Kids For Cash Screening at The United Nations

Kids For Cash, a critically acclaimed documentary produced and directed by Robert May, debuted this February and brought the notorious Luzerne county “kids-for-cash” case to audiences in theatres across the U.S. The film will be screened at the United Nations this week on the eve of the 25th Anniversary of the Convention on the Rights of the Child. Juvenile Law Center’s Associate Director, Lourdes Rosado, will be participating in a panel discussion at the U.N. after the screening.

While the United States Attorney announced his intent to file criminal charges against two Luzerne Country judges in 2009, Juvenile Law Center had already begun investigating the Luzerne County’s juvenile court two years earlier. The resulting discoveries were shocking and demonstrated how systematic failures not only violate children’s basic rights but also come with heavy, enduring costs, including educational and emotional burdens, that impact youth for the rest of their lives.

In the wake of the scandal, Juvenile Law Center aggressively sought justice on behalf of the affected children and their families by seeking the expungement of juvenile adjudications and records of all youth involved in “kids-for-cash” scandal, promoting statewide juvenile justice system reforms, and seeking compensatory damages for the children and families through civil litigation.

Just named by Variety as an “Oscar Contender,” Kids For Cash exposes what many refer to as a “Secretive American Institution” where kids nationwide have been caught up in society’s zeal for “Zero Tolerance” in a post-Columbine world. Kids for Cash was also recently screened by members of the U.S. Congress, the U.S. Department of Justice, U.S. Department of Education, Capitol Hill Staff and for select members of the White House.

For more information on the film or to arranging a screening, visit www.kidsforcashthemovie.com.