The proposed bill would amend current statutes to allow the Department of Child Safety (DCS) to employ legal counsel and incur expenses for legal services, which is currently prohibited for most state agencies. Specifically, it would insert provisions requiring the Attorney General (AG) or appointed counsel to represent the state's interests—not DCS—in dependency, severance, guardianship, or adoption proceedings where allegations of DCS misconduct arise. This includes situations where DCS has failed to comply with court orders, made material misrepresentations, presented misleading evidence, or engaged in misconduct.

Additionally, the bill mandates that the AG or appointed counsel conduct an independent review of the case records and provide legal assessments regarding compliance and evidentiary integrity. It also ensures that the AG or appointed counsel cannot face retaliation from DCS for taking positions that differ from DCS recommendations. The bill would make several technical changes to existing language, including the removal of gender-specific pronouns and the addition of DCS to the list of entities that the AG may represent.

Statutes affected:
Introduced Version: 41-192
House Engrossed Version: 41-192, 41-192.03, 3-368, 35-148, 35-146, 35-147, 35-190, 35-142