Like far too many youth aging out of foster care, Ryan was homeless.

He was working hard to find a job when he learned he had a bench warrant for a retail theft citation issued to him when he was just 12 years old. He never received the notice for court because his family was homeless at the time. This bench warrant was standing in the way of Ryan getting a job and an education.

Community Legal Services (CLS) attorneys met Ryan at a legal clinic at Covenant House. We quickly worked with Ryan to show the District Attorney's Office the strides he had made in his life. The DA's office agreed to withdraw the bench warrant and the case has now been expunged from Ryan's record. Ryan has since been able to secure employment, start college and find stable housing.

Young people like Ryan are why CLS created its Youth Justice Project (YJP).

YJP seeks to transform the way we provide legal services to vulnerable youth ages 16-24 who face significant challenges, including high rates of unemployment and deep poverty, homelessness, and involvement in the child welfare and juvenile/criminal justice systems. Through significant outreach and legal clinics in communities around Philadelphia, YJP aims to increase access to justice for vulnerable young people who may otherwise be completely disconnected from support, services and legal assistance.

Our program serves an important purpose. Youth unemployment rates are up to four times the rates for adults, and youth in Philadelphia experience the highest levels of poverty of any age group. This has also led to a rise in youth homelessness. In the last year, of CLS's young clients seeking assistance with benefits or employment-related issues, 40 percent had no income at all. Compounding these challenges, low-income youth are less likely to interact with supportive structures and services.

They are also less likely to reach CLS through the traditional legal services model, where a client identifies as having a particular legal problem and comes through intake. Youth face additional barriers, such as school, work, and family obligations, which make it difficult to travel to our offices during intake hours.

In response to these barriers, YJP uses a holistic, community-based model of representation. Our holistic model of representation identifies the multiple legal problems young people may face, giving youth a true opportunity to stabilize their lives and move past the legal obstacles that keep them in poverty. YJP opens the doors to success by providing expungements that lead to employment and education opportunities; connecting youth with public benefits that keep them safe and healthy; and helping young parents provide the best care for their families.

CLS holds rotating legal clinics where our clients live, work, and go to school. Embedding our services into the places that youth already frequent allows us to build trust and make our services as accessible as possible. By having a presence in youth spaces, YJP reaches even those who do not realize they qualify for legal assistance.

Using a holistic model, advocates provide efficient and high quality legal representation to young clients. YJP uses the screening tool we developed for transition-age youth to flag common legal issues in a variety of substantive areas. During the initial meeting at the outreach site, within a matter of minutes, the advocate is able to screen a young person, identify areas for assistance, and even begin representation on the spot. More than half of the young people interviewed using the holistic screening tool over the past year were facing more than one legal issue, and thus have a great need for accessible legal services.

YJP bridges the gap between vulnerable youth and the systems that are meant to serve them, including court systems. Youth may not even realize that legal intervention can resolve the major barriers in their lives—for example, appealing an SSI rejection at the age-18 review, or clearing a juvenile/criminal record in order to find work. Through community-based outreach, YJP connects with youth who are often unaware of their rights and do not understand their legal options. This connection alone improves the administration of justice at the most basic level by alerting young adults to a path they might not have seen before, giving youth a chance to assert their rights.

YJP further improves the administration of justice by providing zealous representation to youth in their legal matters, helping young people navigate what can be a challenging and even traumatic experience accessing the court system. YJP recognizes that youth, particularly youth who have experienced deep poverty and unimaginable hardship, need a tailored approach from start to finish. YJP focuses on building relationships with clients in order to earn trust, a process that is especially important for young people who have experienced trauma. Every aspect of the project takes into account the specific needs of youth who are still transitioning into adulthood. Our approach ultimately leads to better outcomes because we work together with our young clients to understand their unique needs and goals.

Advocates also provide high-quality community education materials and presentations. YJP has developed youth-friendly factsheets, resource guides, and videos. We continue to distribute, update, and develop new materials as needed so that this information is widely available. We have also developed a training program at community sites for students, parents, staff, and community members about issues that uniquely or disproportionately affect youth. Training topics include: the impact of criminal and juvenile records on education and employment; public benefits for transition-age youth; and navigating the child welfare system.

YJP simultaneously advocates for systemic changes that open the doors to opportunity, stability, and success for youth who would otherwise fall through the cracks. From making policy recommendations to working directly with our local and national leaders, YJP looks at the bigger picture in order to increase employment opportunities for youth, promote their health and well-being, and ensure family safety and stability. For example, YJP and our partners advocated for a new national policy at the Social Security Administration which allows youth who are leaving foster care to apply for SSI benefits up to six months before they leave. The previous time frame was three months, which left many youth without benefits in place at the time they left foster care. This new policy will make it much more likely that youth can get these benefits in place and avoid homelessness during this critical transition. YJP also released a new report on increasing access to college for youth who have juvenile and criminal records. The report calls for local schools to stop asking about records on college applications, particularly because of the disproportionate impact juvenile and criminal records screening has on youth of color. The report was featured prominently in the media, and YJP plans to spark conversations with college administrators about reforming their policies.

Now that the project has been in operation for almost two years, we have a vision for expanding the work of YJP and refining our model so that it can be replicated across other programs around the country. With thoughtful, comprehensive, accessible legal advocacy through YJP, it is possible to help youth successfully navigate the challenges they face and gain access to justice.

Jamie Gullen is an attorney in the employment unit at Community Legal Services in Philadelphia.