A landmark 2017 study published in the American Journal of Public Health reported that 53 percent of Black children are subject to a child protective services investigation by age 18, compared to a 28.2 percent rate for white children. According to the sisters, children who are removed from their homes face numerous negative health outcomes throughout life.

“The systems that were formed are largely made by people who are white,” says Cris, the younger sister by 20 minutes. “Children of color are more likely to be removed from their homes, and they’re more likely to be arrested, less likely to be bailed and less likely to get better dispositions. It’s something that we should all be urgently working on.”

And the sisters are. When they’re not in the courtroom, Cris and Deb run a mock trial program at a Lowell middle school under the auspices of Discovering Justice. The intent, they say, is to make children their own best advocates. Over 10 weeks — for 90 minutes each week — the sisters teach youngsters the fundamentals of the legal system. The goal is to make children aware of dynamics at play and give them tools that very well could help foment reforms.

“We give them the opportunity to put on the hat of a lawyer and try a case,” Cris says. “We teach important lessons about society and their rights. They learn about the First and Fourth Amendments. They learn about critical thinking skills and how to interact with their peers, even when they disagree.”

Adds Deb: “After 10 weeks, they walk away knowing that they can be a lawyer, even if they’re the first in their family to attend college. It helps bring joy into our work. It’s such a source of inspiration.”

The sisters are the superhero-loving daughters of Portuguese immigrants from the Azores. Their work is focused on encour- aging children to harness their own inner superpowers. The display at the law firm not only is meant to lighten the mood in wrenching situations, but also to stress to children that they have the untapped might to make right.

The women once helped to save lives as EMTs in Lawrence, but while both appreciated the human aspect of the work, they ulti- mately found it unfulfilling. (“We used to joke that it wasn’t a good profession for us, because you couldn’t appeal death,” Deb says.) They went on to receive law and master of public health degrees in a joint program offered by Northeastern and Tufts University.

They found their calling in child welfare after taking a course with the Honorable Jay Blitzman (ret.), then first justice of the Massachusetts Juvenile Court, Middlesex Division, and now chair of the juvenile justice committee of Northeastern Law’s Criminal Justice Task Force. The sisters were recently honored as “reunification heroes” by the American Bar Association Center on Children and the Law for their work to safely and quickly reunite children with their families.

The first in their family to attend college, the sisters thrill to their work, which Deb says is an “underdeveloped” area of law: “Every day presents an opportunity to bring a new argument and a new analysis that will provide better rights and protections for kids and their families.”