Youth involved in the child welfare system may be facing a myriad of other legal issues. Consistency in representation can help increase rapport building and trust, ease in navigating complex legal systems, and attorney knowledge of the holistic needs of the youth - which can all contribute to quality legal representation. Jurisdictions should consider how expansive the attorney’s representation will be - and make training available accordingly, so that attorneys can competently represent youth in their dependency case and collateral matters. This is a particularly important consideration for dual status youth. At a minimum, youth should retain the same attorney through their time in the dependency system - and be appointed that same attorney if they re-enter the system.
“Expanded Scope of Representation. The child's attorney may request authority from the court to pursue issues on behalf of the child, administratively or judicially, even if those issues do not specifically arise from the court appointment. For example: