News + Stories
Every story we share shows what’s possible when families are met with compassion and advocacy. This is where you can learn from the journeys of the parents we serve, the impact of our model, and the growing evidence behind early legal and parent ally support.
2024 Impact Report
FIRST Legal Clinic’s 2024 Impact Report highlights a year of growth, impact, and hope. It ccontinues to prove that early legal intervention and compassionate, community-based support can keep families safely together.
Jennifer’s Story: Recovery, Renewal, and the Power of Second Chances
“I am not just a survivor, I am a mother, an
advocate, and a living testament to the power of second chances.”
–Jennifer
The FIRST Legal Clinic: A New Frontier of Partnerships to Stop Trauma
An ABA article by Adam Ballout (with Melinda Drewing) explains how the FIRST Legal Clinic partners with medical providers and parent allies to prevent unnecessary infant removals.
The Medical Case for Keeping Mothers and Babies Together
Attorney Adam Ballout shares the medical research behind why keeping mothers and babies together after birth is best for both, and how FIRST Legal Clinic helps make it possible.
Preventing Trauma Before It Starts: Understanding ACEs and the Work of FIRST Legal Clinic
Attorney Adam Ballout explains how Adverse Childhood Experiences (ACEs) affect families and why the FIRST Legal Clinic focuses on preventing trauma before it starts by keeping mothers and babies safely together.
Why Partnerships Make FIRST Legal Clinic Successful
Attorney Adam Ballout explains how strong partnerships with hospitals, social workers, and community organizations make FIRST Legal Clinic’s early intervention model successful.
FIRST Legal Clinic Attorney Adam Ballout explains what the clinic does
Attorney Adam Ballout shares why FIRST Legal Clinic was created and how early legal and parent ally support prevents unnecessary separation of newborns and parents in the hospital.
Early Legal Advocacy: A National Model for Keeping Families Together
A joint alert from the American Bar Association and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges highlights how early legal advocacy can prevent unnecessary family separation—and features FIRST Legal Clinic as an example of this work in Washington State.
Inside the FIRST Clinic: Using Legal Services to Keep Children in Families
The American Bar Association’s Children’s Rights Litigation section featured the FIRST Legal Clinic as an innovative model for keeping families together through early legal advocacy and cross-disciplinary collaboration.