KEENAN'S KIDS FOUNDATION

Good Samaritans come in many forms. They can even look like lawyers, as in the case of Don Keenan who heads Keenan’s Kids Foundation, a children’s advocacy group which operates out of his downtown Atlanta office.

Focusing on kids who are homeless, in foster care, living below the poverty line or who have been catastrophically injured; the foundation was a natural outgrowth in 1993 of the firm’s ongoing community involvement. That included a weekly bologna and cheese "party" for everyone in the office (now a 13-year tradition) at which several hundred sandwiches are made for the homeless.

Keenan was also personally contributing money to various charitable organizations, but when the foundation was established he was looking to do something more than just write a check or make sandwiches.

Keenan credits his long-time secretary, Sally Thorton, with the idea to take on more direct, hands-on projects, similar to the sandwich assembly line. What began as cash awards to outstanding individuals in child advocacy, (e.g., the best media personality, best role model, best legislator) has grown into winter clothing drives, legal seminars on children's rights, airbag awareness programs and closing argument competitions for law students.

The foundation also co-sponsors the Celebration of Excellence, a graduation party for children and young adults who have been or are in foster care for an extended period and have completed high school, GED programs, technical school or college.

When asked how these different activities came about, Keenan says, "It’s serendipity – we come up with an idea and everything falls into place. The beauty of having a closely held foundation is we can call a board meeting in the morning and have a new project organized by the end of the day.

Thorton was the catalyst for the firm's involvement in the winter clothing drive. She contacted Rev. Jane Gunter at Family Life Ministry (FLM), a 16-year-old coalition of 39 different churches and 160 volunteers working with the poor. After discussing FLM’s needs, the foundation issued a challenge to other attorneys and their families. Children’s coats, men’s jeans and shoes began pouring in. An overwhelming 12,000 items were collected. "We looked more like a dry cleaner than a law office," Keenan says.

Gunter was impressed with the spirit and personal involvement of Keenan’s office and remembers how several individuals keyed in on one child who was pouting because he hadn’t gotten the coat he wanted. "They made sure that child was happy before he left. These children needed hugs as much as they needed the coats and were still hugging those kids as they were on their way out the door to go home." About 125 children were dressed as a result of the clothing drive.

A re-enactment of courtroom drama

In addition to its charitable work, Keenan believes educating law students as well as practicing attorneys on how to represent the rights of children is vitally important. "As the world becomes more technologically dependent, children are often on the low end of the curve in terms of protection and end up hurt more often than adults would be," he says.

The foundation sponsors both an annual 2-day children’s rights legal seminar, which teaches attorneys how to be better advocates for injured and deceased children, as well as law student closing argument competitions this past November.

In its first year, 22 students from 4 Georgia law schools presented closing arguments related to an actual case in which a 5-year-old lost hearing in both ears due to physician negligence. Each of the juries was made up of one print journalist, one broadcast journalist, 2 attorneys and the mother or father of a child who actually experienced similar litigation.

WXIA-TV reporter Steen Miles was one of the jury members. She characterizes it as an experience that emphasized the need for more efforts in child advocacy. "The media doesn’t pay attention to it except for a few very sensational cases. Greater focus needs to be put on the needs of children. Keenan may have involved those of us in the media for that purpose," she says.

A veteran of numerous child advocacy organizations (ranging from positions such as PTA president to board member of Dekalb County’s Project Impact), Miles says the event had a profound impact on her own resolve to continue her personal and professional commitment to working on behalf of young people.

Georgia’s foster care system

The impetus behind his attention to child advocacy through both the foundation and his private law practice comes from Keenan’s empathy for the hurt and suffering experienced by children, having lost his own father in a boiler explosion when he was a year-and-a-half old. The passion he brings to his efforts is particularly evident when discussing foster care in Georgia, a state system which he is highly critical.

According to Keenan, Georgia has the fifth highest number of children in foster care in the country (22,000) and the fourth worst record for the duration of time spent in the system. An audit done by Georgia’s own Department of Audits shows foster children spend 3-5 years in the system, triple the figures claimed by the Department of Family and Children’s Services.

Perhaps his most celebrated case, in fact, is Kathy Jo Taylor vs. the state of Georgia, a 1989 US Supreme case which led to reform in Georgia’s foster care system. At age 9, Taylor had gone into a coma following injuries suffered in a foster home. The lawsuit resulted in changes including a prohibition against corporal punishment by foster parents; preference for placing children with relatives over non-relatives; and a requirement for foster care caseworkers to have monthly face-to-face visits with children rather than telephone follow up.

What Keenan calls the "Kathy Jo law" has been adopted almost verbatim in 31 states. (Taylor herself died last year after being in a coma for nearly 10 years.)

"Foster kids don't have a face. They're not a constituency, so the public isn't aware of them. There's zero incentive for lawyers to get involved so they don't have an advocate," Keenan says. "There's no lobby to get them back to their families. That's what I'm trying to push lawyers to do."

If there is criticism of his actions, it most often comes from people looking for "global, broad brush solutions" who want to know what good will come of smaller scale efforts. Keenan answers, "They want to know that what they're doing makes major changes at the other end. It's not realistic. The problems are too large. We're not going to eliminate homelessness with bologna and cheese sandwiches, but if everyone does something small, we can begin to make a difference."


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