In observation of Child Abuse Prevention Month, the Family Justice Resource Center recognized attorney Aaron Goldstein with the 2023 Child Advocacy Award. His work preventing children from being removed from their homes and defending parents who are targeted by wrongful allegations is essential to child abuse prevention.
Goldstein has been an attorney for over 22 years, and he is currently the Chief of the Family Defense Division at the Law Office of the Cook County Public Defender. As Chief, he spearheaded a lawsuit against DCFS (Buxton v. DCFS) on behalf of parents who were denied their right to visit their children in DCFS custody during the pandemic. While the lawsuit was eventually dismissed, Goldstein helped draft and pass Illinois House Bill 3793, which prohibited across-the-board visitation bans.
As our ally, Aaron has partnered with the FJRC and played a big role in advocating for Illinois Senate Bill 376. This new legislation seeks to establish safeguards to ensure objective decision making and eliminate conflicts of interest in medical examinations of suspected child abuse victims.
Aaron has also served as a leader within the National Alliance for Parent Representation of the American Bar Association. On top of it all, Goldstein provides support to the line attorneys who represent 90% of the parents who come before the juvenile court in Cook County, which is the largest integrated juvenile court system in the nation.
On April 27th, we held an award reception at Marshall's Landing in Chicago to celebrate his efforts. We are incredibly honored to work alongside public servants like Aaron Goldstein, dedicated to upholding due process and evidence-based medicine.