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Evaluation of the impact of enhanced parental legal representation on the timing of permanency outcomes for children in foster care

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  • Courtney, Mark E.
  • Hook, Jennifer L.

Abstract

While the U.S. Supreme Court has expressed the opinion that providing parental counsel to indigent parents is generally a sound practice, it has ruled that parents do not have an absolute constitutional right to counsel in termination of parental rights proceedings, and not all states provide a statutory right to counsel after child protection proceedings have been initiated or in termination proceedings. What constitutes adequate representation for indigent parents involved in abuse and neglect and parental rights termination proceedings remains an open question. This study addresses gaps in knowledge about the functioning of child welfare services and juvenile courts by evaluating the impact of a program of enhanced parental legal representation on the timing of permanency outcomes for 12,104 children who entered court-supervised out-of-home care in Washington State for the first time between 2004 and 2007. The study employs methods that are methodologically superior to prior efforts to evaluate parental representation and focuses on key outcomes of the child welfare and dependency court systems. Study findings provide evidence that the availability of improved parental legal representation speeds reunification with parents, and for those children who do not reunify, it speeds achieving permanency through adoption and guardianship.

Suggested Citation

  • Courtney, Mark E. & Hook, Jennifer L., 2012. "Evaluation of the impact of enhanced parental legal representation on the timing of permanency outcomes for children in foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 34(7), pages 1337-1343.
    • Handle: RePEc:eee:cysrev:v:34:y:2012:i:7:p:1337-1343
    DOI: 10.1016/j.childyouth.2012.03.016
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    1. Courtney, Mark E. & Yin-Ling Irene Wong, 1996. "Comparing the timing of exits from substitute care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(4-5), pages 307-334.
    2. Harris, Marian S. & Courtney, Mark E., 2003. "The interaction of race, ethnicity, and family structure with respect to the timing of family reunification," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 25(5-6), pages 409-429.
    3. Akin, Becci A., 2011. "Predictors of foster care exits to permanency: A competing risks analysis of reunification, guardianship, and adoption," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 33(6), pages 999-1011, June.
    4. Maluccio, Anthony N. & Abramczyk, Lois W. & Thomlison, Barbara, 1996. "Family reunification of children in out-of-home care: Research perspectives," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 18(4-5), pages 287-305.
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    Cited by:

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    2. Miller, J. Jay & Duron, Jackie & Washington, Earl & Donohue-Dioh, Jessica, 2017. "Exploring the legal representation of individuals in foster care: What say youth and alumni?," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 78(C), pages 142-149.
    3. White, Kevin R. & Wu, Qi, 2014. "Application of the life course perspective in child welfare research," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 146-154.
    4. Havlicek, Judy, 2021. "Systematic review of birth parent–foster youth relationships before and after aging out of foster care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 120(C).
    5. Zinn, Andrew & Cusick, Gretchen, 2014. "Juvenile court pathways to legal permanence for children in substitute care," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 36(C), pages 90-100.
    6. Haight, Wendy & Marshall, Jane & Woolman, Joanna, 2015. "The Child Protection Clinic: A mixed method evaluation of parent legal representation," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 56(C), pages 7-17.
    7. Landers, Ashley L. & Danes, Sharon M., 2016. "Forgotten children: A critical review of the reunification of American Indian children in the child welfare system," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 71(C), pages 137-147.
    8. Goemans, Anouk & Vanderfaeillie, Johan & Damen, Harm & Pijnenburg, Huub & Van Holen, Frank, 2016. "Reunification of foster children: Factors associated with reunification outcomes in Flanders and the Netherlands," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 70(C), pages 284-292.
    9. Yampolskaya, Svetlana & Callejas, Linda M., 2020. "The effect of child mental health service use on child safety and permanency in substance misusing families," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 111(C).
    10. Gerber, Lucas A. & Guggenheim, Martin & Pang, Yuk C. & Ross, Timothy & Mayevskaya, Yana & Jacobs, Susan & Pecora, Peter J., 2020. "Understanding the effects of an interdisciplinary approach to parental representation in child welfare," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 116(C).
    11. Dickens, Jonathan & Beckett, Chris & Bailey, Sue, 2014. "Justice, speed and thoroughness in child protection court proceedings: Messages from England," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 46(C), pages 103-111.
    12. Ryan Cooper & Joseph Doyle & Andres Hojman, 2023. "Legal aid in child welfare: Evidence from a randomized trial of Mi Abogado," POID Working Papers 077, Centre for Economic Performance, LSE.
    13. Wu, Qi & Zhu, Yiqi & Brevard, Kanisha & Wu, Shiyou & Krysik, Judy, 2024. "Risk and protective factors for African American kinship caregiving: A scoping review," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 156(C).
    14. Miller, J. Jay & Donohue-Dioh, Jessica & Duron, Jacquelynn F. & Geiger, Jennifer M., 2019. "Examining legal representation for foster youth: Perspectives of foster parents," Children and Youth Services Review, Elsevier, vol. 104(C), pages 1-1.

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