Understanding the Effects of an Interdisciplinary Approach, supra note 4, at 910. Brooklyn Defender Services 566 Livonia Avenue Brooklyn, NY 11207. Federal law requires states to have written case plans for every child in care in order to ensure that an appropriate long-term plan is identified for each foster child. In every example, the key to this success is the extraordinary amount of out-of-court time spent on each case and the proactivity engaged in by the defense team.85, The critical characteristics of each of the cases described in the previous section concern the defender teams proactive planning, anticipating next steps, and developing a plan for success calculated to persuade either the agency caseworkers investigating the case or the court. Rev. Programs, https://www.casey.org/who-we-are/about/ (last visited Oct. 18, 2020). Above all else, what characterizes the differences between the family defender offices and their solo practitioner counterparts in New York City is the purposeful assembly of a holistic team designed to work closely with clients throughout the proceedings. Ms. Anderson began therapy that was designed to address her history of physical and sexual abuse in foster care and her previous relationship, helping her to understand how those experiences had shaped her adult life and her approach to parenting. Office of Research & Analysis, Emergency Removals Subcommittee (Sept. 16, 2015). See also Jason A. Oetjen, Natl Council of Juv. Apply to Staff Attorney, Family Medicine Physician, Project Supervisor and more! Criminal Defense Practice Social Worker. Beginning cautiously, New York City first awarded separate contracts for three of its five counties to three different not-for-profit organizations, each one authorized to accept court assignments in one county. Medical neglect is a common charge brought against parents in child welfare cases.82 Depending on the severity of the claimed neglect, the local child welfare agency may be seeking to place the child in foster care to protect the child from the parents failure to provide the child with adequate treatment or, less drastically, to secure court authorization to require that a child have a medical procedure it believes is necessary but that the parent refuses to allow. There are too many heroes in those offices to name here; this Article is a celebration of the remarkable work they do every day supporting and fighting for justice for the many parents living in poverty who have to endure the coercive intervention of the child welfare system. See N.Y. Cty. See N.Y. Fam. medical, dental, optometrical or surgical care, though financially able to do so or offered financial or other reasonable means to do so . As the qualitative study revealed, solo practitioners who were interviewed explained that they do not work with their clients out of court and, if matters involving their service plan ever arise, they will speak with the ACS attorney to look into the matter.86 When one solo practitioner was asked, is there any other type of out of court support you provide to your clients, like talking to their landlords or helping them maintain childcare, the simple answer was No, to be honest, no.87, Two people who were the subject of child welfare proceedings in the New York City courts and were represented by several different panel attorneys over the course of several years testified before the New York State Commission on Parental Representation in 2018. But the defender community maintains meaningful pressure on the system to live up to this rhetoric. By now, two additional months had passed, and the surgeon thought it wisest to order a new series of x-rays before making any decision that day. 18. Gottlieb et al., supra note 60, at 559. 23. 41. The petition alleged that the skull fracture could only have been the result of child abuse and Ms. Greens failure to provide a sufficient explanation for the injury justified placing Sophia in foster care. Get the inside scoop on jobs, salaries, top office locations, and CEO insights. Nonetheless, Ms. Barrows defense team ensured that it was fully prepared for the conference, having secured letters from Ms. Barrows mental health providers laying out her treatment plan and documenting her increased engagement in services and subsequent progress in her mental health. Only six babies (8 percent) were placed in foster care with strangers. The unit is staffed by trained social workers with deep experience negotiating the complexities of child welfare investigations during the time a woman is pregnant and immediately after she gives birth. Panel lawyers may be assigned to represent adult parties in a large range of other types of family court cases, including custody and visitation disputes, paternity proceedings, child support contempt proceedings, and cases involving domestic violence, in which the represented party might be the accused batterer or the alleged victim. Beginning that year, the Office funded a new model of public defense for families facing charges of abuse or neglect in three counties in New York City. The supervisor denied the request, approved the caseworkers leaving the conference, and explained that the agency had all the information it needed. When these errors are not revealed, the official record supports the erroneous conclusion that a child was removed from a parents home for a substantial reason. N.Y.C. Davis. In 41 cases, the children were placed with one of their parents, and in 17 cases children were placed with relatives of their parents choosing. Ketteringham & Becker written testimony, supra note 26, at 89. 