Research Questions

1. Within the United States, what is the basic status of child representation for dependency cases in terms of its delivery (organization, quality, quantity, basic competencies, and adherence to practice standards)?

2. On a practice level, what are the essential supports for providing competent child representation in terms of training, supervision, consultation, caseload levels, organizational structure, and compensation?

3. To what extent is there agreement on developing, implementing and following clearly defined and specified duties, activities and core competencies?

4. How does the child representative accommodate the child’s wishes in setting the goals of the advocacy?

5. When standards or practice are defined and implemented, what individuals or teams are essential/best for delivering competent representation?

6. Once improvements and reforms are undertaken, do short-term, intermediate, and longer-term outcomes improve?

7. Are there contextual variables that independently impact outcomes?

8. Once improvements are undertaken, how do the roles, responsibilities, and collaborations of those involved with providing and supporting representation evolve over time to ensure continued success?