What We Do

Justice requires work. At Human Rights for Kids, we’re on the ground doing whatever it takes to ensure that every child has the ability to reach their full potential. From policy advocacy to research to grassroots organizing, our expert team takes a holistic approach that makes a real impact. Learn more about what we do.

Document & Report

We investigate, document and report human rights abuses committed against children. Our reporting focuses on our five key issue areas:

1

Harm committed against children, including abuse, neglect, and exploitation

2

Abuses committed against children who come into conflict with the law, including those in the child welfare, juvenile justice, and criminal justice systems

3

Harm and discrimination committed against immigrant, non-native children

4

Failures in our educational system, including any harm or abuse that children may experience

5

Failures to provide children access to adequate nutrition, housing, and healthcare

As part of our broader efforts to prevent children from experiencing harm, we have specific reporting on gender, ethnic, or racially motivated harm, such as female genital mutilation, racial and ethnic violence, or discriminatory treatment of children.

Human Rights for Kids Hand holding pen over official documents
Policy Research
Public Education
Grassroots Organizing
Advocacy
Strategic Litigation

Policy Research

As the premier human rights organization advocating on behalf of children, we identify and research areas of the law for improvement to better protect children’s rights. We also develop specific policy recommendations for localities, states and the federal government in each of our five issue areas in order to improve children’s lives.

Public Education

After documenting and reporting human rights abuses against children, as well as our development of policy proposals, we engage in public education to raise the profile of issues affecting children. We do this by talking with community members, stakeholders, members of the media, and policymakers.

Grassroots Organizing

Part of our public education effort includes coalition building and grassroots mobilization. By engaging members of each individual community, state, or country we are able to amplify our message to bring attention to human rights abuses committed against children and push for reforms that will lead to long-term systemic change.

Advocacy

We advocate for policy changes that ensure each state and every country provides protection and a base level of care for children to keep them safe from harm and give them the best opportunity to become thoughtful, caring, and contributing members of their society. Legislative reforms we advocate for range in scope from criminal statutes targeting child predators to juvenile justice reform measures to focus states on rehabilitating and reintegrating children who come into conflict with the law. We also advocate on behalf of children before international bodies, including the United Nations Human Rights Committee and Committee on the Rights of the Child.

Strategic Litigation

We engage in and support strategic litigation to bring about lasting legal reforms on behalf of children through the court systems. Our work focuses on appellate litigation and submitting Amicus Briefs to advance legal protections for children who have suffered human rights abuses. Our litigation work is done in concert with our legislative advocacy and public education efforts to maximize the impact of our work.

Human Rights for Kids Jury box seats

Ratification of the Convention on the Rights of the Child in the United States

The United States is the only country in the world that has yet to ratify the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child (CRC). Several of the provisions of the CRC came at the recommendation of President Reagan’s Administration and President Bill Clinton signed the CRC in 1995. However, the Convention has not been ratified by the U.S. Senate. The failure to ratify this treaty has left U.S. children vulnerable to human rights abuses at the state and federal level. It is critical that every nation, including the U.S., sign and ratify the CRC to protect the human rights of children.

A special project of Human Rights for Kids
is the ratification of the CRC by the United States Government.

Take Action

We can’t do this alone. Want to join our mission to help end children’s rights abuses? There are a number of simple actions you can take today to make a tangible difference. Find out how you can get involved.