I 
112TH CONGRESS 
2D SESSION 
H. R. 3873 
To provide funds to State courts for the provision of legal representation 
to parents and legal guardians with respect to child welfare cases. 
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 
FEBRUARY 1, 2012 
Ms. MOORE introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee 
on Ways and Means 
A BILL 
To provide funds to State courts for the provision of legal 
representation to parents and legal guardians with re-
spect to child welfare cases. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Enhancing the Quality 
of Parental Legal Representation Act of 2011’’. 
SEC. 2. FINDINGS. 
Congress finds the following: 
(1) In the Strengthening Abuse and Neglect 
Courts Act of 2000, the Congress found that ‘‘under 
both Federal and State law, the courts play a crucial 
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and essential role in the Nation’s child welfare sys-
tem and in ensuring safety, stability, and perma-
nence for abused and neglected children under the 
supervision of that system’’. 
(2) Child outcomes are improved and courts 
function more effectively when all parties have qual-
ity legal representation. Analysis of data from pro-
grams in New York and Michigan revealed that 
more than 50 percent of children avoided unneces-
sary foster care placement when all parties received 
high quality representation. According to the Amer-
ican Bar Association, a pilot program in the State 
of Washington to improve representation for parents 
resulted in ‘‘a 53.3 percent increase in the rate of 
reunification’’. 
(3) In New York, children placed in foster care 
whose parents receive high quality legal representa-
tion spent on average 4.5 months in placement com-
pared to a statewide average of 21⁄2 years and re- 
entry rates of 1 percent compared to 15 percent 
statewide. 
(4) According to the American Bar Association, 
the cost per family for high quality legal services in 
New York was approximately $6,000 over the life of 
a case as compared to anywhere from $29,000 to 
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$66,000 for 1 year of foster care for a child in New 
York City in 2010. 
(5) Training and standards of representation 
are necessary to ensure qualified representation. Ac-
cording to the American Bar Association Center on 
Children and the Law, parental representation is 
‘‘often substandard, resulting in the failure of due 
process in these cases. As a result, numerous chil-
dren are needlessly separated from their parents for 
extended periods of time and in many cases families 
are permanently severed through termination of pa-
rental rights orders’’ and most states have no stand-
ard training requirements for attorneys representing 
parents in their state. 
SEC. 3. AMENDMENTS TO THE COURT IMPROVEMENT PRO-
GRAM. 
(a) PROVISION
OF LEGAL REPRESENTATION
FOR 
PARENTS AND LEGAL GUARDIANS WITH RESPECT TO 
CHILD WELFARE CASES.—Section 438(a) of the Social 
Security Act (42 U.S.C. 629h(a)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (3), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the 
end; 
(2) in paragraph (4)(B), by striking the period 
at the end and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(3) by adding at the end the following: 
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‘‘(5) to provide legal representation for parents 
and legal guardians with respect to proceedings de-
scribed in paragraph (1).’’. 
(b) APPLICATION.—Section 438(b) of such Act (42 
U.S.C. 629h(b)) is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of sub-
paragraph (B); 
(B) by striking the period at the end of 
subparagraph (C) and inserting ‘‘; and’’; and 
(C) by adding at the end the following: 
‘‘(D) in the case of a grant for any pur-
pose described in subsection (a)(5)— 
‘‘(i) a description of how the grant 
will be used to provide legal representation 
to parents and legal guardians; 
‘‘(ii) a description of how the court 
will prioritize the provision of legal rep-
resentation, including how and when attor-
neys will be assigned to represent a parent 
or legal guardian; and 
‘‘(iii) a description of how courts and 
child welfare agencies on the local and 
State levels will collaborate and jointly 
plan for the collection and sharing of all 
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relevant data and information to dem-
onstrate how increased quality representa-
tion of parents and legal guardians with 
respect to child welfare cases will improve 
child and family outcomes.’’; and 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) in subparagraph (C), by striking ‘‘or’’; 
(B) in subparagraph (D), by striking ‘‘and 
(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘(C), and (D)’’; and 
(C) by redesignating subparagraph (D) as 
subparagraph (E); and 
(D) by inserting after subparagraph (C) 
the following: 
‘‘(D) the purpose described in subsection 
(a)(5); or’’. 
(c) AMOUNT
OF
GRANT.—Section 438(c)(1) is 
amended by striking ‘‘and (C)’’ and inserting ‘‘(C), and 
(D)’’. 
(d) ALLOCATION OF FUNDS.—Section 438(c)(3)(A) 
of such Act (42 U.S.C. 629h(c)(3)(A)) is amended— 
(1) by striking ‘‘and’’ at the end of clause (iii); 
(2) by redesignating clause (iv) as clause (v); 
and 
(3) by inserting after clause (iii) the following: 
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‘‘(iv) $10,000,000 for grants for the 
purpose described in subsection (a)(5); 
and’’. 
(e) FUNDING.—Section 436 of such Act (42 U.S.C. 
629g) is amended— 
(1) 
in 
subsection 
(a), 
by 
striking 
‘‘$345,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$355,000,000’’; and 
(2) 
in 
subsection 
(b)(2), 
by 
striking 
‘‘$30,000,000’’ and inserting ‘‘$40,000,000’’. 
Æ 
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