Parent Representation
Accomplishing Our Goals
- Assisting Practitioners
- Informing Policy
- Engaging Parents
- Creating a National Organization for Parents’ Attorneys
Assisting Practitioners
The Parent Representation Project will nurture and encourage new and seasoned lawyers as well as social workers and parent advocates to join this extraordinarily important, but underappreciated field. The project will do so by focusing on:
- training;
- implementing standards;
- analyzing and improving caseloads and compensation for parents attorneys;
- providing on and off site technical assistance as needed;
- moderating a listserv for practitioners and using other electronic tools to provide networking opportunities for parents' attorneys;
- creating electronic newsletters to alert parents’ attorneys and other professionals working with them to new developments and successful strategies in other jurisdictions; and
- collecting and sharing model briefs and trial memoranda.
The Parent Representation Project also sponsored a national conference for attorneys, social workers and parent advocates who represent parents in child abuse and neglect cases. The conference was a great success -- providing inspiration, practice tools and networking opportunities for all involved.
Informing Policy
Supporting individual attorneys is one important aspect of the Parent Representation Project , but working to change the child welfare system as a whole is also essential. As the project progresses, the staff will work to join national, state and local-level coalitions and discussions focused on helping families and creating policies. As the second round of federal Child and Family Service Reviews (CFSR) begins, states will be focused on practice reform. Improved representation is a large part of that, and this project will help lead the way. One project goal is to become sufficiently visible and well-known that it will become unthinkable to hold hearings or policy meetings without inviting parents’ attorneys to participate to ensure parents’ perspectives are considered before new policy is enacted.
Engaging Parents
Engaging and empowering parents is a key step to system reform. The Parent Representation Project will research and report on efforts of parents and parent advocates to improve practice in courts and influence policy. It will start with chronicling the work in New York and include efforts in jurisdictions across the country. The publication will include a discussion of what has gone well in these jurisdictions and what challenges have been faced. Giving voice to the often voiceless parent in the child welfare system is essential to positive outcomes for children and families.
Creating a National Organization for Parents’ Attorneys
One long range goal of the Parent Representation Project is to form a national organization to support attorneys who represent parents in the child welfare system. Representing parents can be lonely and difficult. This organization will provide the support, training, information sharing, and networking opportunities attorneys need to provide the best possible representation for their clients.
