Article In most child welfare cases
there are three parties involved: the agency, the child and the
child’s parent(s). Each of these parties must receive high
quality legal representation for justice to be served and to
ensure the best outcomes for the child and family.
What would high quality legal representation for parents look
like? The
ABA Standards of Practice for Attorneys Representing Parents in
Abuse and Neglect Cases establishes 44 black-letter
obligations for attorneys that provide guidance about client
relations, case preparation, case-planning involvement,
courtroom activities and post-hearing obligations. Adherence to
these standards would help improve representation for parents in
all jurisdictions across the country. Effective advocacy,
though, is about more than setting standards and trying to
enforce them.
The best parents’ attorneys spend time getting to know their
clients. They meet with the clients regularly, and if their
clients are out of contact, the attorney makes efforts to find
and communicate with them. These attorneys form relationships
with their clients so they can give the client hard to hear but
necessary information like “If you don’t participate in
services, you really could lose your child forever.” These
attorneys then promise their clients assistance in accessing
services and advocating for the client with the agency and the
judge. The attorney understands that as a parent, the client
generally wants what is best for the child and the attorney
works to empower the client to make good decisions for the
child. This may mean, for example, obtaining the child’s medical
and school records and discussing the records so the client can
play an active part in decision-making about the child.
The best attorneys know their work outside the courtroom is at
least as important as their advocacy during hearings. They
attend case-planning meetings with their clients and help the
client decide which services they can realistically access. They
work with the agency to make the case plan workable for the
parent. These attorneys emphasize the importance of frequent
visits in child-friendly places to the client and to the agency,
ensure the agency schedules these visits, help with
transportation and support the parent during the visits. The
attorney reminds the agency about reasonable efforts when
necessary (enlisting the court when needed) and works with the
client to comply with the efforts. The attorney may provide the
client with a pocket calendar and help the client fill in
important dates or map out directions to ensure the client knows
how to get to meetings and appointments.
These top-quality attorneys know that it is often best for the
client when the attorney works with the agency in a
collaborative way, but the attorney does not shy away from going
to court and seeking a judge’s assistance when the parent is not
receiving the help she needs. The attorney will participate in
alternative dispute resolution, but will only agree to something
if the client agrees. The client must be given the information
and opportunity to make decisions in all aspects of the case,
and the attorney must advocate for the client’s wishes.
Counseling and open communication are key for this to work.
The attorney knows delay tactics rarely help the client because
the “ASFA clock” is ticking.But in some cases, asking for a
continuance benefits the client, so the attorney asks. On top of
everything else, the best attorneys are strong courtroom
advocates. They know the case, they know what the client wants,
and they create effective cases to persuade the court to make
specific orders that benefit their clients.
The best attorneys don’t try to do it alone. Some attorneys work
with paralegals, social workers, investigators, interpreters and
parent advocates. This multi-disciplinary approach allows the
attorney to focus on the truly legal aspects of the case. These
attorneys also network with each other. If they have supervisors
or other parents’ attorneys in their office, they discuss case
strategy and ask for help identifying resources. If they are
sole practitioners, they find colleagues in the courthouse to
share ideas with, mentor newer attorneys, attend brown bag
lunches or trainings and ask for assistance from attorneys
around the country. (To sign up for the ABA parent-attorney
listserv send a message to
listserv@mail.abanet.org with "SUBscribe child-parentsattorneys
YOUR NAME" in the body of the message.) It is important for
attorneys to have access to resources and other people who
understand the challenges of representing parents.
The strongest advocates identify their clients’ parenting
strengths and work with those involved in the case to build on
those strengths to support the client in reaching a positive
outcome. It takes a lot of work, but the results in cases in
which the parent has an effective attorney are good for the
parent and child.
Resource: See the
ABA Parent Attorney Project website for resources, articles
and links to effective parent-attorney law offices. |
