Elizabeth Frankel Fellowship

ABOUT THE YOUNG CENTER 

The Young Center for Immigrant Children's Rights is a national organization dedicated to protecting and advancing the rights and best interests, safety, and well-being of immigrant children in the United States. We center children's voices, celebrate their strengths, and recognize their fundamental need to be with family and in community, not detention.  

For more than 20 years, the Young Center has accompanied and advocated for over 10,000 children from more than 70 countries worldwide. We are the only organization that takes an integrated approach to protecting and advancing the rights of children, in accordance with the Convention on the Rights of the Child and state and federal law, through direct services, stakeholder support across child welfare systems, systems and narrative change, and litigation. Further, we fight tirelessly to bring greater equity to the child welfare system, demanding accountability from systems and people in positions of power, so children in immigrant families who face court cases remain safe, free, and with families in communities where they are supported. 

The Young Center has offices in Houston, San Antonio, and Harlingen, Texas; Chicago, Illinois; New York, New York; Washington, D.C.; Phoenix, Arizona; Los Angeles, California; and Grand Rapids, Michigan. We also serve children through our programs in New Jersey. To learn more about the Young Center, visit www.theyoungcenter.org. 

ABOUT ELIZABETH M. FRANKEL (1977-2021) 

Elizabeth M. Frankel (Liz) was the first Associate Director of the Young Center. She joined the Young Center in late 2009, as just the third full-time employee, becoming part of a trio of attorneys in Chicago who would develop and implement an entirely new model for advocating for the rights of immigrant children and youth. Today the Young Center has eight offices across the country with more than 100 staff; Liz was involved in the creation and development of each office. From 2009 to 2015, Liz taught in the Immigrant Child Advocacy Clinic at the University of Chicago Law School. She loved mentoring law students and seeing them use their skills to take pro bono cases or jobs in public interest law. 
 

ABOUT THE ELIZABETH FRANKEL FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM  

The Young Center for Immigrant Children’s Rights annual Elizabeth Frankel Fellowship began in 2022. This Fellowship Program intends to honor Liz’s passion for supporting law students as they learn to advocate effectively for immigrant children and families. The Fellowship Program will enable fellows to spend 10 weeks training to zealously advocate for children, and to carry on Liz’s vision of honoring the child’s wishes through careful, strategic best interests advocacy. The Fellows will serve as Child Advocates for individual children, communicate with stakeholders, conduct legal research and writing, and draft best interests determinations under the guidance of Young Center staff within the Child Advocate Program. The Fellows will also engage in policy advocacy through ongoing initiatives at the Young Center under the supervision of the Policy Program staff. Fellows will be based in Houston, Texas and will spend one week of the Fellowship Program in the Young Center’s Harlingen office to understand how immigration patterns, enforcement, and advocacy play out on the ground along the U.S.- Mexico border. The fellows will also travel to the Young Center’s New York office to learn about the immigration system in New York. The Elizabeth Frankel Advisory Committee, comprised of Liz’s family, friends, colleagues, and Young Center staff, advises the Young Center regarding the operation of the Fellowship Program. 

MINIMUM REQUIREMENTS AND QUALIFICATIONS 

• Law Students who are rising 2 L’s or 3 L’s 

• Valid driver’s license and access to a car  
   

PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS 

• Lived experience/knowledge that lends insight into supporting immigrant children and their families 

• Bilingual in Spanish and English (oral and written) 

• Additional consideration will be given to law students who come from backgrounds/circumstances which prevent them from engaging in pro bono work during the summer 

PHYSICAL DEMANDS 

Physical demands include regular attendance, keyboarding, sitting for long periods (at least 5 hours a day), and driving. Ability to use computer, telephone, and copy machine. Ability to travel by plane, car and other conveyances within U.S. Occasional lifting for event setup/preparation. 

APPLICATION DETAILS 

Young Center encourages students from all qualified individuals without regard to race, color, creed, religion, gender, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, age, national origin, ancestry, marital or parental status, pregnancy, citizenship, non-disqualifying physical or mental disability, genetic information, or veterans’ status. Reasonable accommodation will be made so that qualified disabled applicants may participate in the application process; no applicant will be penalized for requesting accommodation. Please advise in writing of special needs at the time of application. 

Compensation: 

Fellows will receive a stipend of $12,000 for 10 weeks (35 hours per week). The Fellowship Program will run from June 7, 2027 to August 13, 2027. The Fellowship is based in Houston, TX but includes travel to New York, NY and Harlingen, TX, with travel expenses paid for by the Fellowship Program. 

A criminal background check, child abuse and neglect check (CANS), and tuberculosis test will be conducted and is a condition of fellowship. 

Review of candidates will begin immediately and continue until the position is filled. Please apply on the Young Center website with (1) Cover Letter, (2) Resume, (3) Personal Statement [two pages maximum; statement must highlight the applicant's relevant experience, interest, and future aspirations with respect to legal work with immigrants and children], and (4) three references. Applicants do not need to submit a writing sample. Only complete applications will be considered. The final deadline to submit application materials is Thursday, October 15, 2026. Materials will be reviewed by the Fellowship Advisory Committee, and interviews with Young Center staff will take place in mid to late November 2026. The Young Center anticipates making offers to potential fellows by early December 2026. If you have any questions, please contact Pam Lancarte at [email protected]. 

To learn more about the Young Center’s work, please visit www.TheYoungCenter.org.