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Witnesses urge Michigan to consider child 'right to counsel' and enforceable bills of rights for children in care
Summary
A national advocate described models used in other states, including client-directed attorneys and enforceable bills of rights, and contrasted those approaches with Michigan's guardian ad litem practice.
Advocates and lawmakers at the Jan. 30 House Oversight Subcommittee on Child Welfare System hearing discussed legal representation for children in foster care, enforceable bills of rights and efforts to improve judicial transparency.
Bradley Gilbreth of the Center for the Rights of Abused Children described Arizona’s model: "Everybody was represented except the child," and said Arizona created a statutory right to counsel "for every child that comes into care regardless of age," along with bills of rights for children, foster parents and kinship caregivers.
Gilbreth said the center seeks to center the child’s voice in court. He contrasted a traditional client-directed attorney with a guardian ad litem, saying: "The guardian ad litem comes in and makes ... what they believe is in the best interest of the child. On the other hand, an attorney ... meets with the child, they define out what the child wants ... and then the attorney is then responsible for developing a strategy to ... make that happen." He characterized Michigan’s guardian ad litem model as a hybrid that in some cases performs attorney-like functions but retains an independent best-interest determination.
The presenter urged improving the quality of representation—training, resources and dedicated child representation offices—to ensure attorneys or advocates can effectively advance children's interests. He also highlighted judicial transparency measures and timely proceedings as means to secure permanency faster for children.
Committee members asked for comparisons to other states and for examples of where reforms produced measurable results. Gilbreth pointed to Colorado for an enforceable bill of rights and to Arizona for its child-representation work. Members discussed whether Michigan should pursue client-directed attorneys, noting studies cited by the witness that tie lawyer models to improvements in permanency and reduced placement moves.
No formal legislative action or vote on representation models occurred during the hearing; members requested further information and data to guide future legislation.
