NYCLA Family Court and Child Welfare Committee Statement on Indigent Legal Services Fund

New York County Lawyers Association Committee on Family Courts and Child Welfare Issues Statement in Opposition of Transfer of Funds Out of Indigent Legal Services Fund and Lack of Appropriate Funding for Family Defense

            The New York County Lawyers Association’s Committee on Family Courts and Child Welfare opposes the proposal in the Governor’s Fiscal Year 2024-2025 Budget to transfer funds out of the Indigent Legal Services Fund (ILSF), while simultaneously rejecting the Office of Indigent Legal Services’ request for appropriate funds to carry out its mission. This includes budgeting a mere $4.5 million for Family Defense, $45.5 million less than the Office of Indigent Legal Services requested. There are more than adequate funds in the ILSF to fund the programs under its mandate. It is not appropriate to transfer any funds out of the ILSF to the General Fund, to use for any other purpose.

           Foster Care costs New York State hundreds of millions of dollars each year in direct costs paid to foster care agencies and foster parents, and hundreds of millions of additional dollars from the damage done to children by foster care, whether from the rampant physical and sexual abuse in foster care, or the disabling psychological harm cause to children by removal from their parents. Studies show that children who have been in foster care have more physical and psychological problems than children who were never removed, earn less money, and use more social and medical services. In too many cases, foster care is a pipeline to both homelessness and prison.

           Many of the children in foster care never needed to be there. The most effective method of reducing unnecessary foster care is to provide parents and children with experienced attorneys with manageable caseloads and social work resources who are able to show Family Court Judges that the children are not being abused or neglected at home, or to arrange for services that can reduce any risks that exist. The Indigent Legal Services Fund is indispensable for securing such effective legal representation in Family Court. Allowing the State to remove money from the Fund to use for other purposes will not only hurt our most vulnerable children, it will end up costing New York taxpayers more money in both the short and long term.

About the New York County Lawyers Association

The New York County Lawyers Association (www.nycla.org) was founded in 1908 as one of the first major bar associations in the country that admitted members without regard to race, ethnicity, religion or gender. Since its inception, it has pioneered some of the most far-reaching and tangible reforms in American jurisprudence, including through the work of its many committees that provide in-depth analysis and insight into legal practice areas. 

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The views expressed are those of the Committee on Family Court and Child Welfare only and approved for dissemination by the President; these views have not been approved by the New York County Lawyers Association Board of Directors, and do not necessarily represent the views of the Board. For more information on NYCLA please visit nycla.org.