Championing Children's Rights: Advocacy, Research & Policy for a Better Future
Based at the nonprofit University of San Diego (USD) School of Law since 1989, the Children’s Advocacy Institute (CAI) is one of the nation's premiere academic, research, and advocacy organizations seeking to improve the lives of children and youth. Among CAI's areas of special emphasis are improving the child protection and foster care systems and improving outcomes for youth aging out of foster care. Through its offices in San Diego, Sacramento, and Washington, D.C., CAI seeks to leverage change for children and youth through impact litigation, regulatory and legislative advocacy, and public education. Active at the local, state, and federal levels, CAI’s efforts are multi-faceted — comprehensively and successfully embracing all tools of public interest advocacy to improve the lives of children and youth.
Executive Director Jessica Heldman on CAI's Academic Opportunities
As part of the University of San Diego School of Law, CAI's academic program consists of two parts and includes courses and clinical training of USD Law students in child advocacy.
CAI's Brochure
CAI Accomplishments and Projects
Foster Youth
- first-in-the-nation litigation challenging a state's reimbursements to foster parents as being so low as to dissuade foster parents from caring for abused and neglected children;
- legislation requiring foster children who age out of the juvenile justice system to be provided the same program eligibility assistance as those who age out of the dependency system;
- researched and wrote landmark report documenting federal and state policies and practices that impair the ability of former foster youth to achieve financial stability once leaving care;
- creation of the innovative Transition Life Coach proposal designed to provide services, resources and mentoring to former foster youth as they make the difficult transition to adulthood and self-sufficiency;
- litigation ensuring that Social Security payments benefiting foster children are disbursed based upon the child's best interests;
- exhaustively documenting the failure of Proposition 63 -- the Mental health Services Act -- to provide any significant benefits to the population of transition age youth with the greatest mental health needs -- former foster children.
Child Welfare
- landmark legislation opening up state and county child protective services practices to public scrutiny when children die from abuse or neglect -- legislation that has prompted sweeping administrative reforms in at least two California counties;
- path-breaking litigation challenging the judiciary's policy of imposing caseloads on lawyers for abused and neglected children that are up to twice what the judiciary itself says is the practical maximum;
- research and evaluation of a pilot project substituting a single, interdisciplinary interview of a child abuse victim for repeated interrogations by multiple interviewers.
Child Rights
- researches and writes two recurring national report cards documenting states' performance in (1) publicly disclosing findings and information regarding child abuse or neglect deaths and near deaths and (2) providing effective, competent attorneys to represent abused and neglected children in Dependency Court proceedings
- legislation prompting the nation's largest county to treat sexually exploited minors as victims rather than criminals;
- administration of an annual program recognizing the state's news outlets for their coverage of children's issues;
- administration of an annual program recognizing the state's news outlets for their coverage of children's issues.
Child Safety
- implementation of Kids' Plates, a personalized vehicle license plates program whose proceeds are earmarked for child abuse prevention, child injury prevention programs, and child care regulation;
- legislation to require children under the age of 18 to wear a helmet when riding a bicycle.
Child Advocacy
- coordination and leadership of the Children’s Advocates Roundtable, a network of 300 statewide and regional child policy organizations representing over twenty issue disciplines;
- creation of the Child Advocacy Clinic, a unique academic opportunity for law students to work on dependency or delinquency court cases under the supervision of an attorney, or on a variety of policy projects with a CAI attorney or other professional staff;
- operation of the Information Clearinghouse on Children, which works to stimulate accurate and meaningful discussion of child-related topics by the media and policymakers;
- training attorneys throughout California how to effectively and competently practice in Dependency Court.
Robert C. Fellmeth
Our Founder
From his early days as one of the original “Nader’s Raiders” investigating the Federal Trade Commission, to his work as a prosecutor and visionary founder of the Center for Public Interest Law and the Children’s Advocacy Institute, Robert C. Fellmeth has spent a lifetime advancing justice, protecting the vulnerable, and shaping future advocates. Since joining the University of San Diego School of Law in 1977, he has inspired generations of students through his teaching and leadership in children’s rights, public interest law, and regulatory reform. In this video, colleagues and former students share how Bob’s work transformed lives—and government itself.
A Message from Ralph Nader
Bob Fellmeth launched his public interest career as one of the original “Nader’s Raiders,” a group of young advocates organized by Ralph Nader in the late 1960s. In 1968, Bob co-authored The Nader Report on the Federal Trade Commission, a groundbreaking critique that spurred federal reform. Bob also helped raise foundation support and led teams of law students and professionals in producing landmark reports and books—Vanishing Air, Water Wasteland, Chemical Feast, among others—that laid the groundwork for major consumer and environmental legislation. He directed pivotal studies of federal agencies and Congress, culminating in the bestselling Who Runs Congress? and a six-volume analysis of Congressional committees. These efforts helped catalyze structural reforms and shaped the modern public interest movement. Listen to Ralph Nader discuss Bob and his phenomenal career of advocacy and reform.
Centers for Public Interest Law
Celebrating 45 Years of Advocacy, Education and Reform
In 2025, the Centers for Public Interest Law (CPIL) marked a major milestone—45 years of fearless advocacy, education, and reform. This special event also honored the retirement of CPIL’s founder, Robert C. Fellmeth, whose visionary leadership has shaped generations of public interest lawyers and policies protecting children, youth, and consumers. This celebration captures the legacy of Bob and the profound impact of CPIL’s work. Watch the full event and join us in honoring a lifetime of public service and principled advocacy.
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Contact CAI
Children's Advocacy Institute
University of San Diego School of Law
5998 Alcalá Park
San Diego, CA 92110
Telephone: (619) 260-4806
Fax: (619) 260-4753
Email: info@caichildlaw.org
Sacramento, CA Office
Email: eh4@sbcglobal.net
Washington, DC Office
Email: amyharf@hotmail.com