Big changes to the foster care system only happen in a few ways. Elected officials can pass laws that require a change. Policy makers who run the systems can implement change. There is a third way that people can force needed changes to the system: They can sue. And that’s what a national advocacy group—along with six children in foster care—is doing now.

The organization, called Children's Rights, is suing the Massachusetts’ Department of Children and Families (DCF) on behalf of six foster youths in that state. The lawsuit says that the state is violating children’s rights, specifically their right to be free from harm.

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If a lawsuit is filed on your behalf, you are called a “plaintiff.” The plaintiffs in the case include Adam S., 15 years old, who was severely beaten in a residential treatment facility, and Camila R., 13, who was separated from her two sisters and returned to her abusive mother. Camila has lived in at least 11 different placements and did not get educational and mental health services she needed.

Children’s Rights points out that Massachusetts has the eighth worst rate of all 50 states of youth in care being abused or neglected. It’s in the bottom 10 states at placing kids in stable settings. Caseworkers have too many cases to give adequate care to any of them.

No one has testified in court yet, but the battle has started in the media. Angelo McClain, commissioner of the Massachusetts Department of Children and Families, and Marcia Lowry, executive director of Children’s Rights, were interviewed recently on the Radio Boston show. McClain defended his agency: “Foster parents go through a 10-week training program….If there are any issues, we terminate them as foster parents.” He also said that there are 2,000 fewer children in the system than a few years ago.

Marcia Lowry replied that that’s not something to celebrate—more than 18 percent of children who were returned to their families were abused again and went back into care.

Children’s Rights has sued many states for not taking good enough care of children, and when they win, the court orders the state to improve the system. And legal advocacy groups like Children’s Rights also help design those improvements: While lawyers prepare their case, they are finding out how the system works, and they contribute policy reform recommendations to help the states meet the new requirements. Unfortunately, youth are rarely consulted on these changes. For an example of policies that incorporate youth, see our 2010 story on foster care in Ireland at bit.ly/irishyouth.