Casey Trupin works on ending youth homelessness at the Raikes Foundation. Previously, he served as the Directing Attorney for the Children and Youth Project at Columbia Legal Services in Seattle, advocating for at-risk, homeless and foster children and youth. Trupin represented thousands of foster youth and homeless adults in litigation and worked on state and federal legislation designed to improve services to low-income children, youth and adults in Washington State and nationwide.

Trupin also consulted with the Casey Family Programs Judicial Engagement Team, a national project to improve outcomes for children and families and safely reduce the number of children in foster care through improved judicial and legal practice. Trupin is a Special Advisor to the American Bar Association’s (ABA) Commission on Homelessness and Poverty, which he chaired from 2006-09, as well as a former Co-Chair of the Children’s Rights Litigation Committee of the ABA. Trupin has co-taught the Legislative Advocacy Clinic and Street Law at the University of Washington School of Law. Trupin has authored or edited numerous books and articles on at-risk, homeless, and foster children, including Educating Children without Housing: A Primer on Legal Requirements and Implementation Strategies for Educators, Advocates and Policymakers (3d Ed.) (ABA, 2009).

In 1997, Trupin co-founded Street Youth Legal Advocates of Washington (SYLAW), and went on to direct the program until 2005. From 2005-06, Trupin worked on federal child welfare policy as Counsel for Special Projects at the Center for Law and Social Policy (CLASP) in Washington, D.C. Trupin has received national recognition for his work, including the ABA’s Child Advocacy Award—Distinguished Lawyer (2011), the National Network for Youth Advocacy Spirit Award (2010), and the Congressional Angel in Adoption Award (2005). From 2006-12, Trupin served as the Inaugural Chair of the William H. Gates Public Service Law Program at the University of Washington School of Law, from which he graduated with honors in 1999.

Read the full article about youth homelessness at Interest to Impact.