High-Quality Legal Representation

The Family Justice Initiative believes that children and families deserve access to high-quality legal representation

The following describes the fundamental attributes of high-quality legal representation for children and parents. These are attributes/elements that must be met by individual parents’ and children’s attorneys as well as by the systems or structures governing legal representation for children and parents in child welfare proceedings.

System attributes are needed to ensure that parents’ and children’s attorneys are properly supported to meet their individual obligations to clients. System attributes include:


These system attributes build on and support Standards of Practice for attorneys representing children and parents in child welfare proceedings, and findings and recommendations from the National Quality Improvement Center on the Representation of Children in the Child Welfare System and the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, Administration for Children and Families.


2017 Survey of Parents’ and Children’s Attorney Compensation and Supports