Administration for Children and Families Information Memo: “High Quality Legal Representation for All Parties in Child Welfare Proceedings” (2017)

This federal information memorandum describes and gives examples of quality representation of all parties (youth, parents, agencies, tribes) in the child welfare system. It outlines the impacts and effects of quality legal representation and describes best practices in such areas as timing of appointment, standards of practice, models of delivery, and caseloads. The memo also gives examples of some legal offices around the country and how they implement quality legal representation. As a CIP, you can look to this resource for guidance in how to define and measure quality legal representation, as well as what potential indicators and outcomes to collect data on.

Excerpt:“Numerous studies and reports point to the importance of competent legal representation for parents, children, and youth in ensuring that salient information is conveyed to the court, parties’ legal rights are protected and that the wishes of parties are effectively voiced. There is evidence to support that legal representation for children, parents and youth contributes to or is associated with:

• increases in party perceptions of fairness;
• increases in party engagement in case planning, services and court hearings;
• more personally tailored and specific case plans and services;
• increases in visitation and parenting time;
• expedited permanency; and
• cost savings to state government due to reductions of time children and youth spend in care.”