Quality Legal Representation
High-quality legal representation for parents and children in child welfare proceedings has many benefits, including increased parental engagement, more frequent visitation, and better access to services. Most importantly, quality legal representation for families has been shown to reduce the length of time children must spend in foster care — and in some cases, prevent family…
Information Memorandum -Civil Legal Advocacy
Civil Legal Advocacy to Promote Child and Family Well-being, Address the Social Determinants of Health, and Enhance Community Resilience.
Article: The Case for a Centralized Office for Legal Representation in Child Welfare Cases
FJI Executive Team member, Mimi Laver, and FJI Communications Work Group Co-Chair, Cathy Krebs, recently published a new article “The Case for a Centralized Office for Legal Representation in Child Welfare Cases.”
Colorado Office of Respondent Parentsʼ Counsel Social Work Pilot Program
An evaluation Colorado Office of Respondent Parents’ Counsel finds that when parents are represented by an interdisciplinary team that includes a social worker, children return home and stay safely with family at higher rates.
New Program Evaluation from the Colorado’s Office of the Child’s Representative
Colorado’s Office of the Child’s Representative (OCR) completed an evaluation focused on engaging and empowering youth in child welfare court proceedings. The paper and an executive summary make recommendations based on data from nearly 300 youth surveys, 12 youth focus groups, youth-centered data from OCR court observations, and thousands of youth-centered GAL entries into OCR’s online case management system.
Pre-Petition Legal Representation for Parents & Youth in Child Welfare
The Family Justice Initiative hosted a webinar on September 23, 2020 on pre-petition legal representation for parents and youth in the child welfare system. Presenters discussed pre-petition representation programs, including funding, getting started, relationship with the child welfare agency as a referral source, best practices and outcomes. Presenters included: · Adam Ballout, Family Intervention Response to…
Special Series: The Moment Is Now
Read Children’s Bureau Express call to action to chart a different course to strengthen families through primary prevention and create a more just and equitable system focused on child and family well-being. This article series consensus statement that stresses how we must all value and invest in families and communities.
Article: Investing in Youth and Families
FJI Communications Workgroup Co-Chair Kathleen Creamer writes about the importance of investing in families and supporting kinship caregivers.
Leaning Into Discomfort and Disruption: A Call to Action for Children’s Attorneys
Kim Dvorechak, National Association of Counsel for Children executive director and FJI Communications Workgroup member describes how children’s lawyers can examine and improve their practice.
Article: After Years of Doing It Wrong as a Judge…l Know We Can Do Better!
Judge William Thorne writes about keeping families safe through community: After Years of Doing It Wrong as a Judge…l Know We Can Do Better!
Article: Fault Lines and Opportunities
FJI Executive Team Member Prudence Beidler Carr co-authors an article about ways to improve the child welfare legal system to safeguard family integrity.