Youth in foster care deserve a voice in court

Dave Jones, a California Democrat, recently introduced legislation to bring foster children into the court hearings that decide their fates after allegations of abuse and neglect.

This bill was designed to address Broken Families, Broken Courts reports that, throughout California, hearings in the courts that oversee the foster care system are often held without the child present.

As its author states: "This bill sends a strong message that kids need to be a more integral part of the system."

Current law gives children the legal right to attend but does not require officials to make a strong effort to get the children there.

This is a terrible oversight because youth people have a very strong viewpoint about what is and is not working in the child welfare system, and can thoughtfully articulate their own interests.

Jones' bill, AB 3051, requires all California judicial officers to postpone hearings if children 10 years old and older have not been properly notified and offered the chance to attend.

Some lawyers are hoping that the language of this bill will be revised so that any children ages 4 years old and older will be able to attend.

One key proponent of this revision is Leslie Heimov, executive director of the non-profit Children's Law Center of Los Angeles.

Her reasoning is that, "For older kids, there's a benefit to the child, but for younger kids there's a benefit to the court. They bring the case alive. They're ruling on a person, not a piece of paper."

Jones said alterations of his bill are expected, and that he intends the age reference to be "a floor, not a ceiling."

Culture Change
In order for this bill to have an impact, a significant culture change will be required in many California courts. Some judges and lawyers believe children can be disruptive, or shouldn't miss school to attend court. Others fear they will be bored or traumatized by things they hear.

I agree with Presiding Judge Michael Nash of the Los Angeles Juvenile Court: "Children are the most important persons in our process. And they should be seen and heard."

Source:
de Sá, Karen. Bill would strengthen kids' voices in foster care court: Bill would require they're told about right to attend hearings. Mercury News, March 7, 2008.

Legal representation for young people in the child welfare system

The United States spends one hundred billion dollars each year on the protection of children. There are six million allegations of abuse and neglect annually, leading to approximately 1500 deaths each year.

An estimated 70% of children who enter the child welfare system wind up in long-term foster care until they are legally emancipated. Their childhood is largely spent going in and out of various placements, depending upon what court proceedings determine is in their “best interests.”

The American Bar Association defines a child’s attorney as: "a lawyer who provides legal services for a child and who owes the same duties of undivided loyalty, confidentiality, and competent representation to the child as is due to an adult client."

Children in the child welfare system have a vested interest in their personal safety, as well as a right to be provided with safe living conditions --- and these fundamental liberty interests are separate and distinct from the interests of parents, guardians or the state.

Unfortunately, children in abuse and neglect hearings often do not receive quality legal representation that allows them equal access to justice so that their voices are heard in a court of law.

- In 1967, the Supreme Court first recognized children’s right to counsel during legal proceedings.

- In 1974, Congress passed the Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA), mandating that states appoint a guardian ad litem for children who are subject to abuse and neglect proceedings.

Court-appointed special advocates (CASA) and lay Guardians Ad Litem (GAL) can be valuable sources of support for young people, but they cannot substitute for independent counsel for the child.

- In 2006, First Star conducted a nationwide analysis of child representation laws, which revealed glaring anomalies in the legal representation provided for children.

According to First Star’s National Report Card on Legal Representation for Children, there are glaring anomalies in the legal representation provided for children.

While some locations do a good job, most do not, and the quality of assistance provided for children depends largely upon the zip code in which the child happens to live. In some cases, economically disadvantaged states do a better job than more affluent ones.

Meanwhile, because “Best Practices” are not shared with the vast majority of the country, it is as if they did not exist. Due to a lack of oversight and shared expertise, individual jurisdictions do not learn from the successes and failures of their peers.

Minimal direction by federal statutes has allowed states to interpret the law and construct their own models of practice. The duties and responsibilities of attorneys for children are not clearly defined. States don’t even use the same statutory language.

I agree with the authors of this study, who believe that each state should:
1.) Provide a competent, independent attorney for every child in child welfare proceedings.

2.) Mandate child advocacy training and hold child attorneys accountable

3.) Require that this attorney advocate for the child in a client-directed manner

4.) Give the child notice and allow the child to be present at legal proceedings

5.) Specify that juveniles have the right to continuous counsel by the same lawyer at all proceedings

I share their hope to initiate a national Call to Action, promoting laws to require consistency in providing trained, qualified, client-directed legal counsel to child victims throughout the nation.

We need to identify and highlight Best Practices across the nation regarding legislative, professional, judicial, sociological and governmental behavior towards abused and neglected children.

For more information, and to see how your state measures up, please visit: 

http://www.firststar.org/documents/Final_RTC_2nd_Edition.pdf

Sources:
First Star’s National Report Card on Legal Representation for Children, 2006.
Bob Fellmeth, Child Rights and Remedies, 2002.

Foster Care Resources Online

Annie E. Casey Foundation offers grants to help states, cities and neighborhoods more effectively meet the needs of at-risk children and families. www.aecf.org

Casey Family Programs is dedicated to provide and improve foster care. Their site offers valuable resources and free workshops. www.casey.org

Casey Family Services offers foster care for children, as well as post-adoption, preservation and reunification services for families. www.caseyfamilyservices.org

Child Trends is an independent, nonpartisan research center dedicated to improving the lives of children and their families. www.childtrends.org

Child Welfare Information Gateway promotes the safety, permanency, and well-being of children and families by connecting child welfare, adoption and related professionals as well as concerned citizens to timely, essential information. www.childwelfare.gov

Child Welfare League of America is an association of nearly 800 public and private nonprofit agencies that assist more than 3.5 million abused and neglected children and their families each year with a range of services. www.cwla.org

Connect for Kids offers information and tools to learn about issues affecting children, families, and communities, and to take action to improve policies and programs. www.connectforkids.org

FYI3 provides foster youth between ages 14 and 23 opportunities to become involved, informed and independent in their transitioning journey towards adulthood. www.fyi3.com

FosterClub introduces young people in foster care to successful former foster youth, offers them opportunities to send in opinions about their experiences, offers contests, events and helpful publications. www.fosterclub.com

Foster Care Alumni of America connects the community of former foster children into a collective voice to create positive transformation within the child welfare system. www.fostercarealumni.org

Jim Casey Youth Opportunities Initiative is a national foundation whose mission is to help youth in foster care make successful transitions to adulthood. www.jimcaseyyouth.org

National Foster Care Coalition is a partnership between 40 national and local organizations to improve the lives of young people in and from foster care. www.nationalfostercare.org

National Independent Living Association supports youth and young adults during their transition into adulthood and self-sufficiency. www.nilausa.org

National Mentoring Partnership promotes, advocates and serves as a resource for mentors and mentoring initiatives nationwide. www.mentoring.org

National Network for Youth serves the needs of runaway, homeless, and other disconnected youth through advocacy, innovation and services. www.nn4youth.org

National Resource Center for Youth Development helps states and tribes achieve the goals of the 1997 Adoption and Safe Families Act and 1999 Foster Care Independence Act. www.nrcys.ou.edu

PEW Commission on Children in Foster Care was established in 2003 to develop recommendations to improve outcomes for children in the foster care system. www.pewfostercare.org/

Promising Practice Network for Children, Families & Communities is dedicated to providing quality evidence-based information about what works to improve the lives of children, youth, and families. www.promisingpractices.net/

Public/Private Ventures is an action-based research, public policy and program development organization. www.ppv.org

Vera Instititute of Justice works closely with leaders in government and civil society to improve the services people rely on for safety and justice. www.vera.org