About

Mission Statement

The mission of the Institute for Children’s Rights at SMU Dedman School of Law is to pursue innovative, bold theories and projects to address the fundamental, overarching challenges of child abuse and neglect.

How the Institute Pursues its Mission

The Institute focuses on long-term issues of child welfare law locally and nationally and provides leadership service to organizations and professionals in the fields of child welfare, child protection, and child welfare law by exploring cutting edge policies and issues to improve service to and outcomes for abused and neglected children. 
 
The Institute’s current focus is on improving the educational outcomes for children in the child welfare system through advocacy efforts.  The Institute has and continues to reach out to organizations that are pursuing this work to facilitate information sharing, increase collaboration, promote coordination of efforts.  The Institute also studies national efforts and works to promote successful programs that can be duplicated in other localities, states, and regions.