Biden-Harris Administration Finalizes Rule Expanding Public Agencies Ability to Fund Legal Representation on Behalf of Families Involved in Child Welfare

Expansion of Access to Legal Representation for Children in Foster Care

The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services (HHS), through the Administration for Children and Families (ACF), has announced a new regulation aimed at expanding access to legal representation for children who are eligible for title IV-E foster care, their parents, kinship caregivers, Indian custodians, and tribes. This regulation allows state and tribal child welfare agencies to utilize federal funds to provide legal representation.

Importance of Legal Services for Children and Families

Children and families involved in the child welfare system often face various challenges related to familial, health, housing, or economic issues. Research has shown that providing independent legal representation to parents and caregivers in civil legal proceedings can prevent children from entering foster care and improve rates of reunification when children have been removed from their homes.

Supporting Families and Preventing Foster Care Placement

The focus of the ACF is on prevention and providing families with the necessary support to thrive. This new rule ensures that more families, young people, and tribes have access to legal services that are crucial for keeping families together safely.

Expanding Legal Representation for Indian Children

The regulation also allows federal funds to be used for the representation of tribes when they participate or intervene in state court foster care proceedings for Indian children. This ensures that the court has access to critical information about the child’s tribe.

Examples of Legal Representation

Under this new rule, child welfare agencies can utilize federal funds to provide legal representation in various scenarios:

1. Assisting a family at risk of entering the foster care system with legal representation to secure stable housing, public benefits, or establish custody or guardianship to prevent the unnecessary removal of a child from the home.
2. Supporting Indian children in foster care by allowing federal funds to cover the costs of tribes’ attorneys or representatives providing essential information about the child’s tribe to the court.
3. Helping a parent obtain an order of protection against an abuser, preventing a child from entering foster care.
4. Providing legal representation to a youth exiting foster care to help them access necessary legal documents for achieving independence and stability.

This new regulation aligns with the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) by promoting access to justice and reducing inequalities. It recognizes the importance of legal representation in safeguarding the rights and well-being of children and families involved in the child welfare system.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 1: No Poverty
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being
• SDG 4: Quality Education
• SDG 5: Gender Equality
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice, and Strong Institutions

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 1.3: Implement nationally appropriate social protection systems and measures for all, including floors, and by 2030 achieve substantial coverage of the poor and the vulnerable.
• Target 3.2: By 2030, end preventable deaths of newborns and children under 5 years of age, with all countries aiming to reduce neonatal mortality to at least as low as 12 per 1,000 live births and under-5 mortality to at least as low as 25 per 1,000 live births.
• Target 4.7: By 2030, ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development, including, among others, through education for sustainable development and sustainable lifestyles, human rights, gender equality, promotion of a culture of peace and non-violence, global citizenship and appreciation of cultural diversity and of culture’s contribution to sustainable development.
• Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres, including trafficking and sexual and other types of exploitation.
• Target 10.2: By 2030, empower and promote the social, economic and political inclusion of all, irrespective of age, sex, disability, race, ethnicity, origin, religion or economic or other status.
• Target 16.3: Promote the rule of law at the national and international levels and ensure equal access to justice for all.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Indicator 1.3.1: Proportion of population covered by social protection floors/systems, by sex, distinguishing children, unemployed persons, older persons, persons with disabilities, pregnant women, newborns, work-injury victims and the poor and the vulnerable.
• Indicator 3.2.1: Under-five mortality rate.
• Indicator 4.7.1: Extent to which (i) global citizenship education and (ii) education for sustainable development are mainstreamed in (a) national education policies; (b) curricula; (c) teacher education; and (d) student assessment.
• Indicator 5.2.1: Proportion of ever-partnered women and girls aged 15 years and older subjected to physical, sexual or psychological violence by a current or former intimate partner in the previous 12 months, by form of violence and by age group.
• Indicator 10.2.1: Proportion of people living below 50 percent of median income, by age, sex and persons with disabilities.
• Indicator 16.3.3: Proportion of victims of violence in the previous 12 months who reported their victimization to competent authorities or other officially recognized mechanisms.

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators