LIFT's Mission & History
LIFT's mission is to enhance access to justice for children and families by providing legal information, community education, and compassionate guidance, while promoting system-wide reform of the courts and public agencies.
LIFT was founded in 1996 by two attorneys who worked in the New York City Family Courts. Observing how the lack of information in Family Court often resulted in tragic consequences for families, they requested permission to begin answering questions posed by litigants from the lobby of the Manhattan Family Court two mornings per week. These two mornings soon grew into every day of the week, and in almost no time LIFT was operating a full-scale Education & Information Site, Monday-Friday.
Building upon the success of the Manhattan Site, and thanks to many generous supporters, LIFT expanded next to serve the Bronx in 1997, reached Brooklyn in 1999, and opened its Queens Education & Information Site in the summer of 2001. Today, LIFT has expanded our services beyond the four walls of the Family Courts. We now also operate New York City's only Legal Information Hotline and a wide range of community education programs.
On September 4, 2007, LIFT introduced the innovative Family Legal Center, which provides long-term, holistic services to parents involved in Family Court. The Center is the latest extension of LIFT's mission, aimed at creating positive outcomes for children and families touched by the New York City court system.
Launched with the support of private foundation funding, LIFT is now supported through a combination of public funds, corporations, law firms, and foundations, as well as numerous individual donors. LIFT has benefited from the unwavering support of the Family Court administration, which has supported LIFT's expansion throughout New York City.
[Last updated on August 20, 2008]
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