HOMELESSNESS PROGRAM:LCYC's Youth Homelessness Program (YHP) provides free legal services to youth who are at risk of or are currently experiencing homelessness, helping them to maintain and/or secure stable housing. This program serves people 12-24 years old and experiencing or at risk of homelessness in King County. This includes youth placed out of county, but with plans to exit into King County. Services provided may include legal advice, mediation or negotiation, and in-court advocacy. We are able to assist with a number of civil legal issues including, but not limited to: child protective services, emancipation, gender marker and name changes, identity theft, landlord/tenant issues, public benefits, consumer and medical debt, family law, warrants, immigration, and orders of protection. An independent evaluation conducted by MEMconsultants LLC found that "LCYC's legal advocacy had an immediate, positive impact on clients...65% clients reported safe and stable housing after working with an LCYC attorney, compared to 39% at intake. LCYC advocacy improved housing stability for 70% of minors served."

  Expenses $517,578 · Grants $35,678 · Revenue $577,773

• JUVENILE COURT. LCYC provides public defense services for youth who have been charged with a juvenile offense. LCYC advises and addresses the specific charges against the youth, while also offering advocacy around issues such as homelessness, special education, school discipline, access to benefits, and safety at home. In addition, LCYC is one of several legal service entities that provides on-call legal advice to youth who are placed under arrest, before they waive their right to silence. This service, Youth Access to Counsel, is offered through the Washington State Office of Public Defense.

  Expenses $109,843 · Revenue $133,681

• YOUTH AND FAMILY IMMIGRATION:In late 2016, LCYC developed a safety plan for parents who are at risk of being picked up or deported by Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE). The Safety Plan is a set of documents and steps for parents to complete, so that if they are picked up by ICE there is a plan in place for their child. The Safety Plan is intended to reduce the inevitable trauma of separation by providing children with as much stability as possible and avoiding unnecessary involvement in the child welfare system or prolonged separation from their parents. This plan is regularly updated. In addition to the Safety Plan, LCYC provides direct legal services to immigrant youth. The majority of immigrant youth receiving services from LCYC qualify for a unique form of immigration relief called, Special Immigrant Juvenile Status (SIJS). Youth up to 21 years may be eligible for SIJS if a state court determines that the youth was abused, neglected, or abandoned by their parent(s) and that it is unsafe for the youth to return to their country of origin. LCYC partners with Northwest Immigrant Rights Project (NWIRP) and Kids In Need of Defense (KIND) to support youth seeking SIJS. Youth seeking SIJS need help navigating two different legal systems. First, the youth needs an attorney to go to state court for an SIJS eligibility order. Second, the youth needs an attorney to help them apply to the federal government for SIJS. LCYC has expertise in state court to handle the first step. NWIRP and other legal aid providers have expertise in navigating the second step. LCYC and NWIRP also work closely through our homeless youth program, cross referring and jointly representing youth to ensure they are safely housed and their legal needs are met. LCYC is also able to provide direct legal representation to youth whose parents have been placed into custody by ICE.

  Expenses $90,496 · Grants $727 · Revenue $81,358

• SYSTEMIC ADVOCACY AND EXPANSION:LCYC provided legal services to 11 counties in Washington State in 2022. We provided in-person services in Benton, Franklin, King, and Walla Walla Counties. Our virtual law program, VLAW, was established in 2021 to reduce barriers to accessing youth civil legal aid and increase our geographic reach, and provided services to the other counties that we did not have a physical presence in. LCYC's direct services in communities across Washington state informs our systemic advocacy and allows us to identify gaps in policies, practices, and procedures at the statewide level. LCYC's systemic advocacy work includes, among other things: *Drafting or supporting amicus curiae ("friend of the court") briefs filed in appellate courts on issues that impact LCYC clients; * Drafting advocacy letters or letters of support on budget or policy issues that our community partners pursue and request support for at the City, County, or State level; * Providing technical expertise on policy initiatives, ordinances, and bills at the City, County, or State level; * Testifying in policy hearings at the City, County, or State level; and, * Engaging in coalition work to inform and influence budget and policy issues that impact young people that LCYC works with. While our Director of Policy & Systemic Advocacy leads and coordinates LCYC's systemic advocacy work, many staff members are involved in substantive and strategy discussions and may lead on an issue in which they have unique expertise and/or relevant lived experience. In addition to outside requests, LCYC's staff also identify systemic barriers within or across counties. The Director of Policy & Systemic Advocacy engages with the different program teams and staff on a regular basis to ensure our direct services and youth experiences are informing our broader systemic work.

  Expenses $532,200 · Grants $3,234 · Revenue $1,378,647

As filed on the 2022 return.

Listed in Part VII

Compensation is as filed in Part VII: reportable pay from this organization and from related organizations, other compensation, and hours per week. The total, marked calculated, is our sum of the three dollar columns, with a blank column counted as $0; the form itself has no total. On a Form 990-EZ the columns are Part IV's instead, and on a Form 990-PF Part VIII's — compensation, contributions to benefit plans, and expense account — and the total sums those.

Grants on this return

No itemized grants to organizations on this return.

Provenance

Return type

form_990

Tax year

2022

Filed

21 September 2023

IRS schema version

2022v5.0

Source object

202312649349301731

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