The ones we fail

Presentation Type

Abstract

Faculty Advisor

Thomas Loikith

Access Type

Event

Start Date

25-4-2025 9:00 AM

End Date

25-4-2025 9:59 AM

Description

The foster care system provides temporary housing solutions for youth endangered by threats to their health and safety. The effectiveness of the system depends on quality legal representation for the children, but there are no uniform standards for such representation. Some states require legal representation; other states leave representation to the discretion of the court. Attorneys representing foster children often have overwhelming caseloads, limited training, and inadequate funding. This inconsistency results in inequitable outcomes. This lack of uniformity disproportionately impacts children from marginalized backgrounds, compounding systemic inequities. What can and should be done to improve the foster care system? This is a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary research to achieve a more comprehensive understanding. Using qualitative research methodology, specifically textual analysis, I analyzed relevant sources from the disciplines of law and social work to identify conflicting insights. Finding common ground between such insights, I used integration to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the problem which allowed me to suggest solutions to the problem. I have not completed my research. However, I conclude that there should be national standards requiring that every foster child have an attorney appointed to represent them. There should be a federal training program training for attorneys appointed to represent foster children. That program should include trauma-informed and culturally responsive training. More trained attorneys should be hired to reduce case overloads. Adequate funds must be appropriated to support a system of effective legal representation including funds to fairly compensate court-appointed attorneys who represent foster children.

Comments

Poster presentation at the 2025 Student Research Symposium.

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Apr 25th, 9:00 AM Apr 25th, 9:59 AM

The ones we fail

The foster care system provides temporary housing solutions for youth endangered by threats to their health and safety. The effectiveness of the system depends on quality legal representation for the children, but there are no uniform standards for such representation. Some states require legal representation; other states leave representation to the discretion of the court. Attorneys representing foster children often have overwhelming caseloads, limited training, and inadequate funding. This inconsistency results in inequitable outcomes. This lack of uniformity disproportionately impacts children from marginalized backgrounds, compounding systemic inequities. What can and should be done to improve the foster care system? This is a complex problem requiring interdisciplinary research to achieve a more comprehensive understanding. Using qualitative research methodology, specifically textual analysis, I analyzed relevant sources from the disciplines of law and social work to identify conflicting insights. Finding common ground between such insights, I used integration to arrive at a more comprehensive understanding of the problem which allowed me to suggest solutions to the problem. I have not completed my research. However, I conclude that there should be national standards requiring that every foster child have an attorney appointed to represent them. There should be a federal training program training for attorneys appointed to represent foster children. That program should include trauma-informed and culturally responsive training. More trained attorneys should be hired to reduce case overloads. Adequate funds must be appropriated to support a system of effective legal representation including funds to fairly compensate court-appointed attorneys who represent foster children.