Lawmakers are questioning whether parents and youths have fair representation before judges when the Arkansas Department of Human Services takes a child.
At a Thursday meeting of Joint Performance Review, Brian Welch, director of the Parent Counsel Program, and Renia Robinette, director of the Attorney Ad Litem Program, told lawmakers they pay lawyers only a fraction of what they would earn for private work.
And Kathryn Hudson, a Little Rock lawyer who represents parents in family-law cases, said she doesn't see how either party has enough time to prepare before arguing cases in court. Lawyers from both programs -- along with court-appointed special advocates for children -- appear before judges, who decide whether children are returned to parents.
"One of the most disturbing things that I am recognizing now ... is [the cases] all read exactly the same. They change the names and the dates and maybe a little bit of the fact pattern, but basically these documents all read exactly the same," she said. "Everybody's on the same page and once that narrative gets set -- you're a bad parent, and this happened, and you don't deserve these children."
The Parent Counsel Program represents guardians who are defendants in cases of dependency or neglect and are poor. Most lawyers in the program have separate practices. They are paid a contract rate of $850 per case and can work more than 100 cases per year, Welch said.
"We are not compensating the individuals who need to be the best because they're dealing with our children," said Sen. Linda Chesterfield, D-Little Rock.
A private attorney would probably ask for $8,000 to $10,000, Welch said.
"That's a systemwide issue. I think the agency attorneys don't get paid enough. I think the caseworkers don't get paid enough by a long shot. Ad litems don't get paid enough," he said. "That's the reality that we live with in the system."
The Attorney Ad Litem Program represents the children. Contract workers in that program are paid $800 per case, but can earn up to $900 if they've participated for several years. They're capped at 25 cases, but can work up to 35 under special circumstances, Robinette said.
The program also has 34 full-time workers who make between $45,000 and $80,000.
The system is supposed to be adversarial, Hudson said, but when the same judges and lawyers work on the same cases, they get to know one another. Hudson said on cases she's argued, there were inappropriate communications between the parties.
She also said that the rules of civil procedure -- which govern how circuit courts decide cases -- are not being followed. She said her clients have not been notified when hearings have taken place, for example.
"We did file a complaint against a judge in south Arkansas," she said. "He and a prosecutor had an ex parte conversation with our client in the jail. It doesn't get any worse than that."
The complaint means she's unlikely to do business in that part of the state again, she said. She's not sure whether she could get a fair trial.
Hudson also said neither the courts nor the Department of Human Services prioritizes placing children in the care of family members as opposed to foster care.
"That's not being done and if anything, that's being resisted," she said.
According to a Children and Family Services Division report released last month, 7 percent of children in care live in a relative's home.
Sen. Stephanie Flowers, D-Pine Bluff, an attorney who practices family law, said she sees the law ignored.
"To see families just torn apart, and no regard for the letter of the law let alone the spirit of the law, really upsets me," she said. "I've seen so much of this and it's disturbing."
The Joint Performance Review meeting was the first since Dec. 10. The committee had exceeded its budget, but was granted additional funds by legislative leaders.
The money allowed co-chairmen Sen. Alan Clark, R-Lonsdale, and Rep. Kim Hammer, R-Benton, to reopen their examination of the Human Services Department.
Most lawmakers get $150 per diems for attending meetings in Little Rock. Those who live within 50 miles of the Capitol are paid $61 per diem. Lawmakers also receive 57.5 cents for each mile traveled. Those expenses come from the committee's budget.
Though at least 10 lawmakers attended the beginning of the five-hour meeting, just three remained besides the co-chairmen at the end. All lawmakers who sign into a meeting are authorized for payment. Several didn't return after lunch.
Thirty sit on the committee.
Metro on 02/12/2016