A CHILD'S RIGHT TO COUNSEL - Children's Advocacy Institute

5. Does state law expressly givethe child the legal status of aparty with all rights appurtenantthereto? If not, does state lawexpressly give the child some ofthe rights of a party?Points: 5 out of 10Under Virginia law, children have some rights in dependency proceedings, such as theright to notice of specified hearings ―if he or she is twelve years of age or older‖ (Va.Code Ann. § 16.1-252) and the right to participate on appeal, ―regardless of who filesthe appeal‖ (Va. Standards for GAL Representation of Children, Standard J).Basis for deduction: Virginia law does not expressly provide party status to children independency proceedings.6. Do the Rules of ProfessionalConduct (or the state’sequivalent thereto) pertaining toliability and confidentialityapply to attorneys representingchildren in dependencyproceedings?Points: 6 out of 10Basis for deduction: ―Attorneys who serve as GALs are subject to the Rules ofProfessional Conduct promulgated by the Virginia State Bar as they would be in anyother case, except when the special duties of a GAL conflict with such rules. Forexample, an attorney would follow the general conflict rule (1.7) to determine if therewould be a possible conflict of interest if the attorney served as GAL. But unlike theRules for Professional Conduct as they apply to confidentiality, there may be timeswhen attorneys serving as a GAL must, in furtherance of their role as GAL, discloseinformation provided by the child to the court‖ (Virginia Judicial Council, Standards toGovern the Performance of Guardians Ad Litem for Children).Extra Credit: Does state lawaddress caseload standards forchildren’s counsel independency proceedings?Points: 0 extra credit pointsVirginia law does not address caseload standards for attorneys representing children independency proceedings.A NATIONAL REPORT CARD ON LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR ABUSED & NEGLECTED CHILDREN 125