Office of Defender General opposes H.109 task force provision, Defends CHINS representation and Title IV‑E plans

A staff member for the Office of the Defender General told the Vermont Legislature's Judiciary Committee on May 21 that the office opposes a provision in H.109 to create a “child and parent legal representation task force,” saying the provision is based on incorrect statements about how the office provides counsel in CHINS (children in need of supervision) cases.

The staff member told the panel the office’s opposition is “sort of a strange position for us because, we oppose this provision, and that might seem odd because it's merely a task force study provision,” then spent the hearing explaining why the office views the provision as unnecessary and potentially harmful.

The dispute centers on representation in CHINS cases, where the state intervenes in family life for allegations such as abuse, neglect, abandonment, truancy or a child beyond parental control. The staff member described Vermont’s system as one in which children and parents are represented — sometimes by multiple attorneys when interests diverge — through a mix of staff attorneys and contracted conflict attorneys.

The staff member disputed several claims the House heard in earlier testimony about contracted attorneys. Among the rebuttals: “our staff attorneys are paid exactly like our criminal attorneys” and contract payments are set on a flat-rate per‑lawyer-equivalent-caseload (LEC) basis calculated from recent historical caseload data. The presenter said the office currently uses a target per‑LEC rate (discussed in the hearing as $185,000) and that, depending on the calculation and contract mix, the effective per‑LEC figure for juvenile contracts can be higher (the presentation cited about $227,000 per LEC…