8-Minute Remarks | National Association of Counsel for Children. See Kim’s Remarks on YouTube.
Hello and happy Pride!
Thank you to Elliott Hinkle and Unicorn Solutions for the opportunity to join this landmark zoomathon day.
My name is Kim Dvorchak, my pronouns are she/hers, and I am the CEO of the National Association of Counsel for Children, also known as NACC.
NACC advances children’s and parents’ rights by supporting a diverse, inclusive community of child welfare lawyers to provide zealous legal representation and by advocating for equitable, anti-racist solutions co-designed by people with lived experience.
NACC trains and certifies child welfare attorneys nationwide, promotes high-quality legal representation, and works to ensure that every child is seen, heard, and represented by counsel who centers their voice and protects their rights.
At NACC, we believe in simple truths:
Every child deserves to be safe. Every child deserves to be heard. And every child deserves to be celebrated and loved.
That includes children who are lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, Two-Spirit, or questioning—children who exist across the diverse and beautiful spectrum of identity.
Far too often, our systems fail them.
Nearly one-third of youth in foster care identify as LGBTQIA+.
Once removed, LGBTQ+ youth are far more likely to be moved from place to place, to live in institutional settings, and more likely to experience harassment and bullying in foster care.
Family and community rejection exacerbates mental health concerns.
The rate of suicide attempts is more than two and a half times higher than their LGBTQIA+ peers outside of foster care.
Black and Indigenous LGBTQIA+ youth are particularly at risk—experiencing the compounded impact of racism, queerphobia, and system involvement.
As attorneys, we must do more than avoid harm—we must actively empower and protect our clients.
Legal professionals are advocates with the power and position to make a difference— and when our client is an LGBTQ+ child, especially one in the child welfare system, we must be unwavering in our commitment to equity and dignity.
Here’s what that looks like in practice:
First: Create safety within the attorney-client relationship
Introduce yourself with your pronouns. Use the child’s chosen name and pronouns consistently—and insist others do too, if the client wants.
Avoid assumptions about who any young person. Use open-ended, affirming language, like:
- “What name would you like me to use when we talk privately?”
- “What name and pronouns would you like me to use in court?”
- “What makes you feel most like yourself?”
These small actions build trust.
And that trust is the foundation of effective representation.
Second: Know the Law & Best Practices
Under federal law, child welfare agencies are required to make reasonable efforts to support a child’s safety, well-being, and permanency.
Foster home and institutional care placements for LGBTQIA+ youth should be safe and affirming environments that support the young person’s identity formation and self-expression (ex. dress, hairstyle, names, pronouns, and decoration of personal space).
Care providers should also facilitate access to social supports like. affinity groups), events and culturally competent services aligned with the young person’s identity and needs. Celebrating Pride month should be open to all youth, including youth in foster care.
Practitioners should engage youth in their case planning and court hearings to ensure their voice is heard regarding their needs, services, and concerns.
Third: use your power to bring the law and best practices to life in and out of court
As lawyers, we must:
- Demand the state place young people in homes that are safe and affirming.
- Litigate denials of gender-affirming care or mental health services.
- Insist on inclusion of LGBTQ+-specific needs in service plans.
- File motions on behalf of youth when caregivers obstruct necessary care.
When a child is placed with someone who misgenders them or denies their identity, that is not neutrality—it is harm. And we have a duty to intervene.
Challenge harmful rhetoric, even in the courtroom.
Push back when professionals suggest LGBTQ+ identity is a phase, a problem, or a behavior to manage.
ALL CHILDREN AND YOUTH deserve caregivers who support them, systems that affirm them, and lawyers who defend their rights with skill and heart.
NACC co-designs policy and programs with lived experience experts, including Shear Avory, who wrote an article for our publication the Guardian – I wish My Lawyer Knew
“I think often about the six years I was in foster care, the familial instability and abuse I endured that led to me becoming a foster child at the age of ten, and the abundant growth I’ve made to become a persevering young adult today. I wish my lawyer knew what his lasting impact has been on my life. At such a fundamental and vulnerable time in my adolescence, no other prominent figure involved in my case off‑ered as much genuine support, honest guidance, and intentional care for my well-being than he did. He approached my case plan as a partnership — breaking with conventional practices of excluding foster youth from informing the decisions that directly impact their lives. In doing so, he empowered me to speak and be heard, evoking what would eventually evolve into a lifelong commitment to empower young people.”
At NACC, we are working to ensure that every attorney has the tools to meet this moment.
We publish best practice resources, provide expert training, and certify attorneys in child welfare law.
Including a new tipsheet on Advocating for Reasonable Efforts for LGBTQ+ Youth in Foster Care
But the true power lies with each of you—because culture changes when people speak up, take risks, and center the voices of youth who have too often been ignored.
So, if you’re a lawyer watching this: Be bolder in your advocacy
- Ask better questions.
- Litigate for real change.
- Hold the system accountable.
Because when we lead with our values, we don’t just represent our clients—we transform their experience in foster care, and their trust in justice itself.
Every young person deserves to know:
“My lawyer believed me. My lawyer saw me. My lawyer fought with me.”
Again, in the words of Shear Avory”
Moving forward in the hustle and bustle of your day-to-day workflow, take a moment to consider opportunities to invest in the leadership of young people and ask how you’re empowering foster youth to speak for themselves to determine their own futures.”
Thank you.