April 27, 2007

I don’t know a single West Virginian who isn’t tired of hearing about how our state ranks last in some national survey. Economic and geographic hurdles have forced us to struggle harder than most states, and that is often reflected in such reports, which can be disheartening.


So I was especially pleased this week when a national child welfare advocacy group ranked West Virginia first in the nation in its representation of abused and neglected foster care children. What could be more important than protecting our state’s children?

The announcement by the Washington D.C.-based First Star charity comes right in the midst of National Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month. First Lady Gayle Manchin is marking the occasion by promoting the West Virginia Children’s Trust Fund, which for more than 20 years has provided grants to support local community programs that help prevent child abuse and neglect.

"Children who grow up in nurturing homes and communities are much more likely to become capable and contributing adults," the group states on its web site. "The Children’s Trust Fund raises money for innovative programs and services in local communities that prevent child abuse and neglect. It is made possible by contributions from West Virginia citizens, businesses and other funders. Contributions also help generate federal matching funds."

There are a number of ways to donate, including by checking a box on the West Virginia State Income Tax Form. For more information, check out the Trust Fund web site at http://www.wvctf.org/.

But getting back to the First Star report, West Virginia is one of only five states that received an "A" grade from the group, which tapped leading national child welfare experts to establish guiding principles for a child’s right to court representation, and developed a grading system based on each principle.

The goals of the First Star campaign include: guaranteeing attorneys for children in dependency and foster care proceedings; developing a set of required standards of practice for attorneys; creating federal grant programs for legal representation; establishing case load limits for attorneys assigned to such cases to ensure adequate representation; and providing adequate compensation for attorneys in the cases, conditioned on compliance with the standards of practice.

First Star notes that under the 1974 Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Treatment Act, all 50 states and the District of Columbia are required to provide foster children with a legal guardian, but the law left it up to the states to determine who that should be. "As a result, states often use different statutory language and mandated roles for child representation, which leads to unequal standards across the country."

Thankfully, the West Virginia Legislature has taken care over the years to put in place proper protections. We provide mandatory legal counsel to children in foster care proceedings. We are one of 17 states that mandate a lawyer in foster-care proceedings be client-directed, represent the child’s expressed wishes and require that the child be heard during the case.

According to First Star, 12 states don’t even consider children a party to the court proceedings.

While the group congratulated West Virginia for its child protection laws, it also stated that we could do more the ensure that the attorneys and other professionals involved in such cases receive training in other fields relating to children, such as the psychology of child abuse. That may be something the Legislature will want to consider.

Nonetheless, it is comforting to know that this state has well thought out, meaningful laws on the books to help protect some of our most vulnerable West Virginians.

I welcome and appreciate your input on these or any other legislative issues. Write to House Majority Leader Joe DeLong, Building 1, Room 228-M, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, 25305, or joe@joedelong.com, or call 304-340-3220.

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April 27, 2007

I don’t know a single West Virginian who isn’t tired of hearing about how our state ranks last in some national survey. Economic and geographic hurdles have forced us to struggle harder than most states, and that is often reflected in such reports, which can be disheartening.


So I was especially pleased this week when a national child welfare advocacy group ranked West Virginia first in the nation in its representation of abused and neglected foster care children. What could be more important than protecting our state’s children?

The announcement by the Washington D.C.-based First Star charity comes right in the midst of National Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention Month. First Lady Gayle Manchin is marking the occasion by promoting the West Virginia Children’s Trust Fund, which for more than 20 years has provided grants to support local community programs that help prevent child abuse and neglect.

"Children who grow up in nurturing homes and communities are much more likely to become capable and contributing adults," the group states on its web site. "The Children’s Trust Fund raises money for innovative programs and services in local communities that prevent child abuse and neglect. It is made possible by contributions from West Virginia citizens, businesses and other funders. Contributions also help generate federal matching funds."

There are a number of ways to donate, including by checking a box on the West Virginia State Income Tax Form. For more information, check out the Trust Fund web site at http://www.wvctf.org/.

But getting back to the First Star report, West Virginia is one of only five states that received an "A" grade from the group, which tapped leading national child welfare experts to establish guiding principles for a child’s right to court representation, and developed a grading system based on each principle.

The goals of the First Star campaign include: guaranteeing attorneys for children in dependency and foster care proceedings; developing a set of required standards of practice for attorneys; creating federal grant programs for legal representation; establishing case load limits for attorneys assigned to such cases to ensure adequate representation; and providing adequate compensation for attorneys in the cases, conditioned on compliance with the standards of practice.

First Star notes that under the 1974 Child Abuse and Neglect Prevention and Treatment Act, all 50 states and the District of Columbia are required to provide foster children with a legal guardian, but the law left it up to the states to determine who that should be. "As a result, states often use different statutory language and mandated roles for child representation, which leads to unequal standards across the country."

Thankfully, the West Virginia Legislature has taken care over the years to put in place proper protections. We provide mandatory legal counsel to children in foster care proceedings. We are one of 17 states that mandate a lawyer in foster-care proceedings be client-directed, represent the child’s expressed wishes and require that the child be heard during the case.

According to First Star, 12 states don’t even consider children a party to the court proceedings.

While the group congratulated West Virginia for its child protection laws, it also stated that we could do more the ensure that the attorneys and other professionals involved in such cases receive training in other fields relating to children, such as the psychology of child abuse. That may be something the Legislature will want to consider.

Nonetheless, it is comforting to know that this state has well thought out, meaningful laws on the books to help protect some of our most vulnerable West Virginians.

I welcome and appreciate your input on these or any other legislative issues. Write to House Majority Leader Joe DeLong, Building 1, Room 228-M, 1900 Kanawha Blvd. E., Charleston, 25305, or joe@joedelong.com, or call 304-340-3220.

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