Do you need legal advice?
When you become involved in a child placement custody case (whether the child was removed from your home or you are a grandparent or other relative who would like to care for the child), it is extremely important to get legal advice to ensure that the rights of the child and your family are protected.
With legal representation, you will have someone supporting you who will help you navigate the complex legal system in child welfare and who will be responsible for advocating for you.
1. Gather your paperwork.
- Proof of Income
- Child Welfare Case Information
- Tribal Enrollment
2. Ask the judge to appoint you an attorney.
If ICWA applies to the case and you are a parent or an “Indian custodian” (an Indian person who has legal custody of an Indian child under tribal law or custom or under state law, or to whom temporary physical care, custody, and control has been transferred by the parent) and the court finds you to be indigent (impoverished and unable to afford to pay for an attorney), you have the right to ask the court to appoint you an attorney and to have the government pay for that attorney. See 25 USC §1912.
If ICWA does not apply or has not yet been determined to apply and you’re a parent or Indian custodian with low income, you may still be eligible to have an attorney appointed to represent you at no cost.
If ICWA applies to the case and you are a grandparent or other relative who is not considered an Indian custodian and are seeking to provide a home for a relative child, ICWA does not provide you with the right to have an attorney appointed to represent you at no cost.
3. If you do not qualify for free, court-appointed legal representation…
If you are not entitled to a free, court-appointed attorney, you may be eligible for free or low-cost legal services. A kinship navigator program or local agency on aging may be able to help you find low-cost legal help. Another option might be your local university law school, which may have a free legal clinic where law students provide legal help and are supervised by law professors. Your local state bar association may also be able to help connect you with a volunteer attorney or other free or low-cost legal services.