History

In November 1992, a six-year-old girl was shot and killed by her father during a supervised visitation session at the office of the Child Protection Council of Northeastern Connecticut. Out of that tragedy sprang a coalition of concerned professionals and parents united to examine the weaknesses in the system that had failed that child. The lack of legal services for children in family court was identified as a major concern, which led to the founding of the Children’s Law Center.

In 1996, the Children’s Law Center hired its first staff attorney, Garret Tuller, through a contractual arrangement with Connecticut Legal Services. Under his direction the organization represented over 200 abuse/neglect cases in juvenile court. However, after his tragic death in 1999, the Board resolved to focus exclusively on the representation of children in family court proceedings.  In 2002, the Children’s Law Center relocated its office to Hartford, which is more accessible to clients.

In 2007, the Legal Representation Program served 351 children in four judicial districts. That same year the Children’s Law Line assisted 1,484 callers from all over Connecticut seeking information regarding 1,740 children.

Unfortunately, there are many more children who need an advocate than we can help, and therefore the task ahead of us is to continually expand our programs and services until all of Connecticut’s communities are served.