A good attorney can be hard to find for parents in the child welfare system. A new program could help.
If Senate Bill 907 and House Bill 1017 are passed into law they would create the Family Representation and Advocacy Program housed in a central office under the Administrative Office of the Courts. The program would supervise lawyers, oversee training, manage caseloads and compensation and issue standards of practice for attorneys representing children, indigent parents,…
Video: Advancing Race Equity
NACC’s Counsel for Kids campaign has released a new video explaining nine ways providing attorneys for youth helps advance race equity.
Providing High Quality Legal Representation in Child Welfare Cases Provides Better Outcomes for Kids
Judge Fransein touches on better outcomes for children with lawyers and proposed legislation to create a centralized office to remove the barriers that currently exist for children and parents to obtain high-quality legal representation.
Let’s not leave CT’s older foster youth to advocate for themselves
Not all states ensure lawyers for youth who stay in extended foster care after they turn 18, but in this article Stace Schleif explains why they all should. Kids in state custody need lawyers.
2022 Fall Newsletter
Welcome to the fall edition of the Family Justice Initiative newsletter. We hope you will find these resources helpful to your practice.
FJI Summer Newsletter
Welcome to the summer edition of the Family Justice Initiative newsletter. We hope you will find these resources helpful to your practice.
FJI Spring 2022 Newsletter
Welcome to the second newsletter of the Family Justice Initiative (FJI)! FJI is pleased to share an outcome report from demonstration sites that invested in high-quality legal representation for parents and children.
Reflections from ABA Center on Children and the Law Conferences
FJI Communications Committee Co-chairs Cathy Krebs and Kathleen Creamer share some overall thoughts on the themes presented during the annual conferences.
MA: Baker proposal for guardians ad litem will only worsen child welfare system
The move would lead to unnecessary, traumatic separation of children from families writes Michael Dsida and Leon Smith in CommonWealth Magazine.
Improving Child Welfare in Maine
To improve child welfare in Maine, Chelsea Peters argues that national best practices – including a right to legal counsel for children – are a great place to start.