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They can't fight abuse, but we can.

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The numbers say it all.

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[Music]

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We must fix this. At the Center for the

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Rights of Abused Children, our mission is

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to protect children, change laws, and

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inspire people to ensure every abused

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child has a bright future. It's why our

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Founders started the center in 2017 and

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is what has kept us going every day

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since.

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In 2011 I went to a foster care

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orientation, where I was told that babies

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were sleeping in hallways because the

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agency couldn't find enough foster

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parents. And I felt called.

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So, I took in my first infant and soon I

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had taken in 10 - and I adopted four of

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them. And through this work, I saw that

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abused children needed to be recognized

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as having a Constitutional right to

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legal representation. And I felt called

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again. I founded the Center for the

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Rights of Abused Children to advocate

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for this change and so many more, so that

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every child can have a loving family and

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a bright future.

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Our advocacy for abused children happens

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in real time every day. We help children

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who are falling through the cracks by

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strengthening protections to end

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violence and actively fighting for them

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in court. Our Children's Law Clinic has

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handled thousands of cases, serving as an

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advocate for children in court, providing

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free emergency legal assistance, and

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expediting their passage to justice,

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family, and a better tomorrow. Real change

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requires Common Sense reforms. How do we

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make those happen? We fight. Because of

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the Center, tens of thousands of abused

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children in foster care now have an

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attorney. Finding relatives faster means

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less time in state care, and law

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enforcement has what it needs to help

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identify missing children and stop the

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abuse.

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These common sense reforms have brought

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more babies to safety.

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Teenagers in foster care can now access

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their own birth documents, allowing them

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to build their futures, opening doors to

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education and employment. Through the

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years, we have been a lifeline for over

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500,000 children in America.

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Because of the Center, we're safe. Because of the Center, I have a family.

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Because of the Center, I have a future.

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The Center for the Rights of Abused

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Children: five years, five hundred

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thousand brighter futures. thecenterfor

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children.org

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[Music]