Initial results of the three Child Welfare Legal Services (CWLS) pilot projects are varied. However, it is too early to distinguish the impact of the pilot projects themselves from what may be short-lived effects associated with the transition process.
Pilot budgets may not have sufficiently provided for start-up costs and may not be adequate for proper litigation and staff retention.
A number of unresolved policy issues may impede the implementation of the pilot project models on a wider scale. These include the clear identification of the CWLS attorneys' client, jurisdictional boundary complications, and questions of potential conflicts.
To more fully determine the effect of the pilot projects, we recommend that the pilots be extended and that an evaluation be conducted after the pilot projects have been in operation for two years.

Legal Affairs Provides Valuable Legal Services, But Accountability Needs to Be Strengthened
Report 99-53 May 2000
Department of Children and Families' Child Protective Investigation Administrative Review Process
Report 99-20 December 1999
Subjects of Child Protective Investigations: Survey Results and Case Characteristics
Report 98-26 December 1998
Review of the Effect of Child Protection Investigations on Families
Report 97-69 April 1998

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