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26 Child L. Prac. 1 (2007-2008)

handle is hein.journals/chilawpt26 and id is 1 raw text is: Ghild Law Practice Vol. 26 No. 1 March 2007 Helping Lawyers Help Kids BETTER LAWYERING Promoting Quality Parent Representation through Standards of Practice by Mimi Laver A s an attorney representing parents of children involved in the child welfare system you probably have clients who love their children and want to provide what is best for them. But these parents face many challenges. Among them are poverty, language barriers, substance abuse, mental illness problems, and unsuitable housing. Your clients may have harmed their children, or failed to care for them, but they still want the best for them. The Need for Standards As a parent's attorney, you face your own challenges when advocat- ing for your client. You may be a solo practitioner with little office support. You may never have learned about child welfare law during law school. Substance abuse, mental health, and housing may feel like social work. You may only speak English. You are probably not getting paid well, and lack a team of social workers or paralegals to help prepare your cases. You may be one of two attorneys representing parents in your jurisdiction and feeling isolated. If you are facing any of these issues, you are not alone. While preparing to draft standards of practice for parents' attorneys, I spoke with many parents' attorneys. I heard stories like these and learned it can be difficult to represent parents in the child welfare system, but when done well, attorneys can make a difference for their clients and their families. For example, parents' attorneys who are aware of local services, such as mother-child substance abuse treatment programs, can advocate for their clients to access these services. Attorneys who truly understand the importance of the parent-child bond and the increased likelihood of reunification if that bond is maintained can argue for increased visitation in comfortable settings. Attorneys who take time to get to know their clients will be able to advocate for the clients' goals both in and out of court. This type of vigorous advocacy can mean the difference between a parent having a child reunified or having parental rights terminated. Standards Take Shape For 18-months, I worked with a committee of parents' attorneys from around the country, representatives of national organizations and ABA members to draft the Standards of Practice for Attorneys Representing E-mail: childlawpractice @ staff.abanet.org Parents in Abuse and Neglect Cases. The goals of the committee in- cluded promoting quality represen- tation and uniform practice by parents' attorneys throughout the country, helping attorneys prioritize their duties and manage their practices in ways that will benefit each parent on the attorney's caseload, and clarifying the role of the parent attorney in child abuse and neglect cases. Structure and Organization The standards are organized around 44 Basic Obligations or black letter standards for attorneys, 11 obligations for managers, and 11 suggestions for courts to improve practice by parents' attorneys. The 11 standards for attorney managers apply to parents' attorneys who (Continued on page 6) + Internet: http://www.childlawpractice.org What's Inside: 2 CASE LAW UPDATE 8 NEW IN PRINT 9 IN PRACTICE Connect with Your Client through Active Listening 10 WORDS & PHRASES A Glossary of Research Terms 14 RESEARCH IN BRIEF

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