Attorneys for Children (AFC) providers released a white paper today detailing the devastating impact that years of underfunding and high workloads have had on AFC providers organizations
that represent children in child abuse and neglect cases, and other life-changing family court proceedings – and how this imperils children’s access to justice.

Providers, including The Legal Aid Society, are calling on Albany lawmakers to appropriate $60 million to support AFC’s vital services.

“Years of underfunding and high caseloads have imperiled AFCs’ ability to provide New York State’s most vulnerable children with necessary and constitutionally mandated legal services,” said Dawne Mitchell, Chief Attorney of the Juvenile Rights Practice at Legal Aid.

“Albany lawmakers should step forward to allocate $60 million in the FY25 budget to help ensure that every child mired in family court receives the legal resources that they are entitled to,” she continued. “Without reform of the caseload standard and without these necessary funds, the State will perpetuate the imbalance in the juvenile legal system that favors one side of the court process to the detriment of AFCs and children’s access to justice.”