New York Child Welfare Advocates Want Parents to Have Representation When Their Children Removed

Angeline Montauban had no idea what was going on the day in 2013 that workers from the city Administration for Children’s Services knocked on her door to inquire about the well-being of her 3-year-old son.

She had recently called a domestic violence hotline; ACS was checking that the environment was fit for a child. She eventually filed for an order of protection against her husband, but ACS petitioned for a removal of her son on the basis that Montauban refused to file an order of protection on behalf of her child as well.

More >> New York Child Welfare Advocates Want Parents to Have Representation When Their Children Removed

Lake County being sued for not providing attorneys to foster kids

Lake County is among three Indiana counties being sued in federal court for not providing attorneys to kids in child welfare cases.

More than 30 states require that youths in the child welfare system be given legal representation, yet Indiana is not one of them. The suit, filed in the Southern District of Indiana, claims this contradicts the U.S. Constitution's equal protection clause.

More >> Lake County being sued for not providing attorneys to foster kids

Southampton mother ran up £60,000 lawyers' bill in fight against city council for daughter

The lawyers' costs run up by the woman was revealed to judges at a Court of Appeal hearing.

Judge Edward Hess had decided that the girl should be removed from her home at a private family court hearing in Southampton nearly two years ago, a barrister said.

More >> Southampton mother ran up £60,000 lawyers' bill in fight against city council for daughter

New Push to Provide Legal Advice to Parents Facing Abuse and Neglect Investigations

The Child Welfare Organizing Project sits in a corner of the Clinton Houses between 109th and 110th Streets in East Harlem, a place where parents can get advice from other parents when they are under investigation for abusing or neglecting their children. It’s one of the few places such parents can go because during an investigation, which can last up to two months, they have no right to a lawyer, nor are they typically told what rights they do have. In a dimly lit backroom with a few toys and a child’s drawing of a valentine on the wall, I speak with a handful of mothers with recent child welfare involvement. They ask that I not use their names for fear that doing so could lead to more trouble.

One mother, who wishes to go by Stella B., says she never had the opportunity to be properly investigated because her children, 8 and 17, were removed on an emergency basis and placed with a relative after she was kidnapped by her ex-boyfriend and held for eleven days—a fact confirmed by a letter from the Manhattan district attorney’s office—while child protective services “indicated” a case of neglect against her.

More >> New Push to Provide Legal Advice to Parents Facing Abuse and Neglect Investigations

State police arrest suspended lawyer accused of threatening R.I. judge

A suspended lawyer was released on personal recognizance Friday after a state police detective told a judge that the man had sent threatening emails to the Supreme Court’s chief disciplinary counsel, writing that he should have “bombed that place” and that a Supreme Court justice should “just be shot in the face.”

More >> State police arrest suspended lawyer accused of threatening R.I. judge

Legal Centres Level the Playing Field for Parents Fighting to Keep Their Children

Where do you turn for help if you’re fighting the Ministry of Children and Family Development over the future of your child?

The courts are complicated, costly and slow, lawyers are expensive and legal aid limited, as noted in the first part of this series. Navigating the system is a challenge for parents in British Columbia, many already struggling with poverty and other issues. For Indigenous families, whose children are eight times more likely to be apprehended, the challenges can be even greater.

More >> Legal Centres Level the Playing Field for Parents Fighting to Keep Their Children

Washington state Supreme Court denies foster children automatic right to attorney

When children are removed from their homes by the state due to abuse or neglect, their cases are put into dependency court. There, decisions are made about where that child will live, go to school, get medical care and when they'll visit family.

More >> Washington state Supreme Court denies foster children automatic right to attorney 

Ontario lawyer accused of seducing vulnerable teenage clients

He impregnated a 17-year-old client, a homeless Crown ward, after acting as duty counsel during her appearance at an Owen Sound courthouse and obtaining the young woman’s release.

