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

While we included an acknowledgement of this need only as ―extra credit‖ for the 2nd Edition of the ReportCard, we will be including caseload standards as one of the actual grading criteria in future reports.We based our rating system on a 100-point scale. In computing the overall grade for each state, thestate‘s grades for each individual section were combined into a total grade. Grades A through F were thenawarded to each state according to the following standard academic grading system:Grading Scale100+ A+90 – 99 A80 – 89 B70 – 79 C60 – 69 D59 and below FIt is important to note that each grade is based solely on the language of the law, state courtrule, caselaw, administrative order, etc. The grades are based on laws that are enforceable in eachstate, regardless of their form, as long as they have been duly adopted pursuant to a legallyrecognized procedure that includes an opportunity for public comment. Grades do not imply anycorrelation between a state’s law and the enforcement of such law. We believe that when a state hasgood law, it is up to the state itself and advocates within the state to enforce that law. Ourassumption is that good law is the cornerstone of any state’s commitment to the rights of itschildren.A NATIONAL REPORT CARD ON LEGAL REPRESENTATION FOR ABUSED & NEGLECTED CHILDREN 19