Some say Gov. Rell’s budget shortchanges juvenile system
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Several officials, including Chief Court Administrator Judge William Lavery, met with lawmakers to discuss what they believe to be severe short-comings in the new budget in regards to the juvenile justice system.
A $5 million request to increase pay for public service attorneys representing children and parents in juvenile court was reduced to about $850,000 over two years, hindering efforts to hire and retain more experienced attorneys, officials said.
A $2 million request to hire nine court-based clinicians to conduct mental health evaluations for juveniles and 11 education advocates to help families and children with educational issues was not funded.
The approximately 166 juvenile court lawyers working for the state currently make $500 for the first 30 hours of work or about $16.66 per hour. By comparison, special public defenders who work on felony and appeals cases in adult criminal court are paid about $65 an hour.
"In order to address the issue, we need to attract and retain competent attorneys and at $16.66 an hour that’s not possible," said Carolyn A. Signorelli, the state’s new chief child protection attorney, who wants to do away with the initial flat $500 payment and pay lawyers an hourly fee to better monitor and improve the quality of their work.
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