Association for Public Policy Analysis & Management

As Sankaran, Church, & Mitchell (2019) state, "removing children from their parents is child welfare's most drastic intervention." Many studies indicate that children who spend time in foster care often experience more educational, behavioral, and psychological challenges than their peers - challenges that are even more salient for members of marginalized groups, such as LGBTQ+ and Native youth. When children in the United States must enter court-supervised out-of-home care, reunification is often the primary case goal in order to return families to stability and mitigate the poor outcomes associated with long-term out-of-home care. Several models of parent and child legal representation have resulted in expedited reunification and greater overall permanency, however these pilot programs are largely experimental and unstandardized. In the absence of a standardized, tried-and-true model of parent and child representation, addressing legal issues which precipitate contact with the child welfare system can help prevent entrance into foster care and help children return home more quickly rather than redressing situations after removal from the home has already taken place.

For parents experiencing poverty charged with neglect, “failure to act” may be due to inability to act or secure resources. Though precise studies on whether legal representation of parents prevents removal of children from their homes are scarce, abundant research has shown that legal interventions can prevent issues that may precipitate child welfare involvement, such as eviction (Grundman & Kruger, 2018; Stout Risius Ross, 2018), domestic violence (Hartley & Renner, 2018), barriers to employment (Prescott & Starr, 2019; Adams et al., 2017), and access to social services that support families’ health and nutrition (Massachusetts Legal Aid Assistance Corporation, 2011).

Several novel programs in New Jersey, Iowa, and Washington state have successfully prevented the separation of many families (without compromising child safety) by expanding legal services to those at risk of contact with the child welfare system. These programs will be discussed, as will past and present federal support for prevention-focused efforts to reduce the number of children in foster care in the United States.