Earlier this year the American Bar Association adopted a resolution urging “federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal legislatures to enact, and courts to enforce laws establishing a presumption of child present in all dependency proceedings to ensure that: legal decisions and practices respect and value a child’s unique identity, including their racial, cultural, ethnic, linguistic, sexual orientation, and gender identities; the child can express their individual needs and interests and meaningfully engage in a case; and the child, in consultation with the child’s attorney, has the sole right to choose not to be present and reasons such as age, disability, scheduling conflicts, lack of transportation, or perceived trauma which is not documented, are not used to rebut the presumption.”
As part of the resolution, they also urged “courts support a presumption of child presence in dependency proceedings through changes in court rules and policies”. And, further urged “children’s attorneys to safeguard and advocate for the presumption of presence, to confirm prior to a hearing that the child’s transportation to court has been secured, and to thoroughly prepare the child to participate in their court proceedings” And, finally, the ABA urged “federal, state, local, territorial, and tribal governments to work with individuals who have experienced dependency cases as children to build an evidence base of trauma responsive best practices, and to provide ongoing training for judges and lawyers, for engaging children in court and recognizing the fundamental dignity and humanity of each child in dependency proceedings.
To read the full resolution and a report outlining the reasoning and providing resources, see link <https://www.americanbar.org/content/dam/aba/directories/policy/midyear-2022/613-midyear-2022.pdf>
