PRINCIPAL, FAMILY DEFENSE CONSULTING
FOUNDER AND IMMEDIATE PAST CO-CHAIR, UNITED FAMILY ADVOCATES
AUTHOR, THEY TOOK THE KIDS LAST NIGHT: HOW THE CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM PUTS FAMILIES AT RISK (ABC-CLIO, 2018)
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LEGAL CONSULTANT TO LET GROW
EXPERT WITNESS, POLICY EXPERT, AUTHOR CONSULTANT TO LAWYERS, JOURNALISTS AND FAMILIES CONCERNED ABOUT THE TREATMENT OF CHILDREN AND FAMILIES BY THE CHILD PROTECTION SYSTEM (ALSO NOW CALLED THE “FAMILY REGULATION SYSTEM”)
DIANE L. REDLEAF HAS WORKED FOR OVER 35 YEARS TO HELP FAMILIES. AS A CIVIL RIGHTS LAWYER, POVERTY LAWYER, AND CHILD WELFARE LAWYER FOR DECADES, DIANE HAS HELPED FORGE MANY PRECEDENTS IN FAVOR OF FAMILY RIGHTS. SHE HAS WORKED ON CASES PENDING IN ADMINISTRATIVE, TRIAL AND APPELLATE STATE AND FEDERAL COURTS ALL THE WAY TO CASE IN THE UNITED STATES SUPREME COURT. NOW SHE IS FOCUSING ON MAKING CHANGE IN FEDERAL POLICY, WORKING WITH MANY OTHER NATIONALLY-RESPECTED ADVOCATES FOR FAMILIES.
Dedicated to changing the system, ending its harm to children and families.
As the Founder, Executive Director/Legal Director of the Family Defense Center (2005-2016) and its Legal Director (2016-2017), Diane Redleaf initiated and co-led over a dozen civil rights cases and changed the law in Illinois through precedential cases. The agency she sued dozens of times (DCFS) credited her with making the system "better and fairer." Her work exonerated tens of thousands of families and advancing the rights of families to remain together.
Through all her professional and community service activities, Diane builds on her decades of work as a pioneering leader in protecting the rights of families to raise their children.
READ THIS NEW PROFILE OF DIANE (JULY 11, 2019) IN THE MINNEAPOLIS TRIBUNE:
Protecting children by defending families' rights for decades.
DIANE'S BOOK, THEY TOOK THE KIDS LAST NIGHT, TELLS DRAMATIC STORIES OF INNOCENT FAMILIES DIANE AND HER COLLEAGUES HAVE DEFENDED IN TRIALS, APPEALS, CIVIL RIGHTS CASES AND POLICY ARENAS.