This document contains links to resources that provide information on representing and supporting children in the legal system.   Please feel free to share this resource.

The Law Firm Consortium on Children’s Rights was founded to convene child advocacy stakeholders in collaboration to ensure that children in Florida, along with other parties, receive high-quality representation in the court cases that deal with the fundamental issues in their lives.   Founding firms Akerman, Baker McKenzie, Carlton Fields, and Holland & Knight invite you to join us in […]

View Making Healthy Choices: A Guide for Psychotropic Medications for Youth in Foster Care

Measuring the Impact of Children’s Rights to Counsel: Advancing Child Due Process and Well-being in the Juvenile Court Ecology describes the potential outcomes for children and juvenile court systems by guaranteeing client-directed counsel for all children in dependency and termination of parental rights proceedings, as well as the challenges jurisdictions face in seeking to measure the […]

View Engaging Youth in Court: A National Analysis 2015.

This technical assistance brief intended to serve as an introductory guide for communities seeking an overview of the Miami CWBC(TM) model and a roadmap of key steps to take in support of implementation, maintenance, and sustainability of the model. Author: Jennifer Goldman Fraser, PhD, Cecilia Casanueva, PhD  

This technical assistance brief intended to serve as an introductory guide for communities seeking an overview of the Miami CWBC(TM) model and a roadmap of key steps to take in support of implementation, maintenance, and sustainability of the model. Author: Jennifer Goldman Fraser, PhD, Cecilia Casanueva, PhD,  

The Agency for Health Care Administration (AHCA), Agency for Persons with Disabilities (APD), Department of Children and Families (DCF), Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ), Department of Education (DOE), Department of Health (DOH), Guardian ad Litem (GAL) Program, and Florida’s Office of Early Learning (FOEL), enter into this Interagency Agreement to coordinate services and supports for […]

Florida’s Legal Online Resource, Information Driven Access – F4CF is a resource for all attorneys and judges who work in the child welfare and juvenile delinquency arenas. Any lawyer or judge who registers can use this online network, for free. F4CF will create an instant community of lawyers who are focused on child welfare, juvenile […]

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In October 2009, the U.S. Children’s Bureau named the University of Michigan Law School the National Quality Improvement Center on the Representation of Children in the Child Welfare System (QIC-ChildRep). The QIC-ChildRep is a six-year, multimillion dollar project to gather, develop and communicate knowledge on child representation, promote consensus on the role of the child’s legal representative, and provide […]

Top Ten Actions Florida Can Take to Eliminate the Unnecessary Use of Psychotropic Medications

THE KIDS AREN’T ALRIGHT: EVERY CHILD SHOULD HAVE AN ATTORNEY IN CHILD WELFARE PRO-CEEDINGS IN FLORIDA

To fully appreciate the impetus for creating the Regis Little Subcommittee of the Legal Needs of Children Committee of The Florida Bar, you have to know the story about its namesake. A foster child who had recently “aged out of the system,” Regis Little was 18 when he was found stabbed to death in a […]

This Report Card presents a survey of whether and how each state’s laws mandate effective legal representationfor maltreated children. Our survey and grades reflect state statutes or statewide rules. Where available, otherinformation about a state’s practices (which may deviate from the laws) is provided in “sidebar notes,” but thisinformation does not impact a state’s overall […]

This training is intended to provide an overview of dependency court to attorneys who have volunteered to represent children in dependency proceedings.

This report examines how Florida’s system of child representation evolved, which children are supposed to get representation today, and which communities provide counsel to children. It also provides a list of the programs that provide counsel for children in each judicial circuit and shows what percentage of children in each community potentially have access to […]

The mission of the Center on Children and Families is to promote the highest quality of advocacy, teaching and scholarship in the areas of child & family law and policy.

Florida Practice Guidelines for Lawyers Who Represent Children in Abuse and Neglect Case

This rule governs the conduct of attorneys who represent children.

The Florida Guardian ad Litem State Association is a Non-Profit organization, whose mission is to improve the lives of abused and neglected children in Florida, by promoting the development, expansion and improvement of Guardian ad Litem Programs statewide.

CASA is an acronym for Court Appointed Special Advocate. CASA was created to use trained community volunteers to speak for the best interests of these children in court. Today more than 900 CASA programs are in operation, with 70,000 women and men serving as CASA volunteers.

The National Association of Counsel for Children (NACC) is a non-profit child advocacy and professional membership association dedicated to representation and protection of children in the legal system. The NACC provides training and technical assistance to child advocates and works to improve the child welfare, juvenile justice and private custody systems. NACC membership is comprised primarily of attorneys and judges, although the fields of medicine, social work, mental health, education, and law enforcement are also represented.

The purpose of this memo is to provide basic information
on CBHAs so that all players in the child welfare system will know what a CBHA is, what it covers, how to obtain one and how to use it. Prepared by the Children’s Legal Services Grantees of the Florida Bar Foundation. CBHA Packet

Some states have chosen to create ombudsman offices or offices of the child advocate to assist in providing oversight of children’s services. Information hosted by the National Conference of State Legislators.

The Center’s mission is to improve the quality of life for children through advancements in law, justice, and public policy.

The Bulletin examines access to legal counsel in the juvenile justice system. The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) written by Judith B. Jones, M.A., Spec. H.S.A. (June 2004)