Kim Tandy, the founder and long-time director of the Children’s Law Center in Covington, said today she is stepping down from her leadership role in June of 2017 to explore other opportunities.
Tandy, who started the CLC in 1989, remains passionate about advocating for children. She is open to remaining at the center in a more limited capacity for special projects or to assist in its litigation efforts.
“It’s time for new leadership to step up,” Tandy said. “It’s been an honor for me to lead the organization for nearly three decades, and to work with such an incredible staff and board. I look forward to some new challenges and ways to further our work.”
In her 27 years at the helm of the Children’s Law Center, Tandy nurtured it from a small, local, legal services organization for children’s rights, to one that has achieved lasting regional and national impact.
It has represented thousands of children in education, juvenile-justice, child welfare, and other areas. It has directly improved the lives of individual children, as well as advocating and litigating for improved policies for children and youth at the local, state, and national levels.
It forced Kenton County and other governments to stop housing young teenagers in the same jail with adult law breakers.
It spearheaded litigation against Ohio’s juvenile correctional facilities that resulted in the closure of five juvenile prisons and improved conditions at the remaining three. That litigation eliminated the use of solitary confinement practices as a form of discipline or punishment.
A replica of a solitary cell is now used as an exhibit for CLC engagements, and is put on display at functions across the country as a stark reminder of the dangers of the practice.
Tandy’s belief that education is a cornerstone for any child’s successful transition to adulthood has led the Center to work both individually and systemically to keep young people in schools, and to hold schools accountable for providing educational access and quality programming for all students. That includes students with disabilities or significant education and life challenges who may require more expertise and greater resources.
Tandy also has a long history promoting indigent juvenile defense reforms, and together with partner organizations, has worked to improve training, standards, and practices in multiple states within the region, including Ohio, Kentucky, Missouri, and Indiana.
Her recent efforts in Indiana have resulted in the state obtaining an OJJDP planning grant to improve juvenile defense, and nearly $750,000 in implementation funding to carry out that plan.
Currently, the CLC is suing the Kenton County Sheriff’s Office over the actions of school resource officers who handcuffed two small children by the elbows for acting up in class. The CLC has asked the U.S. District Court in Covington to stop the practice, maintaining that it harms children and criminalizes what amounts to misbehavior.
Joseph Nava, the chairman of the agency’s board of directors, said Tandy will be missed, but she leaves an incredible legacy from which the CLC will continue to build and grow.
“Kim has dedicated her entire career to supporting and advocating for children,” Nava said. “She has labored to establish the Children’s Law Center as a unique organization that represents children who otherwise would not have anyone to represent them. Under her leadership, it has become a regional and national leader in creating and ensuring legal safeguards for children before the criminal justice, law enforcement and educational systems.”
Nava said the board has formed a search committee to begin to look for Tandy’s successor. Information about the search can be found on the Children’s Law Center’s website .
Children’s Law Center