Civil Rights: The Current Plight of LGBTQ+ Children and Youth

Join us for a talk with Samantha Bartosz, Deputy Litigation Director at Children’s Rights. Samantha will address the current state of case law, regulations, and legislation concerning LGBTQ+ children interacting with government systems, both state and federal. Her presentation will focus on the recent onslaught of federal action impacting the rights of transgender children and youth, including the pending United States Supreme Court case regarding gender affirming care, U.S. v. Skrmetti, and the Biden Administration’s Designated Placement rule promulgated in relation to LGBTQ+ children and youth in foster care. Samantha will be joined by Senior Staff Attorney Daniele Gerard. Dinner provided. Sponsored by the Youth Advocacy & Policy Lab and Lambda.

RSVP link here.

Samantha Bartosz

Deputy Litigation Director

Samantha Bartosz joined Children’s Rights following 17 years as a litigation attorney in Chicago and as a government lawyer in Washington, DC. She served within the Executive Office of the President during the second term of President William Jefferson Clinton, where she provided counsel to senior White House officials on a variety of legislative, policy, and administrative matters. During this time, she represented the Executive Office of the President in a wide range of congressional, independent counsel, and Justice Department investigations. Prior to joining the Clinton Administration, Samantha was a partner in a private law firm practice where she addressed commercial, environmental, civil rights, criminal, product liability, and shareholder disputes. She also served as Assistant Special State’s Attorney for DuPage County, IL, in a special grand jury investigation and subsequent criminal trial against former prosecutors and police officers for obstruction of justice.

At Children’s Rights, Samantha has conducted an extensive litigation practice and successfully obtained consent decrees or a court injunction on behalf of classes of children in federal actions brought in Michigan, Rhode Island, Missouri, and Texas. She earned her B.A. from the University of Notre Dame and graduated from the Loyola University School of Law in 1986. Samantha has presented as a featured speaker at multiple American Bar Association and National Association of Counsel for Children annual conferences.

Daniele Gerard

Senior Staff Attorney

Daniele Gerard joined Children’s Rights in 2016. She received a B.A. from Johns Hopkins University and a J.D. from Columbia University School of Law, where she was Notes Editor on the Journal of Environmental Law, and received awards for exceptional interest and proficiency in advocacy and clinical offerings, and best brief in first year moot court. A former litigation associate at Cravath, Swaine & Moore and Staff Attorney at North Carolina Prisoner Legal Services, she was also a member of the development staff at Food & Water Watch for three years.

Since joining Children’s Rights, Daniele has been responsible for organizing a team preparing for trial, taken and defended depositions, drafted expert reports, monitored cases, run two advocacy projects, coordinated panels on mental health and child welfare, and established the Interfaith Coalition for Children’s Rights. Outside her work with CR, Daniele currently serves as an officer of Three Parks Independent Democrats, and on the boards of Food & Water Action and the Voter Assistance Advisory Committee of the New York City Campaign Finance Board.