PRO BONO ATTORNEYS

        The Office of the Child Advocate is mandated to represent the best interests of dependent, neglected, and abused children.  Through both Deputy Child Advocates and volunteer attorneys throughout the state, OCA was able to represent 1,082 children during the course of Fiscal Year 2007, a 6% increase over Fiscal Year 2006.  

     During Fiscal Year 2007, OCA received 934 appropriate referrals, and was able make 498 attorney appointments.  The vast majority (98%) of children appointed an attorney in FY07 were in the legal custody of the Department of Services for Children, Youth and Their Families (DSCYF or the Children’s Department).  At the end of FY07, 754 dependent, neglected, and abused children were actively receiving legal representation through the Office of the Child Advocate, a 17% increase over FY06.  OCA DCAs were representing 105 of those children, while volunteer attorneys represented the remaining 649.

     The largest concentration of children being actively represented by OCA at the end of FY07 was in New Castle County.  OCA represented 582 children in New Castle County as of June 30, 2007, compared to 75 in Kent County and 97 in Sussex County. 

     OCA DCAs were representing 37% of the total downstate cases and 7% of the New Castle County cases as of June 30, 2007.  OCA staff devoted over 5,430 hours to representing children statewide, and another 1,370 hours supporting volunteer attorneys.

    Of the 754 children being actively represented at the end of FY07, 715 (95%) were in the legal custody of the Children’s Department.  Twenty-four children (3%) were the subject of dependency/neglect proceedings within the Family Court that did not directly involve DSCYF.  OCA was also providing representation to 15 children (2%) who were the subject of parent custody disputes.

    As of June 30, 2007, 1,160 children were in the legal care and custody of the Children’s Department.  OCA was providing legal representation to 715 of those children.  The Court Appointed Special Advocate (CASA) Program was providing advocates for an additional 310 children.  The remaining 135 children had no legal representation as of the end of FY07.  The greatest number of children without legal representation was in Sussex County and the next largest concentration of unrepresented children was in Kent County.  This illustrates the dire need for more resources in the lower two counties.

     At the end of Fiscal Year 2007, there were 515 children referred to OCA who were not assigned OCA legal representation.  This number includes 129 cases that were still pending disposition by OCA as of June 30, 2007, and 20 cases that were placed on OCA’s waiting list.  OCA closed the remaining 366 cases for the following reasons – 135 children received representation through the CASA program, 34 cases were closed due to low resources, and 197 referrals had no pending litigation, were resolved in court during the OCA disposition phase, or, upon further review, had no apparent dependency, neglect, or abuse issues.

     During FY07, OCA closed 392 cases to which an attorney guardian ad litem had been assigned.  Seven of the cases that were closed concerned children who were assigned a Frazer attorney to represent their wishes to the Family Court.  At the end of FY07, OCA stopped tracking the appointment of Frazer attorneys, and so these cases were administratively closed.  OCA was involved in 15 cases that were the subject of parent custody disputes and 8 cases that were the subject of dependency/neglect matters that were resolved and closed during the Fiscal Year. 

     The remaining 362 cases that were closed involved children in the legal custody of DSCYF.  These cases were closed with a variety of outcomes.  One hundred twenty-four children (34%) were reunified with their parents.  Another 21 children (6%) were placed in the custody of relatives.  Guardianship or permanent guardianship was granted for 41 children (11%), and 68 children (19%) were successfully adopted.  Sixty-three children (17%) turned 18 years old and aged out of the foster care system.  An additional 45 (13%) cases were closed for other various reasons.