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Independent Representation Of Children In Protection Proceedings, Donald N. Duquette

Book Chapters

In civil child protection proceedings in the United States, children are independently represented by an advocate, usually a lawyer. A growing debate is underway as to what the role of that independent advocate ought to be and who ought to fulfil it. This paper summarizes current research in the U.S. on independent representation of the child, identifies some policy choices in defining the role of the child advocate, and suggests approaches to developing meaningful empirical measures of advocacy.