Children & Families Deserve Access to High Quality Legal Representation

February 13, 2023

“For the Children” Weekly Column by Joe Dorman, OICA CEO

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Joe Dorman, CEO – Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy

Telephone: (405) 833-1117

Email: jdorman@oica.org

OKLAHOMA CITY – For the first part of each year, the main focus for the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy (OICA) is to track legislation at our State Capitol. We also work to raise awareness about those significant ideas working their way through the system.

We often partner with champions working on specific ideas. I am proud to count retired Judge Doris Fransein from Tulsa as one of those heroes. The following are thoughts which she shares about a potential new law under consideration by the Oklahoma Legislature.

Every child in every family in every community deserves the chance to thrive. Oftentimes, the best way to help a child is to make sure children and their families are supported and have access to high quality legal representation in court-involved child welfare cases. Yet access to high quality legal representation continues to vary dramatically across Oklahoma.

National research shows that high quality legal representation can help keep families together by preventing unnecessary removal and increasing reunification of families if they are separated. It increases the rate of children being safely returned to their parents and their extended families. It decreases trauma resulting from family separation. It provides our juvenile judges with critical information so they can make the best possible decision for families. It saves the state money by reducing the costs of foster care by DHS.

Fueled by the recommendations of the Oklahoma Supreme Court’s Oversight Committee for Uniform Representation of Children & Parents in Cases Involving Abuse and Neglect, Rep. Mark Lawson-R, Sapulpa and Sen. Paul Rosino- R, Moore have introduced HB1017 and SB907. These bills would create the Family Representation and Advocacy Act and create a centralized office to remove the barriers for children and parent high quality legal representation that currently exists, such as inadequate compensation for attorneys, lack of reasonable caseloads in the metro counties, and inconsistency of practice by providing interdisciplinary support, centralized training and oversight, as well as access to legal expertise and technical assistance.

Attorneys contracting with the centralized office would provide legal representation for children and indigent parents and be required to protect and advance their clients’ interests in court and help their clients understand and feel empowered to participate in the legal process. Attorneys will be expected to prepare for all court hearings by communicating with clients regularly as well as working with collateral contacts, such as foster parents, teachers, and service providers. Caseloads will be capped at 80 clients to provide sufficient time for advocacy. Attorneys can elect to represent parents, children, or both, as well as providing representation in multiple counties.

To assist the attorneys and their clients, the centralized office will contract with social workers and peer mentors to provide access to interdisciplinary support that has been proven to enhance client trust and engagement. Interdisciplinary legal teams promote tailored and specific case plans and services, address collateral issues that may affect the case such as housing, health care, disabilities, education needs, and community supports. Peer mentors are role models who provide guidance and encouragement based on a combination of training and personal first-hand experience in foster care and/or with the court and child welfare agency.  Empowering and coaching clients through the process with DHS, the courts, and other system representatives is an important aspect of this work.

I am grateful to Judge Fransein for her support for the Family Representation and Advocacy Act with sufficient legislative appropriations will reduce the delays in achieving permanency and helps children and families reach better, long-term outcomes. OICA enthusiastically encourages your support for these bills.

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