Dear NACC Community,
As we reach the end of 2025, I find myself reflecting on the journey we have shared over the last twelve months. It has been a year defined by both immense challenge and profound resilience.
We cannot sugarcoat the realities: Scarce resources became scarcer, budgets were cut, and services for families shrank. We witnessed continued attacks on race equity work and faced the headwinds of a legal system that often resists the very changes our clients need most. For many of us, the work felt heavier, and the pull of “business as usual” felt stronger than ever.
Yet, in the face of these hurdles, this community did not retreat. You leaned into the discomfort and chose to be Catalysts for Change.
When we gathered in Cleveland and online for our 48th National Child Welfare Law Conference, we committed to a bold charge: “Innovating Advocacy through Power Sharing and Transformational Leadership.” We acknowledged the need for a full paradigm shift, from a “lawyers know best” approach to one of active collaboration and co-leadership with our clients.
We also celebrated the service of Past President LaShanda Taylor Adams and welcomed our new Board President, Dawne Mitchell, whose lifelong fight for children’s rights and family integrity will help guide our next chapter.
Highlights of Our Collective Impact in 2025:
- Elevating Lived Expertise: We continued to center the voices of those with lived experience, recognizing that youth are experts in their own lives. We worked to dismantle the barriers to youth rights that leave 61% of youth unaware of their rights and, heartbreakingly, 34% feeling unworthy of them.
- Defending Dignity: We stood firm in our defense and celebration of LGBTQ+ youth, fighting against systems that fail to provide safe, affirming homes and challenging harmful rhetoric and decisions in the courtroom. We reaffirmed that every child deserves to be safe, heard, and celebrated.
- Advancing Race Equity: We pressed forward with our Race Equity Training Series, acknowledging that we must disrupt the status quo and dismantle the structures that perpetuate racial disproportionality.
- Protecting Due Process for All Children: When the administration cut legal representation for unaccompanied migrant children, NACC stood in solidarity with our partners, reaffirming our position that no child – regardless of their status – should ever face the court system without an attorney to protect their rights and safety.
Looking Ahead: 2026 and Beyond
As we look toward the new year, we are guided by our 2025–2030 Strategic Plan. Our roadmap is clear: we will continue to build a diverse, inclusive community of lawyers who provide zealous representation, and we will advance equitable, anti-racist solutions co-designed by people with lived experience.
The work ahead requires us to be bolder in our advocacy. It requires us to challenge old assumptions about who holds power and who gets heard. As Toni Morrison, whose words we honored in Cleveland, said: “If you have some power, then your job is to empower somebody else.”
I hope you take this season to unplug, connect with loved ones, and find joy. You are not alone in this journey; you are joined by thousands of committed advocates across the country.
Thank you for your courage, your brilliance, and your heart. Together, we are NACC. We are promoting excellence, building community, and advancing justice.
Warmly,
Kim Dvorchak
Chief Executive Officer
National Association of Counsel for Children