Senate Judiciary Hears DCF Support for Child-and-Parent Legal-Representation Task Force

Chairman Hashim told the Vermont Senate Judiciary Committee on May 23 that the panel could hear testimony but not vote because members were caucusing. "I believe the Republicans are caucusing at the moment. So we're not able to vote on anything, but we can hear testimony," Hashim said.

Eric Horadke, deputy commissioner of the Family Services Division at the Vermont Department for Children and Families (DCF), told the committee that DCF supports a proposed child-and-parent legal-representation task force included in S.109 (session 38 of S.109) and is prepared to participate. "This initiative is a natural continuation of a number of studies commissioned over the past several years," Horadke said, citing the Justice for Children Task Force (2018–2020) and a 2020 review by the National Center for State Courts.

Horadke said the 2020 study recommended investing in high-quality legal representation for parents and children and suggested leveraging federal Title IV-E funds…