Assure legal counsel to DCFS youth

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Without legal representation, a child is left to navigate complex proceedings on their own, putting them at risk of receiving unfair treatment, or having vital decisions about their future made without their input. SB 1478 assures that no child goes through this process – including separation from their family – without their own legal counsel. Take action in support of this bill!

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Subject Support SB 1478!

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As your constituent, I write to urge you to support and sponsor Senate Bill 1478. It is important that Illinois makes sure that each child in the care of the Department of Children and Family Services is guaranteed their own legal counsel. No child should have to navigate a complex, complicated DCFS system without their own lawyer

Illinois is one of only 7 states that does not guarantee counsel to any youth in care. SB 1478 is an opportunity to address this problem and assure better outcomes for youth in care. Illinois currently has one of the longest lengths of stay in the nation for a youth to achieve permanency. But children and parents who have legal counsel obtain better results than those who do not, including less time in foster care or group homes, shorter time to adoption or guardianship and, most important, more timely, successful reunifications.

Providing legal representation for children in care is the nationally-recognized best practice. Illinois must adopt this system now to improve outcomes for children in our state.

Please help make sure that each child in the Illinois foster system is assured their own legal counsel by supporting SB 1478.

Sincerely,

[First Name] [Last Name]

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Assure legal counsel to DCFS youth

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