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In Oregon, lawyers for foster children don't even have to show up

A pair of Oregon sisters were 5 and not quite 2 when state workers removed them and three older half-siblings from their Medford home in March 2014. Police were concerned about the children’s lack of food and their parents’ drug use and domestic violence, court records say.

The little girls deserved a say in what happened to them next, and one person was paid by Oregon taxpayers to be their voice: Central Point lawyer Risa Hall.

More >> In Oregon, lawyers for foster children don't even have to show up

Parents, judge say they’re seeing shortage of DCS attorneys

A thorough review of Indiana's Department of Child Services is currently underway and the group conducting the assessment say there are concerns about the number of attorneys employed by the troubled agency.

On Thursday, the Child Welfare Policy and Practice group said they have already interview more than 140 people. They say interviewees suggested there are not enough DCS attorneys to handle an increasing number of cases.

More >> Parents, judge say they’re seeing shortage of DCS attorneys

Number of Kids in Child Welfare System Strains Public Defenders

The Indiana Task Force on Public Defense is touring the state to hear from attorneys, social workers, and citizens about strains on the public defense system.

More >> Number of Kids in Child Welfare System Strains Public Defenders

Do You Need An Attorney When Talking To Child Protective Services?

If you are asked by social workers to talk to child protective services, you may think you are just having a formal or an informal conversation with a service. However, as soon as you enter, they are starting to build a case against you and you need to be aware of that.

More >> Do You Need An Attorney When Talking To Child Protective Services?

NJ Atty Sued After Appeal Nixing $102M Child Abuse Verdict

A New Jersey lawyer has been slammed with a state court lawsuit alleging that he mishandled litigation in which a state appeals court tossed a $102 million verdict issued against the state’s child protection agency over severe injuries suffered by a boy at the hands of his father.

More >> NJ Atty Sued After Appeal Nixing $102M Child Abuse Verdict

Morning Report: Vulnerable Foster Kids Stiffed by State Budget

One of the ways the foster care system in California supports children is by funding lawyers needed to make sure kids’ regular legal needs are taken care of. A foster child needs help attending the best school for their situation? They need a lawyer. A foster child is a victim of a crime? Lawyer needed there too. With 3,000 foster children living in San Diego County, the need for legal services is extremely high. Mario Koran reports on how lawyers who serve foster children have been short-changed on funding and have now reached a breaking point. Individual attorneys in San Diego County are handling an average of 210 cases at a time.


More >> Morning Report: Vulnerable Foster Kids Stiffed by State Budget

Feds spent $707Gs on legal fees after child welfare decision

The federal justice minister’s office says it spent $707,000 in legal fees following a landmark human rights tribunal decision on First Nations child welfare.

More >> Feds spent $707Gs on legal fees after child welfare decision

Children in foster care could be offered an attorney

Children as young as 10 who have been removed from their homes have the right to an attorney to represent their wishes in the foster care system.

More >> Children in foster care could be offered an attorney

Child abuse inquiry in turmoil after lawyer suspended

The national inquiry into child abuse has descended into disarray after its most senior lawyer was suspended from duty.

More >> Child abuse inquiry in turmoil after lawyer suspended

• Suspension of child abuse inquiry lawyer a 'devastating blow'

Mother wins court battle against CPS but it cost her and taxpayers thousands

“You are guilty until you prove yourself innocent,” said Barbara Marks.

Child Protective Services spent many months and an untold amount of tax dollars trying to terminate Mark’s parental rights.

More >> Mother wins court battle against CPS but it cost her and taxpayers thousands

Seattle social worker put away for sex crimes as lawyer slept

A Seattle social worker convicted of molesting two girls now claims his defense attorney repeatedly fell asleep during his trial – and he has a judge to back him up.

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Trial date set in suit alleging botched adoption

A jury trial has been scheduled for Sept. 11, 2017, in a Jersey County couple’s lawsuit alleging a Collinsville attorney and adoption agency’s conflict of interest botched their attempt to adopt a baby.

More >> Trial date set in suit alleging botched adoption