Center for Family Services to Receive Street Law’s 2024 Community Champion Award

Street Law’s 2024 Community Champion Award will be presented to Center For Family Services, a Camden-based nonprofit social services organization serving residents across the state of New Jersey for more than a century. The award will be presented at the annual Street Law Awards Gala on April 25^th in Washington, DC.

The Community Champion Award honors community partners who integrate Street Law materials and methods into their direct service programming for vulnerable communities.

In recent years, Street Law has written a community-based curriculum and trained Center For Family Services staff to integrate the Legal Life Skills Program into the PowerCorps Camden Program, an AmeriCorps program that builds support networks, community service opportunities, and career-readiness skills for young adults aged 18-26. The Legal Life Skills curriculum provides essential resources to help participants attain the legal literacy needed to thrive in daily life, develops key skills such as critical-thinking and self-advocacy, and empowers participants to utilize the rights and protections afforded to their communities. This program has been adapted and replicated at community sites across the country.

Center For Family Services’ PowerCorps Camden Program and its Legal Life Skills integration are notable for dedicated, knowledgeable staff and impeccable attention to the needs of the youth they serve. Center For Family Services has successfully incorporated trauma-informed principles into the program’s curricula—an essential addition when working with students who are under-resourced, disconnected, and disproportionately impacted by the juvenile justice and foster care systems. Center For Family Services has also recruited respected local community leaders to help deliver program content, reinforcing key concepts and incorporating practical applications to everyday life experiences.

The program is also aided by strong partnerships with Subaru of America, which provides funding and key local relationships, and law students currently studying at Rutgers University-Camden, who volunteer to teach Legal Life Skills lessons in collaboration with Center For Family Services.

“Organizations who are closest to the problem know the solutions best,” said Ashok Regmi, Street Law’s CEO. “Street Law is proud to work with Center For Family Services, who are leaders in building community in New Jersey. We are thrilled to award them as our 2024 Community Champion Award.”

The program’s impact has been immense. 100 percent of participants reported that the curriculum helped them to better navigate a law-saturated society. Through Center For Family Services’ partnership with Street Law, “[I learned] my rights as a citizen,” one participant said.

“Center For Family Services is honored to be the 2024 Community Champion, and has been fortunate to partner with Street Law to bring relevant and important content to young adults in our PowerCorps Camden Program,” said Merilee Rutolo, President & Chief Strategy Officer. “Being able to make critical information accessible in a safe environment has led to meaningful and eye-opening conversations. We look forward to expanding our partnership and engaging more young adults across our continuum of programs and services through the curriculum.”