Children have an attorney appointment to represent them in the regular court hearings.  It is this lawyer’s responsibility to represent the needs and desires of the child in court.  The lawyer will usually have a telephone contact with the child prior to the court hearing. 

They also often have an investigator who works for them visit with the child on a regular basis.  As with the placement worker, these are very busy people with high caseloads.  They frequently wait until the night before the hearing to contact the child.  You MUST allow the lawyer to have a private conversation with the child or make sure the child is present in court. 

If you are gone and arrive home to find a message on your answering machine, be sure to call back immediately, even if it is past normal working hours.  The attorneys and county workers are frequently working late and may still be in the office.

If you are in doubt about whether someone is the child’s attorney or their investigator, you may take their name and phone number and call them back to verify that they are indeed the attorney.  You may contact your agency  social worker and any staff member; but if  for some unforeseen reason you are unable to get in touch with any agency personnel, please return the call to the lawyer.