Increasing access to justice for families through preventive legal advocacy

• Published date: 01 October 2024
• Author: Kara R. Finck
• Date: 01 October 2024
• DOI: http://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12829

ORIGINAL ARTICLE

Increasing access to justice for families through

preventive legal advocacy

Kara R. Finck

University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School,

Phildelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

Correspondence

Kara R. Finck, University of Pennsylvania

Carey Law School, Phildelphia, PA 19146,

USA.

Email: kfinck@law.upenn.edu

Abstract

What is the role of preventive legal advocacy in promoting

justice for families and redefining child welfare to focus on

family and community-based systems which prioritize

community-based support and to forego government over-

sight, regulation and punishment? Given the timeline for

systemic reforms and the necessity of providing access to

justice for families presently struggling to protect their fam-

ily autonomy, preventive legal advocacy is a critical piece of

reform efforts and scholarly attention. This article advo-

cates for the expansion of existing preventive legal advo-

cacy models and legislation codifying early access to

counsel with the goal of disrupting the traditional pathways

into the child welfare and family regulation system,

enforcing the rights of parents and children to their family

autonomy and meaningfully supporting families to thrive.

KEYWORDS

access to justice, child advocacy, child welfare reform, civil legal

needs, family court, legal services, legislation, medical-legal

partnerships, parent representation, preventive legal advocacy

Key points for the family court community

•Preventive legal advocacy can interrupt the traditional

path of a child neglect or maltreatment report and inves-

tigation by identifying legal issues and providing civil

legal support.

Practice Professor of Law and Director Interdisciplinary Child Advocacy Clinic, University of Pennsylvania Carey Law School.

DOI: 10.1111/fcre.12829

© 2024 Association of Family and Conciliation Courts.

842 Family Court Rev. 2024;62:842–851.

wileyonlinelibrary.com/journal/fcre