Youth-Serving Organizations
- Services
- Youth-Serving Organizations

Overview
Taylor English’s Youth-Serving Organizations group is dedicated to protecting and enhancing your passion for service. Our attorneys use their industry experience to help safeguard your ability to pursue your mission and serve your clients.
We regularly advise day care centers, camps, mentoring organizations, non-profits, schools and social welfare organizations that work with young people.
We understand that our clients face legal issues unique to their mission. Our attorneys frequently work with organizations to meet their social and financial goals by providing legal counsel on the following matters:
- Compliance with state laws and licensing standards,
- Defense of personal injury and abuse claims,
- Contract disputes, defamation claims and other litigation,
- Internal investigations,
- Employment matters,
- Non-profit governance,
- Risk management, and
- Tax issues.
"We look to Taylor English to provide a full range of services for our members. They understand the challenges of running a child care center and are our 'go to' firm when our members have licensing issues and general litigation."
- Ellen Reynolds, Executive Director, Georgia Child Care Association
Experience
Experience
Deborah was the federal prosecutor in numerous jury trials of rape and child sexual abuse cases from Cherokee Indian Reservation in western North Carolina. She has also represented plaintiffs in civil rights cases in federal court, and participated in two constitutional claims before the United States Supreme Court.
Defended educational products company in lawsuit alleging infringement of copyrights in cards for assistance with speech therapy. The court granted our motion for summary judgment, finding that there was no infringement of any copyright in the selection and arrangement of Plaintiff’s cards as a matter of law. Ristuccia v. Super Duper, Inc.
Defense of organizations across the country in personal injury claims, including child sexual abuse; defense of childcare centers throughout Georgia in licensing and general litigation matters. She served as a federal prosecutor, handling crimes against children, and has deep experience in constitutional litigation.
Represented Atlanta Public Schools in favorably resolving a class action brought by the ACLU that raised federal and state constitutional and statutory claims with respect to the adequacy of education, procedures for assigning and disciplining students, and search practices at alternative high school.
Hecht v. Laurelbrook Sanitarium and School
Represented the defendant, a Seventh Day Adventist school and sanitarium, against claims brought by the plaintiff under Tennessee’s workers’ compensation statutes. The defendant’s defense was based in part under the United States Constitution and the Tennessee Religious Freedom Restoration Act.
Acted as counsel to Dew Learning in a corporate reorganization and recapitalization through which Dew Learning became a wholly-owned subsidiary of Dew IT Holdings, LLC ("Holdings"), the former members of Dew Learning exchanged their interests in Dew Learning for membership interests in Holdings, and Holdings was capitalized by the sale of $2.5 million in convertible notes to its majority owners.
Solis v. Laurelbrook
Successfully defended a private school against claims by the United States Department of Labor that its vocational program violated child labor laws and obtained an order awarding the school its attorneys’ fees. The favorable opinion from the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals established precedent for all similar schools in the four-state circuit.
Advised on legal aspects of standards for youth serving organizations in hiring, screening and supervision.
Governing board for state agency, serving on committee for department of Family and Children's services.
Newsroom
News Releases
Publications
- HR Daily Advisor, June 5, 2018
Alerts
- June 21, 2021
- Information Current as of March 17, 2021
- Information Current as of January 11, 2021
- Information Current as of September 3, 2020
- Information Current as of July 6, 2020
- Information Current as of April 10, 2020
- Information Current as of June 29, 2020
- Information Current as of June 11, 2020
- Information Current as of June 11, 2020
- Information Current as of May 29, 2020
- Information Current as of April 28, 2020
- October 3, 2019
- January 1, 2019
- June 2018
- By: Deborah AusburnMay 17, 2018
- September 21, 2016
- September 21, 2016
- September 21, 2016
- July 22, 2014
Speaking Engagements
- January 28, 2020
- October 27, 2019
- October 10, 2019
- September 24, 2019
- September 23 – 25, 2019.
- ASCI Professional Development Forum 2017South Daytona, Florida, November 20 – 21, 2017
- McDonough, Ga., October 27, 2017
- Cohutta Springs Conference Center, February 7-11, 2018
- Atlanta, Ga., March 23, 2017
- November 5, 2014
- October 21, 2014
- October 16, 2014
- September 21, 2014
- May 6, 2014
- October 2, 2012
- July 19, 2011