Opinion ID: 2275396
Heading Depth: 1
Heading Rank: 6

Heading: Dependency Representation Reviewed

Text: In 1995, Delaware was awarded a federal grant to assess and improve Delaware's child welfare system. In May 1997, this Court released the findings and recommendations that resulted from the Delaware Court Improvement Project grant. One of those final recommendations was that every indigent parent and child should have representation in child welfare proceedings from the inception of a dependency and neglect proceeding. [27] In 1997, the United States Congress also passed the Adoption and Safe Families Act (ASFA). Upon its passage, the ASFA mandated that a child's health and safety shall be the paramount concern and that the State should be making timely permanency decisions for children. [28] The ASFA mandates that states develop a system to provide legal representation for children in dependency and neglect proceedings. [29] We noted in Brown that legal representation is provided for Delaware children who are in foster case, indirectly, by the attorneys for each CASA and, directly, by the recent statutory establishment of the Office of the Child Advocate. [30] Legal representation in a dependency and neglect proceeding is provided for the DFS at State expense by Deputy Attorneys General. Consequently, in Delaware, at the present time, the indigent parents are the only parties to a dependency and neglect proceeding who are not provided with representation. The Guidelines for Public Policy and State Legislation Governing Permanence for Children (Guidelines), however, specifically recommend that states guarantee that counsel represent biological parents (or legal guardians) at all court hearings, including at the preliminary protective proceeding. Such representation should be provided at government expense when the parent or guardian is indigent. [31]