The Family and Youth Advocacy Center (FYAC) assists parents and families who are at risk of child abuse and/or neglect.

The Family and Youth Advocacy Center (FYAC) assists parents and families who are at risk of child abuse and/or neglect.

At-risk families in central Ohio can now get the legal help they need. Attorneys and other staff members from the Family and Youth Law Center at Capital University Law School (FYLaw) started providing legal representation and resources to eligible families on June 1.

The Family and Youth Advocacy Center (FYAC), part of FYLaw, assists parents and families who are at risk of child abuse and/or neglect. Through its Legal Services for At-Risk Families program, staff helps eligible families from Delaware, Fairfield, Franklin, Knox, Licking, Madison, Marion, Morrow, and Pickaway counties.

The new program expands on its current legal clinic, which provides resources, such as legal counseling and representation, for youth ages 16 to 25 in foster care or the juvenile justice system.

With a platform of promoting positive outcomes for children and families within the child welfare, adoption, and juvenile justice systems, FYAC is staffed by Capital University Law School faculty, FYLaw staff attorneys, and law and social work students.

They assist their clients in obtaining personal documents, sealing and expunging records, creating legal documents, and helping with landlord/tenant issues including evictions, among other legal needs.

FYAC’s Clinical Director Fawn Gadel said staff members provide legal representation and supervision over the five third-year law students, who will be enrolled in the clinic during the 2016-2017 school year.

“We are very pleased to be able to offer our clinical services to at-risk families,” Gadel said. “We believe that with our assistance, parents will be better equipped to overcome challenges that impact family well-being.

FYLaw received more than $93,000 in grant funds to support the program from the Ohio Children’s Trust Fund. Gadel said FYLaw plans to provide support and other resources to organizations including law schools that may be interested in replicating the program.