Ms. and Mr. Rice and their granddaughters have made the most of their summer, visiting almost every splash park in DC and riding the roller coasters at Six Flags and Hershey Park.  

The girls, S and V,* are cousins. Ms. Rice took in her older granddaughter S as an infant. Ms. Rice’s daughter faced a mental health crisis shortly after giving birth and couldn’t care for her baby. Ms. Rice feared an informal custody arrangement wouldn’t provide enough structure for her infant granddaughter and could subject S to a lot of back and forth with emotions so raw. 

But she also worried about the alternative: “For a lot of African American families,” she said, “you don’t want to get attorneys and police and the courts involved when raising your grandchildren.” Reaching out to Children’s Law Center was the hardest decision she had to make, but she said she is forever grateful for the attorneys who supported them through the process and for the security the court order provided. 

In addition to helping Ms. Rice get custody, Children’s Law Center made sure she could access the District’s grandparent caregiver program which provided critical financial support to raise S. 

Several years later, when V came to live with them and faced aggressive bullying and no support in her new classroom, Ms. Rice reached out again.  

You can read more here about how Children’s Law Center is helping Ms. and Mr. Rice overcome the institutional obstacles to V getting essential educational support. It’s another key part of how the Rices are making sure this school year is better than the last for their granddaughter.

Honor the Grandparents in Your Life 

Children’s Law Center works with so many grandparents, aunts, uncles and other family members like Ms. Rice who fiercely advocate for the kids in their lives and who provide stability and support for kids who’ve faced traumatic experiences.  

We proudly celebrate the grandparents in our lives who have gone above and beyond for their grandchildren, especially with Grandparents’ Day coming up on Sunday, September 11. Do you have a grandparent, great aunt or great uncle you’d like to honor for Grandparents’ Day? Celebrate them with a gift to Children’s Law Center and help us make it easier for caregivers to access the support they need for the children in their families to thrive.

With each gift, we will mail or email a personalized card to your loved one or someone in their family, letting them know that you have made a gift to Children's Law Center in their honor or memory.  

Your generous, tax-deductible gift helps Children's Law Center continue fighting so every child in the District can grow up with a stable family, good health and a quality education.   

With gratitude,

Judith Sandalow

Executive Director

PS. We’re back in person this year for our Helping Children Soar Benefit on September 20 at District Winery. If you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, you can buy them and learn more about the great night we have planned here! 

*We always provide clients the option to change their names or use initials when sharing their stories. Initials for the children have been used at the family's request. All other details are true. Read the Rices' full story here.