We fight the fight for them.
Ensuring children are heard in family court. For us, it’s about child-centered advocacy and equipping legal professionals with the right tools — building a justice system that puts children first, because their voices matter.
How we ensure every child is heard.
The Child’s Voice Project began with a simple, stubborn conviction: children are the people most affected by custody decisions, yet they are too often the least consulted. A sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, CVP was created to put the child’s voice back at the center — not as a symbolic gesture, but as a rigorous, repeatable model of practice.
In 2025 we launched a first-of-its-kind pilot in Maryland, providing free, client-directed legal representation to children in family court across St. Mary’s and Charles Counties. Alongside it, we train the attorneys, judges, and court professionals who shape children’s futures, and we study what actually works — so a child’s voice becomes the standard, not the exception.
The people behind the project.
CVP brings together researchers, child-advocate attorneys, and child-centered practitioners — united by the belief that listening to children is both developmentally vital and a matter of human rights.
Dr. Stef Sloan
A forensic child custody evaluator who has served as Principal Investigator for several national, federally funded evaluation and impact studies. Dr. Sloan leads CVP’s research.
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Emily High
A librarian and nonprofit leader with nearly twenty years across public libraries, schools, and community-based nonprofits, bringing a people-centered and systems-minded approach to CVP’s operations.
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Atiya M. Mosley, Esq.
More than twenty-seven years advancing access to justice for society’s most vulnerable communities — particularly children and survivors of domestic violence.
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Connie Kratovil-Lavelle, JD
Executive Director of the Collaborative Law and Justice Center. Supports pilot project development, administration, and technical assistance for the Child’s Voice Project.
Read full bio →Our attorney partners
In Maryland, attorneys who have completed CVP’s specialized training serve as Child Advocate Attorneys through the pilot. We’re proud to partner with:
The Child’s Voice Project is a sponsored project of Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors, which serves as our fiscal sponsor and board of directors. Our Steering Committee advises the project across law, child development, and family policy.
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Have a question, want to volunteer, or hope to bring child-centered representation to your court? We’d love to hear from you.
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