YES. All youth in the dependency and delinquency systems have lawyers who are appointed to represent them in court at no cost. Sometimes your lawyer is called a Guardian ad Litem (GAL) or child advocate.
Your lawyer works for you. Your lawyer does not work for the county child welfare agency or for your parent(s). Your lawyer is focused on your needs and making sure you are safe and well cared for. The job of your lawyer is to find out what you need and try to make it happen.
How your lawyer represents you depends on how you came into care.
If you are not sure how your lawyer represents you, call your lawyer and ask.
Your lawyer should come and see you as soon as possible after he or she is appointed to be your lawyer and should meet with you on a regular basis. Your lawyer should interview other people who are involved in your case and who may be witnesses in your case. Your lawyer should participate in any hearings in court that involve you. Your lawyer should also explain to you what is happening in court.
The lawyer is supposed to do all of these things. Ultimately, though, you are your own best advocate. You should find out the name of your lawyer, his/her telephone number and address so you have a few ways to communicate with your lawyer. You should call your lawyer and make sure that he/she knows what is going on in your case, particularly if you are having problems. You should also be prepared to speak for yourself in court so that you can tell the judge how you feel and what you want. If you want, you can come to court with a written statement of what you want the judge to know. Your IL worker can help you prepare to talk to the judge.
Almost everything you tell your lawyer is confidential. That means that your lawyer cannot tell anyone else about it without your permission. Your lawyer will tell you when she cannot keep things confidential. Your lawyer might have to tell other people if she thinks you might hurt yourself or someone else. Some lawyers (but not all) also think they have to tell someone else if they find out that you have been abused. If you want to know what you can tell your lawyer confidentially, ask your lawyer if there is any kind of information he or she would have to share.
When you talk to your lawyer about how you are doing, your placement, and your school, it makes it easier for him or her to represent you in court.
Ask your county child welfare agency case worker if you do not know who your lawyer is. If you are not able to find this information, you can call the Juvenile Law Center at 1-800-875-8887. If you live in Allegheny County, you can call KidsVoice at 412-391-3100.
If you do not think your lawyer is doing his or her job, you should contact his/her supervisor or boss. You can also tell the judge when you go to court. You should let them know what you think your lawyer is doing wrong, such as if your lawyer is not returning your calls or talking to you, not telling the judge what you want. Then the supervisor or judge can decide what to do next to make sure your lawyer represents you adequately or that you get another lawyer. Your lawyer is appointed to help you and work for you. If you do not think your lawyer is doing his/her job, don’t be afraid to let someone know.
Every three to six months there is something called a permanency review hearing, to make sure that you are doing ok and that everyone is doing a good job on your case (including lawyers, case workers, and the people caring for you). These hearings also help the court learn whether the child welfare agency is making all efforts to help you go home to your family, to relatives, to a place that is as family-like as possible or to be able to support yourself and be an independent, healthy, and successful adult. Your participation is very important! If you go to court, you can be involved in making the decisions about your life and your placement.
Last updated: Summer 2007
