Dawne Mitchell, Chief Attorney of The Legal Aid Society’s Juvenile Rights Practice, joins Karen Freedman, Founder and President of Lawyers For Children, and Judge Liberty Aldrich, Executive Director of The Children’s Law Center, in a new letter calling for a holistic approach to ensuring equitable access to justice for children.

While the trio welcomed the recently announced addition of 28 Family and Civil Court judges in New York State, they cautioned that this step is only one part of the solution.

Attorneys for children (AFC) offices across the state have been underfunded for two decades, which has resulted in unmanageable caseloads and high attrition. Without proper funding and reasonable case caps, there will not be enough attorneys to appear before these new judges.

“To truly ensure equitable access to justice, children in New York State’s Family Courts must have unfettered access to the dedicated and holistic advocacy that AFC offices provide,” they write in part. “Adding more Family Court judges is essential, as are appropriate resources for 18-b and parent attorneys. Equally important, New York must end decades of overlooking the attorneys, social workers, paralegals, and youth advocates who staff AFC offices.”

Read the full letter in the New York Law Journal.