95. 69. See N.Y.C. The ongoing relationship may mean the mother became pregnant during the pendency of an ongoing court case (a frequent occurrence). Effects of an Interdisciplinary Approach, supra note 1, at 45. In countless cases over the past decade in New York City, pregnant parents have had the benefit of representation by one of the family defender offices before any case was brought against them. The clogged courts calendar, however, meant that the court could not conduct the evidentiary hearing immediately. Mr. Sanchez again brought his son to the hospital and, again, Mr. Sanchez informed the treating physician that, rather than consenting to surgery, he intended to take Eduardo back to Mexico for more nonsurgical treatment. To counter this concern, the team asked that the court order an additional service calculated to provide the best opportunity to demonstrate that Sophia should be in Ms. Greens care. Child welfare cases are prosecuted along two tracks: the judicial and the administrative. 98. Ms. Green was a single parent of an eight-month-old daughter, Sophia. One might reasonably suggest they are much more important than what happens in the courtroom itself. Even worse, when parents are unrepresented, the plans may fail to identify services the agency should be providing for the particular needs and circumstances of the family. See also In re Hofbauer, 393 N.E.2d 1009 (N.Y.1979). Serv. When that happens, the impact of the defender offices is invisible. This destroys the fabric of multiple lives and leaves long-lasting effects on children, parents, spouses, grandparents and siblings. Caseworkers are a critical player in each case. 85. In fiscal year 2018, the office was assigned to represent more than 1,500 parents with approximately 3,500 children.26 The Neighborhood Defender Service has represented over 1,600 parents between 2014 and 2017.27, This arrangement, assigning a portion of new filings to a family defender law office and the remainder to panel lawyers, created an opportunity to study which kind of representation works best. In addition, by being such a careful listener and advocate, the defender team also ensured that Mr. Sanchez felt supported during an especially challenging time in his life when he was forced to divert his attention from taking care of his son to defending his right to remain his sons parent. Lawyers Assn, 763 N.Y.S.2d at 407 (finding that because of the rate levels assigned counsel do not . Such services might include attending parenting skills or anger management classes, or participating in therapy, counseling, or drug treatment programs. Each of the three offices had a distinct corporate structure. Because the bump did not immediately appear on Sophias head, Ms. Green could not be certain how the injury was sustained. This sometimes happens when the mother has no prior involvement with the child welfare system but behaves at the hospital in a manner that leads hospital personnel to call in a report of suspected child abuse. & Lauren Shapiro, Dir., Family Def. Ct. Act 1046(a)(ii) (McKinney 2020) ([P]roof of injuries sustained by a child or of the condition of a child of such a nature as would ordinarily not be sustained or exist except by reason of the acts or omissions of the parent or other person responsible for the care of such child shall be prima facie evidence of child abuse or neglect, as the case may be, of the parent or other person legally responsible.). . Because she was unable to provide a satisfactory explanation for the injury, the agency removed Sophia from Ms. Greens custody at the hospital, placed her in foster care, and filed an abuse petition in family court the following day. Moreover, in my experience, judges rarely overrule (or reconsider) the agencys assessment of what services are appropriate. N.Y. Unified Ct. Sys. Over the many years of doing this work, the four offices that have contracts to represent parents in child welfare cases in New York City have developed and refined innovative approaches to secure the safe return of children from foster care. He was kind and understanding. With the positive evaluation from the court mental health clinic and letters the team gathered from Ms. Barrows service providers, the judge agreed to allow the children to return home for overnight visits, commonly a crucial step that leads to the eventual return of children to their parents custody. Easily apply. 88. 