Children and Family Law
Our Mission
The Children and Family Law Division (CAFL) represents children and indigent parents in many kinds of family law cases, including:
- Cases in which the Department of Children and Families (DCF) removes children from their homes because of claims of neglect or abuse. These cases are called “care and protection” (C&P) cases or “termination of parental rights” cases.
- Cases in which parents ask the Juvenile Court for help with child-related challenges at home. These cases, called “child requiring assistance” (CRA) cases, also involve children who are truant from school or who run away from home.
- Cases in which parents contest guardianship petitions and adoption petitions filed by relatives and others.
- Other types of cases involving DCF.
The CAFL division promotes multidisciplinary defense teams, involving social workers and peer partners.
Standing Up For Families
Our attorneys protect the rights of parents and children to stay together whenever possible – and when courts free siblings for adoption, we fight to find them a stable, permanent home that allows them to stay together.
We ensure that DCF provides the services and support that parents and children need and are entitled to under the law.
Every family’s situation is different – and our advocacy reflects that. For a parent in a care and protection case, a skilled CAFL lawyer can be the difference between reunification and losing parental rights – known as the “death penalty of family law.” For a teenager in a truancy case, our efforts can unlock access to special education services and help them stay in school. And when courts free siblings for adoption, we fight to find them a stable, permanent home that allows them to stay together.
CAFL Trial Panel
The Children and Family Law Division has trial offices in 10 locations throughout the state. CAFL Attorneys are appointed by the Juvenile and Probate and Family Courts to represent indigent parents and children in state intervention/child welfare proceedings. Newly hired staff attorneys are required to attend the same 7-day certification training program that new panel attorneys must attend.
CAFL Trial Panel Certification Requirements
Training Requirements:
Admission onto the CAFL trial panel is by application only and requires satisfactory completion of a multi-day training program combining substantive law and trial skills. Thereafter, attorneys must work with a mentor assigned through the CAFL Mentorship program. Additional support is provided by Resource Attorneys and CAFL Trial Panel Support Unit staff.
Once certified for the trial panel, attorneys must maintain certification through the annual completion of 8 hours approved continuing legal education on a fiscal year basis. The fiscal year begins on July 1 and concludes on June 30. Newly certified trial panel attorneys are expected to satisfy the continuing education requirement in the fiscal year subsequent to the year certification was received.
Continuing legal education requirements may be satisfied by attendance of 8 hours of legal education at CAFL sponsored trainings, through MCLE or in various regions throughout the Commonwealth, or equivalent training programs. To obtain credit for attending such an equivalent program, submit a request for approval together with a comprehensive description of the program, including its length and a syllabus describing contents and faculty, to cafltraining@publiccounsel.net. Attorneys are urged to seek approval prior to attending programs. For a list of CAFL approved programs, see the CPCS Training Calendar.
To received CLE credit for the programs you attend, please complete the online CAFL CLE Affirmation Form before June 30 each fiscal year. You no longer need to submit certificates or other affirmation documents. The signed electronic form is sufficient to affirm attendance. When you submit the form, you will receive an automatic confirmation for your records. For any questions regarding CAFL CLEs, please contact Kaitlyn Severin (kseverin@publiccounsel.net).
Certification:
Attorneys who are fully certified and whose certifications are in good standing may accept assignments of care and protection cases, CRA cases, termination of parental rights cases, and child custody cases in which there is state intervention.
Performance Requirements:
Attorneys who accept State Intervention/Child Custody and CRA cases must represent their clients at all trial proceedings. Trial counsel is responsible for appellate proceedings until such time as appellate counsel is assigned by CPCS and enters an appearance. By accepting assignments on these cases attorneys agree to abide by the CPCS Performance Standards Governing Representation of Children and Parents in State Intervention and Parental Rights Termination Cases.
Appellate Assignments:
An attorney must be separately certified to receive appellate assignments for these cases. See CAFL Appellate Panel Certification Requirements below.
CAFL Appellate Unit
Attorneys in the CAFL Appellate Unit represent indigent parents and children in child welfare/state intervention appellate matters. They are also available to advise CAFL staff attorneys on appellate issues that arise in trial matters.
