• QLR requires that attorneys are paid to provide robust legal representation, inside and outside the courthouse, including travel time and mileage.
• Pay parity across roles is important to promote equity (Ex. agency attorney, parent attorney and child’s attorney should all be on similar scale, calibrated for tenure and experience)
• Child welfare agencies may draw down federal Title IV-E funding reimbursement for the costs of providing “independent legal representation by an attorney for a child who is a candidate for title IV-E foster care or in foster care and his/her parent.” This also applies to tribal representation, as well as the costs of paralegals, investigators, peer partners, social workers, support staff, and overhead for independent child and parent legal representation.

Link to Title IV-E funding