Open City Advocates provides youth-centered legal defense and holistic advocacy for young people after sentencing in the DC juvenile justice system and works for systemic improvements to the juvenile justice system, both locally and nationally, to better the lives of marginalized children and youth.
Vision
Open City Advocates envisions a legal system that is equitable, fair and compassionate towards children and youth.
Who We Serve
Open City Advocates (OCA) provides mentoring and legal representation to children and youth in the juvenile justice system after sentencing. We support our clients as they reintegrate into their families and communities after incarceration as we fight for a fair and compassionate justice system.
OCA serves approximately 45-60 youth annually, ranging from 16-25 years old. Our clients are 86% Black and 14% Latino. At our point of intake, the DC Family Court has committed our clients to the care and custody of the DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS).
OCA was founded in 2005 to address the racial inequities in DC’s juvenile system. All our clients have been sentenced to the custody and supervision of the DC Department of Youth Rehabilitation Services (DYRS). This means that our clients are wards of the District, oftentimes until age 21, and that their placement and services may change several times with little court oversight. OCA ensures that no child must confront this complex bureaucratic system without specialized counsel and holistic advocacy.
In 2020, the DC Court of Appeals issued a historic ruling in our favor in our impact litigation case, In re N.H.M., holding that all youth in DC’s delinquency system have the right to an attorney after sentencing and throughout their incarceration and supervision. In July 2022, after extensive collaboration with OCA, the DC Family Court began appointing a “post-commitment juvenile attorney” to every child sentenced to DYRS supervision. This new model of juvenile defense is the first of its kind in the nation.
