At SB 1190’s second Assembly policy hearing, Amanda Simmons testified in support of the Safe Passage for Youth Act before the Communications and Conveyance Committee, which voted 9–0 to pass the bill as amended. Testifying at both policy committees meant making the same case in two different registers: to a child-welfare committee, why the trip is part of the placement; to a transportation committee, why the passenger changes the duty of care.

At the bill’s first Assembly hearing, Amanda Simmons testified in support of SB 1190, the Safe Passage for Youth Act, which would license and regulate youth transportation companies in California. The Human Services Committee voted 7–0 to pass it. SB 1190 would require the Department of Social Services to license and regulate youth transportation companies operating in the state to prevent serious harm.

Ambika Law, PC is proud to announce that founder and attorney Amanda Simmons presented "Understanding and Enforcing Conversion Therapy Legislation: An Illinois Pilot Project" for The Chicago Bar Association on May 21, 2025. Amanda's presentation was one of six sessions in the CBA's fourth annual Professional Responsibility Overview — a full-day virtual program hosted by the association's Continuing Legal Education Committee.

Amanda Simmons, founder of Ambika Law, PC, co-authored “IDEA, ADA and 504: Effective Representation of Youth in Residential Treatment Centers,” a whitepaper published by the Council of Parent Attorneys and Advocates (COPAA) and presented at the organization’s 2025 Annual Conference. She wrote the piece with fellow attorneys David German and Leigh Anne Hodges.

Amanda Simmons, founder of Ambika Law, PC, authored “Judicial Solutions to End Institutional Child Abuse,” published in the American Bar Association’s Judicial Division Record (Winter 2025). Written for a judicial audience, the article pairs a candid account of the “troubled teen industry” with a practical Judicial Bench Card for Congregate Care Placements — a checklist judges can use to protect children before and during placement in a residential treatment facility.

Amanda Simmons, founder of Ambika Law, PC, co-authored “Congregate Care, Collective Trauma,” the lead feature of the Winter 2024 issue of The Guardian, the quarterly law journal of the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC). She wrote the piece alongside survivor-advocate and journalist Chelsea Maldonado, lived-experience advocate Kayla Muzquiz, and Oregon family defender Annette Smith. Written for the child-welfare bar, the article gives judges and attorneys a grounded overview of the “troubled teen industry” and practical guidance for protecting youth at risk of congregate-care placement.

On December 11, 2024, the National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) hosted a national webinar titled “Congregate Care & Collective Trauma,” featuring a multidisciplinary panel of experts examining the troubled-teen industry. Panel hosts included Attorneys Amanda Simmons and Annette Smith, as well as survivor advocates Chelsea Maldonado and Kayla Muzquiz.

On November 12, 2024, the American Bar Association’s Judicial Division hosted a national program titled “Judicial Solutions to Institutional Child Abuse,” a timely and highly attended discussion addressing the urgent need for judicial leadership in responding to abuse within youth residential treatment facilities. The program, moderated by Amanda Simmons, founder of Ambika Law, brought together distinguished judges and national experts to examine the legal, structural, and ethical challenges surrounding institutional child abuse—and the critical role judges play in protecting vulnerable youth.

At the 2024 Annual Meeting of the National Association of Women Judges (NAWJ) in San Diego, Amanda Simmons, founder of Ambika Law, joined an esteemed panel of judicial leaders, prosecutors, survivor-advocates, and national anti-trafficking experts for the session “What Every Judge Needs to Know: Best Practices for Hidden Faces and Forms of Human Trafficking.”

Attorney Amanda Simmons of Ambika Law, PC was recently honored with a prestigious appointment as a Presidential Fellow for the American Bar Association representing the SOGI Committee. This prestigious appointment will allow Amanda to focus on her advocacy efforts for institutional child abuse and the troubled teen industry on behalf of the American Bar Association.

This 3-part ABA webinar series explores the history, policy solutions, and legal challenges and presents practical solutions for effective change.  Resolution 605 was adopted by the American Bar  Association in 2023 because of decades of well-documented abuse within the Troubled Teen Industry and youth residential treatment centers.  Despite this awareness, little has been done to protect children in institutional settings.

This 3-part ABA webinar series explores the history, policy solutions, and legal challenges and presents practical solutions for effective change.  Resolution 605 was adopted by the American Bar  Association in 2023 because of decades of well-documented abuse within the Troubled Teen Industry and youth residential treatment centers.  Despite this awareness, little has been done to protect children in institutional settings.

In the Summer 2024 issue of In Session, the member magazine of the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), Amanda Simmons, founder of Ambika Law, PC, published “Partnering with the Judiciary to End Institutional Child Abuse in Residential Treatment Centers.” The article makes a direct case to the bench: an educated judiciary is one of the most powerful and effective tools for protecting children from abuse in the so-called troubled teen industry.

Attorney Amanda Simmons recently published an article in the Children’s Legal Rights Journal about juvenile strip searches in youth residential treatment facilities and the troubled teen article. Simmons’ article, “Sorry, Kid, You Have No Rights Here: How can we protect unadjudicated youth in private residential treatment facilities from harmful and unnecessary strip searches?” published in the Children’s Legal Rights Journal, explores the legal and ethical concerns surrounding the strip searches of unadjudicated youth in private residential treatment facilities.

This 3-part ABA webinar series, coordinated by Attorney Amanda Simmons alongside SOGI, explores the history, policy solutions, and legal challenges and presents practical solutions for effective change.  Resolution 605 was adopted by the American Bar  Association in 2023 because of decades of well-documented abuse within the Troubled Teen Industry and youth residential treatment centers.

Attorney Amanda Simmons was selected as a speaker at the 2024 National Conference on Juvenile Justice, an annual conference presented by the National Coalition of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.  Amanda’s presentation, entitled, “Congregate Care, Collective Trauma” included other prominent figures in the conversation about the troubled teen industry including Judge Ernestine Gray, Caroline Cole, and Chelsea Maldonado.  

The American Bar Association recently adopted Resolution 605 at the 2023 Annual Meeting. This important resolution provides support for the Stop Institional Child Abuse Act and similar state, local and federal legislation that aims to prevent child abuse in youth residential treatment programs.

On March 12, 2024 Amanda was invited to speak as a guest lecturer for Professor and Attorney Annette Smith’s class on children and the Law at the University of Oregon School of Law.  Amanda presented alongside troubled teen industry survivors and advocates Kayla Muzquiz, Chelsea Maldonado and Caroline Cole.  The speakers covered topics including the importance of lived experience advocacy, legal issues in the troubled teen industry and challenges with placements in abusive residential facilities within the child welfare system. 

Attorney Amanda Simmons of Ambika Law presented her research on juvenile strip searches in a webinar with the Children’s Legal Rights Division alongside attorneys from Children’s Law Institute and Abolitionist Law Center.  This complimentary webinar was sponsored by the American Bar Association Litigation Section Children’s Rights Litigation Committee

Amanda Simmons, lead attorney and founder of Ambika Law, was honored by Chapman University’s Fowler School of Law in an alumni feature article, “Alumni on the Move: Amanda Simmons, The ABA, Lifelong Advocacy, and Lawyering with Love.”