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Legal Services for Children: 50 Years of Youth Advocacy

Cy Pres Awards

Why designate a cy pres award to Legal Services for Children?

Legal Services for Children (LSC) encourages attorneys to nominate LSC as a recipient of cy pres awards to support our work with children and youth in crisis. LSC provides free legal and social services to children in the San Francisco Bay Area who are:

  • in foster care,
  • undocumented immigrants, most of whom have been separated from their parents,
  • seeking a guardianship because they cannot live at home, and
  • who have been denied meaningful access to education.

Since 1975, LSC has provided legal and clinical social services to children and youth to stabilize their lives and prepare for adulthood. Cy pres awards increase LSC’s ability to offer these intensive services to children and youth who need legal representation.

What kinds of cy pres awards are appropriate for Legal Services for Children?

Legal Services for Children can receive a cy pres award of residual or unclaimed funds in any type of class action litigation in California state court under Code of Civil Procedure § 384 because we are a child advocacy organization and we provide free civil legal services to indigent children and youth. This includes cases involving wage & hour claims, harassment and discrimination, retaliation, wrongful discharge, product liability, contract disputes, and any other type of class action in California state court.

In federal actions in the Northern District of California, cy pres awardees must have a nexus to the subject matter of the action and the class members. For cases in the Northern District of California, Legal Services for Children would be an appropriate awardee for cases involving the rights and safety of children, including, for example, product liability where harm to children is alleged, as well as any cases related to our practice areas of education, immigration, foster care, or guardianship of children. Other federal district courts may not require a nexus between the awardee and the action and class members.

To direct an award to Legal Services for Children, or if you have a question, please contact Development Director Joyce Lupack.