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PRO BONOWEEK 2016–
CARING, ONE PERSON AT A TIME
S
tories like these are not isolated
mistakes–they happen every day.
Child protection agencies frequently
remove children as a first, not a last, resort.
And in child protection investigations,
the error rate in finding that a parent has
committed child abuse or neglect is very
high—upon appeal with a neutral review,
close to 75% of guilty findings are reversed.
Any family can be threatened by wrong-
ful separation or intervention by DCFS
and, unfortunately, those most severely
impacted by wrongful interventions are
disproportionately poor, minority mothers
who do not have the means necessary to
hire an attorney–especially one who spe-
cializes in this niche area of law. Families
in these situations need high quality legal
representation to get their children back,
assert their rights, and clear their names.
Pro Bono Representation
In Chicago, many of these families turn to
the Family Defense Center, a non-profit
legal services organization with a mission
of advocating justice for families in the
child welfare system. The Center helped
the deserving parents mentioned above, as
well as hundreds of other families per year,
through direct representation in investiga-
What should be the role of the child welfare system in our society? Consider these three recent examples of actions
taken by the Illinois Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS):
• A single mother checked from her apartment window as her three sons, ages 11, 9, and 5, played in the park
adjacent to their building for half an hour. DCFS decided that she had neglected her sons.
• Amother sought a second opinion and more information before consenting to put her depressed foster son on
medication that came with serious side effects. DCFS decided that she had medically neglected her son.
• Amother fled domestic violence and sought safety for herself and her children at a relative’s home. DCFS decided
that she had neglected her children because she was a domestic violence victim and therefore had put her chil-
dren at risk, despite taking every precaution she could. Her children were taken from her and placed with her
abuser’s family.
tions, through all levels of the court system,
and through impact litigation, policy advo-
cacy, and education. No other non-profit
organization in the Chicago metropolitan
area, let alone the United States, focuses on
legal advocacy for families in the child pro-
tection system–especially during investiga-
tions, when legal representation is critical.
The best way to protect children is to
enable them, whenever possible and safe,
to grow up in their own homes with family
members who love them. As is the case in
other areas of the law, pro bono attorneys
are an integral part of providing services for
these families. In 2015, over 100 attorneys
represented families through the Center’s
pro bono program. Attorneys at more than
a dozen of Chicago’s top law firms, as well
as many smaller firms and solo practitio-
ners, have helped leverage the Center’s
financial resources three times over, with
$2.5 million in reported donated legal
services last year.
Attorneys who represent these families
enjoy their experience and often report
surprise at the “absurdity and subjectivity
that exists in the child welfare system.”
Sometimes, these cases can be successfully
resolved simply by pointing out those
issues to DCFS. An attorney makes a few
calls and the case is reversed. Other times,
these cases are won through hard-fought
administrative hearings, administrative
review actions, appeals, or even federal
civil rights cases after months of prepara-
tion and work.
Changed Outcomes
The single mother who checked from her
apartment window as her three sons played
in the park below? After DCFS’s finding
of child neglect, she appealed all the way
up to the Illinois Appellate Court with the
help of a dedicated pro bono attorney at
Winston & Strawn. Even though DCFS
did not take her children, the finding
negatively impacted her career plans in
the health care field when she was listed
as a child neglector on the State Central
Register (a list of such DCFS findings).
Plus, she was afraid for a long time of even
letting her boys take out the trash. Finally,
after more than two years and significant
media attention, her case was reversed and
her name was cleared last December.
The attentive foster mother who asked
for a second medical opinion? After
DCFS’s finding of medical neglect, her
administrative appeal was successful and
her name was cleared, thanks to excel-
CBA RECORD
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