CIP Talk: Reduce the Need for Foster Care and Family Separation
Christopher Church, Staff Attorney, USC School of Law, discusses how to better reduce the need for family separation in the child welfare system.
In Child Welfare Cases, Just Any Old Lawyer Won’t Do
“This pandemic has provided a long-overdue jolt to our system. This jolt gives us the chance to re-examine our broken system and to reimagine how we can better support families. Strong legal representation by institutional providers is a first step.” Read the full article here.
In Child Welfare Cases, Just Any Old Lawyer Won’t Do
Covid-19 crisis brings focus on why high-quality legal representation for children and parents is needed to fix a broken child welfare system.
CIP Talk: The Role Parent Attorneys Play in Child-Wellbeing
Jey Rajaraman, Chief Counsel, Family Representation Project, shares how parent attorneys can parent and child well-being through family time.
Breaking News: Child Welfare Policy Manual updated to clarify use of federal funds
Child Welfare Policy Manual updated to clarify that federal funds may be used to support administrative costs of paralegals, investigators, peer partners or social workers that support parents’ and children’s attorneys. See Child Welfare Policy Manual, Section 8.1B, Question 32.
The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Children’s Bureau issues guidance to courts, attorneys and child welfare agencies during the COVID-19 public health crisis.
CB urges courts to refrain from making sweeping blanket orders ceasing, suspending, or postponing court hearings and reducing or suspending family visitation. Read the letter here.
CIP Talk: Family Justice in Indian Country
Sheldon Spotted Elk, JD, Director of Indian Child Welfare at Casey Family Programs, discusses what the Indian Child Welfare Act.
Welcome Joanne Moore!
We are happy to announce that Joanne Moore, the Director of Washington’s Office of Public Defense (OPD), will be our newest FJI Executive Team member. Under Joanne’s leadership OPD’s Parent Representation Program has grown into a model for providing high-quality legal representation to parents through a statewide office. Washington’s Parent Representation Program has been evaluated…
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.