The Florida Bar News - March 15, 2010

Aging-out foster kids are in need of a ‘legal health checkup’
Florida’s Children First program provides online training for lawyer volunteers

By Annie Butterworth Jones
Associate Editor

With 3,500 children expected to age out of state care in the next three years, concern continues to mount over whether foster care youth can safely and successfully enter adulthood. That’s where Florida lawyers come in.

In January, Florida’s Children First, an organization devoted to the systemic change, policy issues, and training and support of lawyers who represent children, launched the Justice For Foster Youth at LAST program. The program was created to provide pro bono opportunities for lawyers interested in helping children successfully transfer out of the foster care system.

Designed as part of a grant project funded by The Florida Bar Foundation, the LAST program offers lawyers a chance to make a difference without dedicating extensive amounts of time to the project.

“The pro bono study [conducted by The Florida Bar Foundation] showed that fear of time commitment and flexibility in time are two major reasons lawyers avoid pro bono work,” said Robin Rosenberg, deputy director of Florida’s Children First. “We tried to tailor our project to meet the needs of attorneys.”

The result is the legal health checkup, a free consultation for young adults 18 to 25 who spent time in foster care.

“This is the perfect opportunity for Florida lawyers,” said First District Court of Appeal Judge William VanNortwick, chair of the Standing Committee on Pro Bono Legal Services and proponent for the One Campaign, which promotes pro bono work among Florida lawyers.

“It should take less than five hours to both acquire the proper training and to provide a checkup. One lawyer handling this matter for one young adult fits perfectly with the purpose behind the One Campaign.”

The legal health checkup helps young clients identify their legal needs — ones they might not otherwise recognize.

“You have to remember: These are just kids,” said Rosenberg. “They don’t know what they don’t know. The legal health checkup is intended to review all of the possible legal needs, but there’s no lengthy commitment required of the lawyer.”

Training for the LAST program is all available online, and Florida’s Children First has developed the materials needed to complete a legal health checkup, making participation by lawyers easy and almost commitment free.

“Sure, we hope lawyers will commit to follow-up legal work, but there’s no requirement to do so,” said Rosenberg. “The entire experience is controlled by the attorney, which we think is really appealing.”

The issues that can arise out of a legal health checkup are standard for most attorneys. Many foster children want to change their names after aging out; some have landlord/tenant issues, and others need help determining health and government benefits. Occasionally, a client will need help with criminal backgrounds and restoration of civil rights.

All participating lawyers will be given a form to take with them to determine the needs of the client, and Florida’s Children First has an attorney on staff available to answer any questions that may arise.

“We don’t expect participants to be experts in everything,” said Rosenberg. “Just ask the right questions and take down the client’s information so, even if you aren’t knowledgeable, you can contact someone who is and who can provide advice to the client.”

Florida’s Children First is offering another pro bono opportunity for those willing to devote a little bit more to the project.

Dependency representation is needed for 16- and 17-year-olds still in the state care system. The clients’ issues will determine whether representation will be for long or short periods of time, and appropriate materials — mentors, experts, and training — will be given to lawyers who decide to commit to representing a child.

“Representation will help determine what will aid these children in becoming successful adults,” said Rosenberg about the program. “A whole variety of issues might impair them once they’re 18, but if you can help them get those issues squared away before they turn 18, that will enable them to enter adulthood well-equipped.”

Carsandra Buie, staff attorney with Florida’s Children First, serves as the main point of contact for lawyers interested in doing pro bono through the program and helps volunteers become familiar with the system.

“‘Normal’ children with parents have a support system they can turn to, even when they have legal problems. These children don’t,” said Buie.

“We know that if there is no support for that child, that child will drift or wander; they go from a lost child to a lost adult. But if we can help them become a productive member of society, we’re helping not just the child, but the entire community.”

Advocates for the new program are quick to point out that despite what time constraints may typically prevent the lawyer from doing pro bono work, both the legal health checkup and the dependency representation programs are doable for just about anyone.

“There are a tremendous number of pro bono opportunities, but some lawyers are reluctant to take a case that will have them go to court,” said Judge VanNortwick. “In this case, you don’t have to go to court. What you do is of a short duration, and — depending on the time you have available — it might be perfect for someone who’s extremely busy to handle this for a few hours, providing additional advice if needed.

“It offers more opportunity. We’re trying to expand the pro bono opportunities so that there is a wide menu of items for lawyers to do. As a result, I think we’ll get more volunteers to do pro bono.”

Rosenberg reminds potential volunteers of the simplicity of the project: one lawyer with one client.

“We’re not asking lawyers to be social workers,” said Rosenberg. “From our perspective, this is just what lawyers do.

“Once you meet these people, you’ll want to help them. They’re kids; they’re just like your kids or my kids, and they have stories to share. These are the ones the state kind of left behind.”