Equal Justice Work Fellowship: The East Los Angeles 3-7 Project

Devon Rios is honored that Equal Justice Works has granted her a fellowship and the amazing opportunity to advocate for the special education rights of young children ages 3-7 in the East Los Angeles community. Being born and raised in the East Los Angeles area makes this opportunity all that more exciting for Devon and is a real treat to return home and give back o the community that provided her with such a great foundation.

The need for early identification, intervention and quality education for special needs children is critical and urgent. Early intervention services for young children with disabilities minimize possibilities of later institutionalization, incarceration and overall costs to society by preparing them for the demands of school and decreasing overall dropout rates. Unfortunately, all too often, the opportunity to have quality early education experiences is not provided for children with disabilities, and particularly children from communities that face language, economic and social barriers to accessing services.

To address this issue, the East Los Angeles 3-7 project offers direct special education legal advice, advocacy and representation, training for community stakeholders regarding special education law exclusively to the East Los Angeles community and specifically families with children ages 3-7 in the public education system. Additionally, by strategically focusing on a small and specific demographic and community the project will support identification and addressing unique community and local school system needs.