CHENANGO COUNTY - The Chenango County Public Defender's Office has been awarded a three-year $750,000 competitive State Grant by the New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services to establish a Model Office that will implement standards and best practices for the representation of parents in child welfare proceedings.

The overarching goal of this project will be to create client-centered and interdisciplinary representation that addresses both the legal and social service issues confronting parents impacted by the child welfare system at all critical stages of their interaction with the system, including the child welfare investigation stage.

This "family defense" model, in which attorneys, social workers, parent advocates, paralegals, investigators, and experts work as a team, is deemed a best practices approach by the Children's Bureau of the United States Health and Human Services Department and the American Bar Association, and it was endorsed by the NYS Unified Court System's Commission on Parental Legal Representation.

Child removal proceedings can have a tremendously detrimental impact on the family of the subjects of those proceedings. According to Chief Public Defender, Aaron Dean, "a parent's right to exercise care, nurturing and control over the raising of their children is one of the most fundamental rights in society. Additionally, the effects on the child's mental and physical well-being are often devastating. The harms visited upon children because of forced removal from their parents include severe anxiety, depression, PTSD, toxic stress and can also result in delays in cognitive development."

'The funding will allow the County to add an additional attorney to the Public Defender's Office Family Court Division, along with the ability to retain the services of independent investigators and social workers at no cost to the County taxpayers. Application for and acceptance of this grant funding illustrates the commitment of the Board of Supervisors to providing the highest quality legal representation to people eligible for assigned counsel at the least cost to the taxpayers" said Dean.

Funding of an additional Family Court Public Defender is critical to Chenango County due to the creation of an additional Family Court Judge seat for Chenango County by the State Legislature in July. Beginning on January 1, 2025, Chenango County will have two Family Court Judges. Chenango County Court Judge Frank B. Revoir, Jr. and

Court cases simultaneously and cannot be covered by a single Public Defender.

The New York State Office of Indigent Legal Services Proposal Review Team rated Chenango County's application as one of the top ranked proposals they received.

- Chenango County Public Defender's Office