State Bar of California Contact: Jaclyn K. Reinhardt, Senior Executive The State Bar of California 555 Franklin Street, San Francisco, CA 94102-4498 E-mail: jreinhar@ix.netcom.com Activity Summary: To help answer their questions and to encourage parents to talk to their children about the law, the State Bar of California -- with assistance from the California PTA and local bars -- is widely distributing its new handbook, "Kids and the Law: An A-to-Z Guide for Parents." In just a few months' time, more than 55,000 booklets have been distributed to parents, schools, courts, law enforcement and youth-related organizations. Authored by Thomas Nazario, a childrens' rights advocate and USF School of Law professor, the booklet was created in response to a State Bar-commissioned survey of 600 children (ages 10 to 14). Activity Narrative: On Law Day this year, the State Bar of California launched a major campaign to educate parents and their children about the law. This public education program had its genesis in a survey we conducted last year to gauge the level of awareness and attitudes about the law among California children (ages 10 to 14). What we found led us to believe that an easy to read reference guide on juvenile law would help educate parents and assist them in talking to their children about the law. Thomas Nazario, a USF Professor of Law and children's rights advocate, wrote the 79-page booklet that is the cornerstone of this program. Program Objectives The "Kids and the Law" program serves two purposes: 1) it provides valuable and timely information to parents and guardians concerning the law and children; and 2) it offers opportunities for attorneys to enhance their image through networking and community service. Core Strategies Besides promoting the booklet in the media, our key strategy for getting the booklet to parents statewide has been to join up with other organizations willing to help distribute the booklet. The booklet's content also is on the State Bar's Home Page and will soon be available on disk for use in the classroom. We also plan to offer a version in Spanish. Partnership initiatives to date have focused on the following: The California PTA Last fall, before the booklet's completion, we asked the California State PTA to help us distribute the booklet. The PTA's response was immediate and enthusiastic. The organization officially endorsed the project and began promoting it internally. To date, the PTA has distributed booklets to some 4,000 district presidents, promoted it to law enforcement agencies and head start programs, and showcased it at their State PTA Convention in San Jose on May 3. State Bar Board Member Ann Ravel, Thomas Nazario, the booklet's author, and Judge Read Ambler participated in a panel discussion at the PTA convention. Just one example of the PTA members' enthusiasm for this project is that the president received an ovation when she mentioned the booklet in the convention's general session. Local Bar Associations In March, the booklet and invitation to participate in the "Kids and the Law" project was distributed to local bar presidents and executive directors. Although many bars have their own Law Day projects, more than 20 bars responded. Examples of their participation included passing out booklets at malls on Law Day, incorporating the booklet in parenting classes, contacting family agencies and schools, writing articles for local newspapers, and working with the PTA and school superintendents to distribute the booklet in classrooms. The beauty of this campaign is its flexibility. Bar organizations can choose to focus on the awareness portion (namely, promote the booklet) or they can add an image enhancement effort, networking with other organizations in their community to build long-term relationships, and thus strengthen the image of the legal profession. We have prepared both a media kit and a public relations plan to assist them in these efforts. Other Partnership Opportunities The bar is also working with the California Department of Education, the School Attendance Review Board (SARB), the Attorney General's office, the California Young Lawyers Association and various community groups. We also see major opportunities to enhance our work with juvenile court officers, police associations, head start programs and the League of Women Voters which has made juvenile violence a major theme. Where We Are Now In just three months, the State Bar of California has distributed almost 55,000 booklets to parents, partnership organizations, police associations, schools, head start programs and community groups. We have received several hundred phone calls from attorneys, judges and other members of the legal community. Some want to have booklets to pass out to clients while others want to distribute booklets at schools. Some want to become even more involved in the project. The booklet also has been promoted through a radio satellite tour on Law Day which reached out to an estimated audience of 5,259,000 listeners. The State Bar of California's future priorities are to 1) continue to build partnerships 2) secure additional funding and expand the booklet's distribution and 3) continue to enhance the image of attorneys. Clearly, the "Kids and the Law" handbook has struck a chord and is fulfilling an unmet need. The project also provides a significant opportunity for the State Bar to improve the profession's image while educating California's parents and children about the law. Sample Programs Home | By Audience | By Location | By Sponsoring Organization