Kentucky gets “D” in protecting legal rights of abused kids

FRANKFORT — A new report by two leading child advocacy groups on Thursday gave Kentucky a failing grade for not doing enough to protect the legal rights of abused kids.

Kentucky was one of eight states to earn a “D” and one of 15 states to earn a “D” or an “F.” Kentucky’s failing grade was due in part for not requiring training for attorneys who are appointed to represent children in court and failing to mandate that the legal representation continue through the appeal process.

The report, called “A Child’s Right to Counsel,” showed improvements from a similar report done in 2007.
Since that report, 33 percent of the states had strengthened laws guaranteeing a child’s right to legal representation. In the 2009 report, eleven states earned an A or an A plus.

The report was written by First Star, a nonprofit child advocacy group in Washington D.C., and the Children’s Advocacy Institute of the University of San Diego School of Law.

Christina Riehl, a staff attorney for the Children’s Advocacy Institute, said many states told the researchers that because of budget problem, they couldn’t enact changes to improve the legal representation of children in the court. “States of all different sizes have done well,” Riehl said. “Every child can be represented by a capable attorney.”

Kentucky’s failing grade came as no surprise to child advocates who have been pushing for changes to the state’s court-appointed legal system for decades.

Kentucky does provide voluntary training for court-appointed attorneys, called guardian ad litems. That training has improved over the years. But it is not mandatory and there is no checks and balances on whether a court-appointed attorney is competent, said David Richart, of the National Institute on Children, Youth and Families in Louisville.

Richart has written five different reports calling for changes in the way the state handles legal representation for children and parents accused of abusing and neglecting children.
“You could fall asleep during the training and sign on and say that you have completed the training,” Richart said. “To me there is no accountability in how that training is conducted.”

Another key problem with Kentucky’s current system is that only a few jurisdictions allow and will give attorneys additional funding to pursue an appeal.
Because of the inconsistencies in the system, the quality of court-appointed lawyers “varies from jurisdiction to jurisdiction,” Richart said.

Robert Heleringer, a Louisville attorney who has been a guardian ad litem for more than 30 years, said it’s difficult to find competent attorneys to take these cases because the pay is so low — typically between $250 to the maximum of $500. The last time guardian ad litems got a pay raise was in the 1980s.
Heleringer, a former state legislator, said concerns about escalating costs have kept the legislature from approving the pay raise.
“Before we can make people do the training, they may want to raise their pay,” Heleringer said.

Richart said that he has proposed that those who are certified to become guardian ad litems be eligible for a pay raise. Richart would also like to see legal counsel appointed at the first court hearing. Typically, lawyers aren’t appointed to represent parents until the second hearing.

At the press conference in Washington D.C. on Thursday, child advocates said that they hoped that the report would give advocates and legislators ammunition to change state laws and to improve the legal system for children. The groups are also pushing for more states to look at forgiving student loans for lawyers who do decide to become guardian ad litems.

“There simply aren’t enough lawyers to do the kind of work that we’re asking for,” Riehl said.

Filed Under: Elections • KY General Assembly