Lawyers Skimp on Children

October 7, 2001 permalink

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Legal wrangling targets kids

Children 'caught in middle' of legal battle, lawyer says

BY Roger Varley, Staff Writer
Oct. 7, 2001
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Children who have suffered abuse or neglect might be spending more time in foster care because of a pay dispute involving lawyers who represent youngsters in child protection cases.

"It makes me feel dreadful," said Barbara Steinberg at the Newmarket courthouse Friday. "It's very troubling to us. We're taking this step as a last resort and with great reluctance."

Steinberg is one of about 15 lawyers in York Region who handle child protection and custody cases for the Office of the Children's Lawyer, a division of the Attorney-General's Ministry. The York Region panel stopped accepting new cases Sept. 1 to protest the fact their pay hasn't increased in 14 years.

"We're very dedicated to providing excellent representation to children in this province," Steinberg said. "We had a reasonable expectation of an increase. We're concerned about kids caught in the middle. We really want to go back to work."

Some children involved in protection cases will spend more time in foster care if the matter is not resolved quickly because courts and children's aid societies won't be able to resolve the cases as quickly, Steinberg said.

Currently, lawyers are paid $71 an hour, which many say doesn't even cover their costs.

Steinberg and two of her colleagues, George van Hoogenhuize and Carolyn Jones, said children's cases account for about 30 per cent of their practices.

Lawyers have to apply to be accepted to the children's lawyer panels. Steinberg and van Hoogenhuize have been on the York Region panel for 12 years and Jones has been a member for 14 years.

Steinberg said the approximately 40 provincial panels are beginning to speak with one voice on the pay issue. She said close to 20 have stopped taking new cases and another 10 are considering the same action.

"One of the difficulties is each region has its own panel," said van Hoogenhuize. "Up to now, there has been nobody to unify the panels and there hasn't been a lot of communication between them."

"Frankly, I enjoy representing children," he said. "I know I'm doing something to help them in difficult family situations. The kids are caught in the middle."

Steinberg pointed out social workers involved in children's court cases, "who were grossly underpaid", recently received a 150-per-cent increase.

"We're happy for them, but we feel we should also be treated fairly," she said. "Social workers act as our witnesses (in some custody and protection cases), but we carry the responsibility for the cases. And social workers have less overhead than us."

Van Hoogenhuize said lawyers taking children's cases have to go for training twice a year without pay.

He said the York Region panel will not accept any more cases "unless we see some progress".

He said the Attorney-General's ministry has not set a time frame for reviewing the payment issue, although he pointed out the Office of the Children's lawyer has suggested it would push for a review.

Brendan Crawley, a spokesperson for the Attorney-General's ministry, said Attorney-General David Young "is committed to addressing the issue in the near future".

"The ministry is monitoring the situation closely and is taking steps to make sure children in the province are protected," Crawley said.

"The government appreciates the dedication of the lawyers and recognizes the vital role they play," he said, adding that until the issue is resolved, the Office of the Children's Lawyer has lawyers on staff who can handle the most serious cases.

He made no comment regarding the lawyers' pay.

Steinberg admitted the lawyers' move could have a significant impact on children and families needing their services.

"We give children a voice, especially in custody and access cases," she said. "Cases we're involved in get settled earlier. And we have a different role than child care workers in child protection matters. We are the voice for children's preferences."

Van Hoogenhuize said children's lawyers become involved only in difficult custody battles in which a judge or parent requests the child be represented. Lawyers acting for children in custody battles are paid by the Office of the Children's Lawyer because there would be conflict of interest if one or both of the parents were asked to pay.

"Besides," he added, "kids tend to be concerned more about their parents and their ability to pay and it adds stress to them."

The original article (now expired) was at: http://yorkregion.com/article/full/fullview/1R9MM-7D