This report identifies systemic barriers to fair defense for children, evaluates consequences of such barriers in the juvenile justice system, describes ways in which judges, attorneys, and counties have attempted to address these barriers, and makes recommendations for improving the current system of indigent defense services for children.

The purpose of this report is to: Identify the ways in which the state of Texas provides legal representation to poor children in the justice system; Determine how this legal representation is funded; Pinpoint the characteristics of the system which encourage or impede lawyers’ abilities to serve their juvenile clients; and Gauge the access children…

In the fall of 1993, the American Bar Association Juvenile Justice Center, in conjunction with the Youth Law Center and Juvenile Law Center, received funding from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention to initiate the Due Process Advocacy Project. The intent of the project is to build the capacity and effectiveness of…