The seeds of the Center for the Rights of Abused Children were planted when a social worker told Darcy Olsen that city shelters were overflowing with newborns due to the opioid epidemic.

Darcy felt a calling. In just a few years, she took in 10 boys and girls … and witnessed firsthand the system’s repeated failures, including sibling separations, prolonged cycles of entry and re-entry, and premature deaths. 

She founded the Center, with a unique Children’s Law Clinic offering free legal help to children. Beyond direct support, it also influences state and federal policies to improve the lives of children in foster care. Thanks to the Center, new laws ensure thorough searches for relatives, more stable placements, better education, less aging out, and more essential legal protections, including the right to an attorney in important proceedings.

So far, the Center has given 650,000 children across America a better tomorrow, fulfilling its mission to mend the child protection system and bring a permanent end to innocent children enduring violence.​

Click here to learn more about The Center for the Rights of Abused Children: https://www.thecenterforchildren.org/

Original air date: August 8, 2024.