CAFL Appellate Panel Training Materials
- CAFL Appellate Panel Certification Training – Burden of Proof
- CAFL Appellate Panel Certification Training – Rules of Appellate Procedure
- CAFL Appellate Panel Certification Training – Settlement
- CAFL Appellate Panel Certification Training – Representing the Appellate Client From Soup to Nuts
- CAFL Appellate Panel Certification Training – Writing a Kick-Ass Brief
- CAFL Appellate Panel Certification Training – Overview of a Care & Protection
- Supplemental Material – Kick Ass Brief Writing
- Supplemental Material – Overview of C&P
- Supplemental Material – Representation During COVID
- Supplemental Material – Representing Children In Appeals
- Supplemental Materials – Administrative Matters
- Supplemental Materials – Rules of Appellate Procedure
- Supplemental Materials – Step by Step Guide to Appellate Representation
Materials from Internal Links and Bookmarking Webinar (4/30/2020)
- Appeals Court Guide
- Brief Template (Downloaded from Appeals Court)
- Combined Brief and Addendum_After_Internal Link Example
- Combined Brief and Addendum_Before_Internal Link Example
- Sample Addendum to Brief_After_Auto Generate Table of Contents
- Sample Addendum to Brief_After_Manual
- Sample Addendum to Brief_Before_Auto Generate Table of Contents
- Sample Addendum to Brief_Before_Manual Table of Contents
- Sample Brief_After_Applying Styles Manually
- Sample Brief_After_Using Appeals Court Template
- Sample Brief_After_Using Appeals Court Template
- Sample Brief_Before_Applying Styles Manually
- Sample Brief_Before_Applying Styles Manually
- Sample Brief_Before_For Use with Appeals Court Template
- Slides_Advanced Brief Drafting_Bookmarks and Internal Links
Ineffective Assistance of Counsel Training Materials
Find a CAFL Attorney or Staff Member
Most CAFL lawyers are private attorneys. Others are CPCS staff members who work in partnership with CPCS staff social workers.
CAFL has a ten trial offices, an appellate office, and two conflict offices called the Family Justice Advocates. Find contact information for each office and its staff in our directory.
Family Justice Advocates (CAFL Conflicts Office)
Family Justice Advocates (CAFL Conflicts Office) The multidisciplinary teams in CAFL’s Family Justice Advocates (FJA) represent children and indigent parents in state intervention/family regulation cases in the Juvenile Courts and Probate and Family Courts. FJA was established in 2022 in Springfield, Massachusetts, and in 2024 expanded to Worcester County. The FJA has separate physical offices, management, computer systems, and other mechanisms in place to ensure its independence and separation from all other CPCS offices for conflict-of-interest purposes.
Committee for Public Counsel Services, Family Justice Advocates
1441 Main Street, Suite 200A, Springfield MA 01103
Phone: (413) 707-9700
Fax: (508) 580-3173
Family Preservation Project
The Family Preservation Project is a statewide pre-petition representation program that launched in April 2025, organized by the Committee for Public Counsel Services. This project, made possible through funding from the Children and Family Law Legal Representation Trust Fund, provides pre-petition representation to families at risk of separation by the Department of Children and Families (DCF). CPCS has partnered with the FPP programs to address the root causes of DCF intervention – such as poverty-related issues, housing instability, and access to essential services – through dedicated legal teams. The FPP aims to reduce the harms of unnecessary removal by helping to strengthen families.
The five regional legal aid programs involved in the Family Preservation Project are:
- Community Legal Aid
- Northeast Legal Aid
- Greater Boston Legal Services
- South Coastal Counties Legal Services
- Metrowest Legal Services
To learn more about pre-petition representation and how to seek assistance in your area, please visit the Family Preservation Project’s website. To request more information, please contact CPCS at prepetitionproject@publiccounsel.net.
Resources for Clients
Explore dedicated resources for children and parents involved in CAFL cases.
Resources for CAFL Private Attorneys
Each county or region has a Resource Attorney who is available to provide guidance to private panel attorneys. Additionally, the CAFL Trial Panel Support Unit has an attorney liaison for each county.