Children have a Right to be Heard The Support Center for Child Advocates prides itself on bringing the voice of our individual child clients to the various proceedings in which we represent them. Our volunteer lawyers, together with our social workers, visit our child clients where they live, as well as in their school settings, to learn about their likes and dislikes, their needs and strengths, their hopes and plans for their future. In this manner, the attorney-social worker team is prepared to represent the child knowledgeably in court hearings, and communicate their position to the court. This information is vital for the court to make informed and reasoned decisions concerning the life of the child.
The Juvenile Act, 42 Pa.C.S. § 6301 et. seq., is the primary source of law guiding lawyers and courts in the dependency arena. A recent amendment to the Juvenile Act has the potential to significantly impact attorney practice surrounding permanency hearings, i.e., those hearings that address if, and how long, the child remains outside of his/her home, while measuring parental progress and service needs. Act 76 of 2007 (effective date January 2008), amended Section 6351 (e) of the Juvenile Act, which provides that the child must now be an active participant in her/his own life plan. Prior to Act 76, section 6351(e) permitted the court to conduct hearings for the purpose of reviewing children’s permanency review plans that “were best suited for the safety, protection and physical, mental and moral welfare of the child.” Yet nothing in 6351 required the presence of the child at the hearing where the child could offer, and the court obtain, testimony from the child regarding the child’s own thoughts about the plan.
Act 76 adds language to section 6351(e)(1) that unequivocally establishes a child’s right to be heard and to have a say in the permanency plan that will have great impact on her/his own life. Section 6351(e)(1) now states, in part, that “the court shall consult with the child regarding the child’s permanency plan in a manner appropriate to the child’s age and maturity.” Taking into consideration that it may not always be possible for the court to consult personally with the child, the amendment further mandates that “the court shall ensure that the views of the child regarding the permanency plan have been ascertained to the fullest extent possible and communicated to the court by the [child advocate or other designated individual].”
This new amendment will not affect how we, as Child Advocates, prepare ourselves, for upcoming hearings. We will continue to meet with our child clients before each hearing, assess how they are doing, explain the upcoming court hearing and gather important and relevant information. The inclusion of the child in the process via the amendment, however, will require Child Advocates to focus on an added and challenging dimension of advocacy: preparing our clients for the experience of being active participants in their own permanency hearings.
Permanency hearings are critical in the life a child. Placing ourselves in the shoes of the child, it is easy to understand that s/he likely wants to be present and have a say in a court hearing that affects her/his life. The new law is a tool for us to empower our clients – to help them feel heard and to influence the decisions that are made.
Children and youth may have a variety of purposes in wanting to attend court. As their advocates, we can help make their experience positive and effective if we help them identify that purpose and plan with them how to achieve it. Children may want simply to experience what happens in court first hand, or want the Judge to get know who they are. They may want to communicate how important it is for them not to be separated from a brother or sister, or that they want to visit more often with their father. They may want to go live with Aunt Vera or stop having visits with their mother. Knowing why a child wants to attend a hearing will guide us in working towards effectuating that purpose.
In addition to allowing the child the opportunity to be heard, the child’s regular presence in court is a living, breathing reminder to the Judge that the child is growing up before the eyes of the court. The court will see that the life of a child is not measured by how many inches thick the file is, packed with years worth of permanency plans, but by how many inches the child has grown since the last hearing. The court will see first hand the results of good and timely permanency planning as well as be witness to the inescapable reflection in a child’s face and resignation in a child’s voice resulting from the untimely provision of services, court delays and the effects of poor permanency planning on the child and the family. The Support Center for Child Advocates applauds the enactment of this amendment because it underscores a key aspect of our philosophy of representation: children should be seen and heard.
Marguerite C. Gualtieri, MSW, Esquire is the Managing Attorney of the Support Center for Child Advocates and Barry Kassel, MSW, Esquire is a Staff Attorney for the Support Center for Child Advocates
