The last several months were packed with activity for Counsel for Kids. The Campaign has added new resources to the toolkit, provided technical assistance to states, and spread the word on the importance of counsel for kids.
New Resources
The Counsel for Kids campaign added several new resources to the toolkit:
· Statewide Child Law Office Index
· Client-Directed Representation Explainer Cartoon
· Updated Right to Counsel Map
Legislative Update
The new year began with a flurry of legislation to improve legal service delivery and establish children’s right to counsel. Efforts to centralize legal services and move best-interest models to client-directed models of legal representation continue to trend in state legislatures.
Establishing the Right to Counsel
Indiana stakeholders tirelessly fight for youth right to counsel. This year’s proposal, House Bill 1485, would require the appointment of legal counsel for children in foster care placed in private facilities or shelter care facilities. While the bill has not been scheduled for a hearing, the research study on direct representation of older youth at the University of Notre Dame’s Lab for Economic Opportunities enters its second year. The project evaluates the impact of representation on children in six counties and will be key to policy reform.
In Hawai’i, stakeholders have made great strides to elevate counsel for kids to the legislative and judicial branches of government. House Bill 900 would establish a working group tasked with improving access to legal representation for youth in child protection proceedings. The group would consider pathways for implementation of the recommendations made by the Malama Ohana group of lived experience experts and community members.
Client-Directed Model of Legal Representation
In California, Assembly Bill 373 would remove statutory language that prevents children’s counsel from representing nonminor dependent youth’s expressed wishes when those wishes conflict with the safety or protection of the youth thereby changing the model of representation to a client-directed model of representation.
Iowa resurrects last year’s proposal as House File 373. If passed, the bill would require the appointment of client-directed counsel for all youth. Youth under age 10 must be appointed a GAL in addition to counsel. GALs are not required for youth over 10. The proposal allows the same person to serve as both GAL and counsel, unless unable to adequately represent the child and their best interests. To ensure quality of legal representation, the bill includes requirements for the attorney role including interviewing the child, visiting their placement, obtaining first-hand knowledge of facts and circumstances, and interviewing collaterals providing services to the child.
The Missouri legislature again considers a proposal to require client-directed counsel for children. Senate Bill 43 would require the appointment of client-directed legal counsel for children 14 and older who are subject to child protection court proceedings. The mandatory GAL would transition to serve as a client-directed attorney at the child’s 14th birthday, unless a judge determines the child to have diminished capacity. The bill also establishes a “Coordinating Board” within the state supreme court to ensure high-quality legal representation. The board would be responsible for making recommendations to the court on minimum training requirements, practice standards, pilot projects, and alternative funding opportunities for counsel. Also pending is Missouri Senate Bill 440 which would guarantee client-directed counsel for all youth in child protection court and make appointment of a GAL discretionary. This bill requires the state’s supreme court to establish standards of practice for GALs and children’s attorneys.
Systems Improvement
In Arizona, House Bill 2604 would establish the Child and Family Representation Program in the Administrative Office of the Courts to help ensure uniform high-quality legal representation for children and parents. The program would help enhance legal representation by recommending minimum training requirements, practice standards, case load maximums, fair compensation, strategies to oversee attorney performance and outcomes, and additional funding sources.
Montana Senate Bill 151 would centralize children’s and parents’ legal services in separate units within the state public defender office.
Federal Update
On January 4 reauthorization of Title IV-B of the Social Security became law. Among several new provisions is a requirement that child welfare agencies plan to inform children, parents and guardians about available independent legal representation. NACC will work with partners on implementation of this mandate in the year ahead.
Spreading the Word
In October, NACC’s CEO Kim Dvorchak opened the Arkansas Attorney ad Litem Fall Conference with remarks on the importance of youth engagement and client-centered lawyering in dependency and neglect cases. During her presentation, Kim shared that “to maximize participation, children need to be engaged as partners, especially in decisions related to legal, cultural, and relational permanency.”
On November 19, Policy Counsel Natalece Washington presented Seen Heard and Represented: The Value of Zealous Advocacy for Youth in Foster Care to the Children and Families Chapter of the U.S. Ombudsman Association Convening during their annual conference. This was a terrific audience for the Counsel for Kids Campaign, since child Welfare Ombudsmen and children’s attorneys share a common goal of holding state agencies accountable for their responsibilities to children in their custody.
The Counsel for Kids team heard overwhelming demand for an encore of the 2024 pre-conference session, “How We Established a Statewide Children’s Law Office” featuring leaders from newly formed and established centralized offices. The session was repeated during a virtual open webinar on December 4 and a recording remains publicly available.
Policy Counsel Natalece Washington and CEO Kim Dvorchak presented “High-Quality Legal Representation for Youth in Foster Care” at the National Association for Public Defense Conference on December 6, 2024. Their presentation emphasized the role of quality legal representation in presenting crossover, the mutual benefit of collaboration with youth defenders, and the aligned missions of the child welfare and public defense systems.
On December 11 Policy Counsel Natalece Washington participated as a panelist for “Seen and Heard: State Strategies to Ensure Quality Legal Representation for Youths in Child Welfare Systems” before the Council of State Governments Midwestern Legislative Conference Health & Human Services Committee on child welfare policy.
Counsel for Kids offers a continuum of technical assistance services to state advocates. Learn more about our technical assistance offerings and apply for support.
Learn more about the campaign.