Florida’s foster children deserve high quality lawyers (Opinion)
Research has proved that high-quality legal representation for children is associated with better outcomes, shorter times in foster care, including the reduced use of expensive group home settings, and cost savings for states. Read the full article here.
Court of appeal in Washington vacates order terminating parental rights
Court of appeal in Washington vacates order terminating parental rights finding that the the superior court violated the appearance of fairness and parents’ due process because it assisted and advocated against the parents through its voluntary guardian ad litem program. Appellate court ordered the case remanded to a different county and ordered that the child…
CLS Blog: Family Advocacy: How Holistic Family Defense Helps Children Thrive
FJI collaborator, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia, writes about how their interdisciplinary model of legal representation for parents helps families stay together in a blog about family advocacy. Read the post here.
Administration for Children and Families Information Memorandum
In a new Information Memorandum highlighting the importance of family and youth voice in a well-functioning child welfare system, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families identifies high-quality legal representation for children and parents as one of the key principles in its call to action to child welfare agencies, dependency courts, and court…
By Kevin Penton: Why An Attorney May Not Be Enough In Child Welfare Cases
Jason Bragg was confused. He felt angry. But more than anything, he wanted his son back. Bragg said he believes the reunification would have taken far longer had he not received guidance from the Parents Representation Program, a service for low-income parents operating out of Washington state’s Office of Public Defense. Read the full article…
US: Legal representation is essential for abused children – and smart for states
Children are the vulnerable parties in child abuse and neglect cases, with every aspect of their lives at stake when they face removal from their families or enter a courtroom. Dependency courts dramatically shape a child’s future and have complete authority over the children in their custody. Read the full article here.
New York Child Welfare Advocates Want Parents to Have Representation When Their Children Are Removed
“I would have liked an attorney from day one, not just when I landed in court. It would have been a little better,” Montauban said. Child welfare reform advocates agree, and are forming an alliance of activists and practitioners to advocate for more timely representation statewide for parents accused of abusing or neglecting their children….
First Star Institute & the Children’s Advocacy Institute Release Latest Edition of “A Child’s Right to Counsel,” a Report on Nationwide Effort to Guarantee Legal Protections for Children in Abuse and Neglect Cases
Link to the report and related articles: Full Report Executive Summary Press Release Article from the Chronicle of Social Change
FJI Executive Team Member, Prudence Beidler Carr, to moderate congressional briefing on right to counsel for families in child welfare cases.
The Congressional Caucus on Foster Youth and the Congressional Caucus on Crime Prevention and Youth Development invite you to join us for a briefing on Right to Counsel in Child Abuse and Neglect Dependency Cases Tuesday, June 4, 2019 11:00 am to Noon Rayburn House Office Building, Rm. 2325 More than 430,000 US children have…