Shireen Y. Husain · November 2010
79 GEO. WASH. L. REV. 232 (2010)
This Note argues that Congress should amend the Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (“CAPTA”) to require that all children in dependency proceedings receive competent legal representation and that this representative be required to articulate the child’s expressed wishes. The Note proposes new language to amend CAPTA and explores some of the benefits and drawbacks of using alternative solutions.
Part I provides background on the current state of the law affecting children in dependency proceedings in all fifty states. Part II then discusses the rights children are afforded through the Fourteenth Amendment’s Due Process Clause. This Part also compares the status of children in dependency proceedings to those in analogous situations, such as custody battles and juvenile delinquency cases, and explores the constitutional rights granted in each of those situations.
In Part III, this Note discusses alternative forums for action and why Congress should act, as opposed to waiting for the Supreme Court to take up the issue or for individual states to act. In Part IV, this Note proposes new language to be adopted by Congress in amending CAPTA. This amendment would ensure that children are provided an opportunity to be heard in dependency proceedings, the outcomes of which could have potentially life-threatening consequences. Part V highlights the concrete outcomes that would result from the implementation of the proposed amendment. Part VI addresses counterarguments and other concerns, such as cost and lack of qualified attorneys.
