September 30, 2004 (Washington, D.C.): Members of Congress used First Star’s third annual Congressional Roundtable on Children today to draft a letter that urges the President to prioritize children's issues in his next Administration, particular those surrounding child maltreatment and abuse. 

In addition to asking her colleagues in the 108th Congress to sign onto the document, Roundtable Co-Chair Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), also announced plans to ask every member of the upcoming 109th Congress to join in reforming a child welfare system.

“According to the most recent data available from the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, in 2002, more than 3 million children were involved in reports of abuse and neglect; 896,000 children were judged to be actual victims.  And most tragically, 1, 390 of those victims died – a little less than half the number of people who lost their lives on September 11, 2001,” the draft letter goes on to say.

Attendees of the Roundtable included Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee (D-TX) and Congressman Patrick Kennedy (D-RI), who stayed after the program’s completion to discuss his own efforts to help children in his District. The Congressional Roundtable on Children is co-chaired by Congresswomen Mary Bono (R-CA) and Loretta Sanchez (D-CA), and is sponsored by First Star*, the nation’s pre-eminent non-profit organization dedicated to improving life for America’s most vulnerable children, and by the Freddie Mac Foundation**. 

“The over-arching purpose of the Roundtable is to educate members of Congress on the myriad of ways public policy can help children in foster care,” explained Maxine Baker, president and CEO of the Freddie Mac Foundation. “We in the philanthropic community rely on events such as the Roundtable to generate the momentum necessary for government to generate positive change.” 

Peter Samuelson, the Hollywood producer who co-founded First Star and serves as its president, said the organization will continue to press Congress and the next Administration to guarantee children in all 50 states the right to a competent attorney during court proceedings – and to eliminate legal and regulatory barriers that frequently prevent child advocates from exchanging information that can be vital to keeping at-risk children out of potentially dangerous abusive situations.

Samuelson predicted that the recently released recommendations of the Pew Commission on Children in Foster Care – covering a broad range of funding and judicial reform issues – will give lawmakers much to digest during the first session of the 109th Congress.

“Meanwhile,” he continued, “Congress can and should quickly address the need for every child in the court system to be represented by a competent attorney, and the problems that arise when rules and regulations designed to protect children’s privacy end up putting them in danger.”

The type of legal representation given to children involved in abuse, neglect and dependency court proceedings varies considerably by.  Sixteen states currently permit court proceedings involving children to be open to the press and public.  Samuelson said new federal regulations permitting open courts in all 50 states – at the judge’s discretion – would discourage courts from issuing poorly researched or arbitrary decisions that have frequently resulted in children being placed in abusive, neglectful homes.

Paralleling the theme Putting Children First:  New Perspectives, Highest Priority for America’s Foster Children, the Roundtable addressed A Child’s Right to Counsel and Confidentiality and Accountability in the Child Welfare System as presented by Barbara Bennett Woodhouse of the Center on Children and Families, University of Florida School of Law, and Robert Fellmeth, founder of the Children’s Advocacy Institute at the San Diego University School of Law. 

The morning’s program also included a review of bills stalled in the 108th Congress, several of which would provide additional funds and flexibility to state and local governments seeking new approaches to protecting children under the care of the child welfare system. 

*             First Star, a pro bono project of Sullivan & Worcester LLP, balances its private sector approach to education, policy and research with public awareness to enhance and deepen society’s perception about the plight of children who are suffering at the hands of a failing system.  In 2002, 896,000 children were victims of child abuse and neglect, and more than half a million children are in foster care.