A single parent working two jobs who relies on a relative for childcare may find herself investigated by the state and summoned to a courthouse after her relative falls asleep one afternoon and her toddler is found wandering the neighborhood unattended. On that first trip to the courthouse, the parent often meets a lawyer for the first time in the hallway, minutes before a hearing that will determine whether she gets to take her child home. Ohio is committed to changing representation like this, with evidence suggesting it can keep children out of foster care and bring them home sooner if they must enter it.

Engaged, Child-Focused Representation Makes a Difference

Decades of research confirm that early, high-quality legal representation for parents and children leads to greater engagement in case planning, more family visitation, and faster reunification and permanency. This will not only save Ohio money; more importantly, it will create greater stability for Ohio’s families and children.

Developed by the University of Michigan Law School in partnership with the National Association of Counsel for Children and the U.S. Children’s Bureau, QIC-ChildRep is a system of representation that equips attorneys to better work with families by providing training and development in six essential clinical skills:

  1. Entering the child’s world;
  2. Assessing the child’s safety;
  3. Actively evaluating the child’s needs;
  4. Advancing case planning;
  5. Developing a case theory; and
  6. Advocating effectively.

Across the country, attorneys trained in the QIC-ChildRep model were 40% more likely to achieve permanency for children and families within six months. In Washington State’s parent representation program, permanency was achieved 36.5% more often, with cases resolving one month to a year faster. In Texas, attorneys appointed within ten days of an abuse/neglect/dependency petition produced significantly more permanent outcomes.

In Ohio, the stakes are high for our children and families. There simply aren’t enough foster homes for every child in foster care, and out-of-home care can make it difficult for families to reunify successfully. As children are often taken into care as a result of family circumstances such as housing instability, substance use, and poverty-related neglect, not abuse, early legal interventions can change outcomes and obviate the need for out-of-home care.

Ohio’s New Collaboration

The Ohio Department of Children and Youth (DCY) is piloting a statewide effort to make QIC-ChildRep the norm. Child Welfare Champions, the new collaboration led by the Ohio Access to Justice Foundation, will fund discrete pilot projects statewide to implement QIC-ChildRep and provide proof of concept.

The evidence is strong, and the path to improvement is clear. Ohio is now on the road to improving representation in child welfare cases and, as a result, supporting and stabilizing Ohio families while saving the state money by reducing dependency on out-of-home foster care.

Subscribe to the Child Welfare Champions quarterly newsletter for legal updates, profiles of child welfare attorneys and GALs, updates from DCY, and opportunities to participate in peer-to-peer learning. Sign up by Dec. 11, 2026, and be entered into a drawing for one of three $100 Amazon gift cards.