Innovations in Lawyer Engagement in Child Welfare

Proceedings and Systemic Reform

American Bar Association Children & the Law Conference

May 2009

Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest

Sarah Helvey, J.D., M.S.LaShawn Young, J.D.

Core Values. Common Ground. Equal Justice.

Roadmap

Background on Nebraska AppleseedHistory of Child Welfare System

Accountability ProgramThe Foster Care Reform Legal

Resource Center

Nebraska Appleseed

Nebraska Appleseed was founded in 1996

A statewide non-profit, nonpartisan public interest law firm

Mission: To achieve systemic change for low-income and underrepresented Nebraskans

Work: class action litigation, impact litigation, public policy advocacy, community outreach & education

Staff: lawyers, social workers, community organizers, technical support/webmaster, administrator, law clerks & volunteers

The Appleseed Network

Program Areas

Low-Income Self-Sufficiency

Immigrant Integration and Civic Participation

Child Welfare System Accountability

Health Care Access

Access to Justice

Building Democracy

Child Welfare System Accountability Program

Created in 2003 to address systemic failures in the Nebraska child welfare system Highest rate of children in out-of-home

placement per capita in the country Number of high profile child deaths in foster

care Caseworker caseloads in some areas 3x

national standard Lowest foster care rate in the country

Child Welfare System Accountability Program

Goal: To protect the legal rights of children in foster care and to work for lasting and meaningful reform of the system. Policy and litigation Use legal advocacy to support and

complement highly needed reform initiatives

Carson P. et al. v. Heineman

In 2005, after two years of thorough investigation, filed a class action lawsuit on behalf of the then over 6,700 children in Nebraska’s foster care system

The lawsuit alleged that the Nebraska child welfare system violated the constitutional and statutory rights of its foster children by: leaving children in state custody too long, overusing institutional care, moving them too frequently and to inappropriate placements, overcrowding in foster homes, allowing placement in emergency shelters and temporary placements for long periods of time, and placing infants and other very young children in emergency shelters.

Motion for class certification denied and motion to dismiss granted, Jan. 2007, Judge Kopf

Adopted Magistrate Judge Piester’s Aug. 2006 Report & Recommendation Positive outcomes

The Foster Care Reform Legal Resource Center

(Legal Resource Center or LRC)

An Effective Model for Systemic Change in Nebraska

Established in

2007

What is the LRC?

A resource created to assist child welfare attorneys in raising systemic issues

A resource with the goal of engaging attorneys as a powerful force in developing cases that result in positive change for Nebraska’s foster care children

Why the LRC?

Able to engage child welfare attorneys across the state which creates a powerful force in the effort to promote real change within the child welfare system

Is a resource unlike any other in NebraskaRealizing that reform of the child welfare

system requires a collective efforts of attorneys asserting the rights of children in the effort to reform the system

How does the LRC work with attorneys?

The LRC develops resources available to child welfare attorneys

The resources created by the LRC are relevant and useful to attorneys in their day-to-day practice

LRC Tools

ListservFoster Care UpdatePolicy Brief SeriesJuvenile Document BankOutreachDirect assistance to attorneys including

research, the development of amicus briefs, case intervention

ListservThe Pulse of the LRC

Allows attorneys to share ideas and successful strategies utilized in juvenile court cases

Current membership of 188 attorneysMembership is limited to parent attorneys,

foster parent attorneys, and guardians ad litem

Provides the LRC with valuable information to help shape Appleseed’s policy agenda

Listserv, the pulse

Provides an avenue for attorneys to raise awareness of systemic issues that may be occurring in various parts of the state

Problems with reasonable efforts raised through the listserv

Attorneys provided strategies that they had successfully used to challenge the state’s actions in adequately making reasonable efforts

Foster Care Update

Effectively communicating current and relevant information to attorneys

23 released Highlights a policy issueGives a summary of current casesProvides information on state and

federal legislation

Foster Care Update

Amanda C. v. Case, 275 Neb. 277,749 N.W. 2d 429 (2008).

Nebraska Supreme CourtRaised the issue of a child’s reciprocal

right to a relationship with their parentPolicy Spotlight for July 2008Encouraged attorneys to think broadly on

the issue of children’s constitutional rights

Direct Assistance to Attorneys

37 intakes from attorney member and non-members

Attorney may need research assistanceSome intakes turn into case involvement An intake from Legal Aid provided an

opportunity for involvement through an amicus brief

Direct Assistance to Attorneys

In re Interest of Walter W., 274 Neb. 859,744 N.W.2d 55 (2008).

LRC argued that the active efforts requirement in ICWA is a higher and different standard than reasonable efforts

Nebraska Supreme Court affirmed the lower court’s finding that the state had provided active efforts

Nebraska Supreme Court articulated that active efforts requires more than reasonable efforts and some culturally relevant component

Other Resources

Policy Brief SeriesPurpose to highlight an issue relative and

important to practitioners Inaugural brief- Relative Placement in Nebraska

LRC received concerns from attorneys regarding the lackluster efforts of the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services (NDHHS) in placing children with relatives as opposed to non-relative foster homes

LRC researched and provided this information to attorneys in a policy brief

Other Resources

The second policy brief to be released is Reasonable Efforts in NebraskaThis issue also came to the attention of the LRC through our listserv members

This brief will provide information to attorneys on the background, law in Nebraska and other jurisdictions, and successful strategies

Other Resources

The newest resource to the LRC- the Juvenile Document Bank (document bank)

Provides example documents of pleadings used by attorneys in abuse/neglect cases

Provided through our websiteSample documents donated by child

welfare attorneysDocument bank will also include briefs

Ultimate Goal of the LRC

These tools are used by the LRC to engage the most important resource- child welfare attorneys engaged in the day-to-day practice of law

We are confident that this model can be successfully duplicated in any state

We believe that the creation of these tools along with engaged attorneys ensures that the LRC meet the challenge of the federal court to seek widespread reform through individual cases

Nebraska Appleseed Center for Law in the Public Interest

Sarah HelveyLaShawn Young941 “O” Street, Suite 920 Lincoln, NE 68508 (402) 438-8853shelvey@neappleseed.orglyoung@neappleseed.org www.neappleseed.org/lrc

Core Values. Common Ground. Equal Justice