Dear Virginia practitioners:
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Increasing Court Appointed Parent Counsel Pay:
The Senate Finance and Appropriations Committee will consider Budget Amendment 44 #2s this week, perhaps Thursday. If you live in one of the SFAC members¡¯ districts, consider calling their office, or sending
an email! (If you live in Senator Edwards¡¯ district, please thank him for submitting the amendment.) IF this budget item passes the Senate, then we will have to convince the House to add it to their budget as well. I¡¯ll let you know when it¡¯s up for consideration!
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The increase was a recommendation of a workgroup that released this report this fall:
The Cardinal News article about it is here:
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Senate Finance members can be found here:
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Sample email¡ªplease feel free to put in your own words or include your own experience.
Dear Senator ____
I am writing to ask you to support
BA 44?#2s?(Edwards),
pending before Senate Finance, to address a serious problem, first identified in 2015 by the Virginia Commission on Youth: Virginia pays parents¡¯ court-appointed counsel at the lowest rate of any state: there hasn¡¯t been a raise in 23 years.? Judges
say they can¡¯t even find lawyers to take these cases; attorneys can¡¯t afford to put more than a minimum amount of time into a case.
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This budget amendment would increase court-appointed counsel compensation from $120 to $445.? With available federal
offset, it would cost only $8 million in additional state funds ¨C which likely would be further offset by reduced foster care costs, as better-prepared lawyers means fewer continuances and court delays.
High-quality family legal representation has been proven to reduce time in foster care ¨C without compromising safety.?
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Virginia spends $5,000-20,000 per month per child in foster care. If every one of the 5,000 children in Virginia¡¯s
foster care system spent even one month less in foster care, the Commonwealth could save at a minimum $25 million per year¡ªmore than paying for this increase.
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Free CLE webinar:
SAVE THE DATE for this free CLE, ¡°Representing Parents in Child Dependency Cases: Part 1 - Overview & Best Practices,¡± February 8, from 12:00-1:15, presented by the Virginia State
Bar Access to Legal Services Committee, the Young Lawyers Conference of the Virginia State Bar, and the Virginia Chapter of the National Association of Counsel for Children. Presenters: Sarah Bruns of the Marquis Law Group, and Anna Daniszewski of the Virginia
Poverty Law Center.
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Valerie L¡¯Herrou, Virginia State Coordinator, NACC
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Valerie L¡¯Herrou
Staff Attorney ¨C Center for Family Advocacy
Virginia Poverty Law Center
919 East Main Street, Suite 610
Richmond, VA 23219
Direct/Mobile Line: (804) 351-5276
Fax: (804) 649-0974
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