19, 1989). The offices also are likely to have expertise in immigration, housing, and criminal court practice, areas of the law in which their clients are likely to become involved. One day, Ms. Green noticed a bump on Sophias head that concerned her. Our staff of 300 includes 180 attorneys as well as social workers, investigators, paralegals, re-entry specialists, jail liaisons, education, community organizers and policy specialists. Unlike the other two offices, which were part of larger organizations that secured income from multiple sources, CFRs only work was in parent representation. And by so doing, these defenders improve child welfare practice for everyone: the agencies, the court, and, of course, the families who are brought into the system. Even when the outcome of cases like this do not involve termination of parental rights or placement for an extended period in foster care, these cases should be viewed as an extremely important example of a clash between the right of parents to make the important decisions regarding their childrens upbringing and the states independent power to make decisions for children over a parents objection. Each office was expected to accept approximately half of the new case assignments to represent parents charged with abuse or neglect of their children (what this Article calls child welfare cases).18 The remainder of the filings were to be assigned, as before, to panel attorneys. All names used throughout this Article are fictitious. They provide the opportunity to enter a field with an ambitious social justice vision.62. The family defender offices organize themselves around the real-world needs of their clients and continue to work closely with them even when the next court appearance is not scheduled in the immediate future. The prior quantitative and qualitative studies focused exclusively on outcomes of cases and on the views of professionals who see the work of the family defenders in family court. Finally, in Part V, the Article clarifies the leading characteristics of successful parent representation in child welfare cases with a particular emphasis on proactive representation out of court. The goal of our early intervention is to avoid court filings that have a harsh impact on families. But often the agency seeks to remove newborns from the hospital in a case in which the agency has an ongoing involvement with the mother. Easily apply. It requested that Ms. Green participate in dyadic therapy with Sophia, in which a licensed therapist participates in visits between parents and children to develop a healthy attached relationship. In Queens and Richmond County (Staten Island), no change to the legal representation landscape occurred at that time. The offices social work team, along with the Brooklyn Defender Services immigration practitioners, have developed close relationships with community-based programs serving New Yorks immigrant communities and [are] able to connect clients to culturally competent service providers and access to services in their native language. Schreibersdorf & Shapiro written testimony, supra note 24, at 9. A goal of this Article is to lay the groundwork for leaders in child welfare throughout the United States to embrace the work new family defenders do.59 There are many ways to reform child welfare practice and policy in this country. Richard LaFontaine. at 3940 (oral testimony of Caitlin Becker, MSW, Managing Dire., Soc. 2019, https://cbexpress.acf.hhs.gov/index.cfm?event=website.viewArticles&issueid=208ionid=2&articleid=5378. The strategy worked even better than expected. Admin., The CITYFEPS Rent Supplement Program Fact Sheet, https://www1.nyc.gov/assets/dhs/downloads/pdf/CITYFEPS/CITYFEPS-fact-sheet.pdf. Easily apply. Hum. Mr. Sanchez brought Eduardo to a public hospital for medical attention. We demand accountability from government institutions in court and work to reduce the government's reliance on harmful legal systems to address problems caused by poverty and racism. 78. Yet it was the out-of-court advocacy that made all the difference. This problem, known as gap of payment for services, meant that parents were substantially delayed in beginning a service because of poverty, resulting in extending the time children remained in foster care. 11. 26 days ago. Brooklyn Defender Services, Family Defense Practice Main Industry Manufacturing, Test & Measurement Equipment Website www.bfdp.org Contact Information Headquarters 195 Montague St Fl 5, Brooklyn, New York, 11201, United States (347) 592-2500 Brooklyn Defender Services, Family Defense Practice Profile and History The last 15 months have taken a toll on all of us. 30+ days ago. One such case involved the representation by one of the family defender offices. . There is no question that the in-court advocacy engaged in by the family defender offices is of a much higher order than that practiced by the panel lawyers, as the qualitative study attests. The Bronx Defenders was awarded the contract in The Bronx. 30. 105163 (2020), https://doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2020.105163 [hereinafter Understanding the Effects of an Interdisciplinary Approach].