Appendix D.Statewide standards of expected conduct for court-appointed counsel

Last amended January 1, 2023 · Current through July 1, 2026 · Last verified September 8, 2026

In one sentenceAppendix D sets the Statewide Standards of Expected Conduct for court-appointed counsel — the default standards for lawyers representing children and adults in dependency, termination and adoption cases, which FCRPP 35 requires them to follow.

Full Text of Appendix D

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The standards below are the default standards for attorneys appointed to represent an adult or child in dependency, abuse, neglect, termination of parental rights, and adoptions. However, local courts may have adopted alternative standards by way of local rule. Please consult your court's local rules to find whether alternative standards have been approved and adopted.

(1) Scope These Statewide Standards apply to all court-appointed counsel who represent children, parents, persons exercising custodial control, or any other person entitled to representation in adoption, dependency, neglect and abuse, and termination of parental rights actions. Each court-appointed counsel shall follow these standards, as well as the Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct (SCR 3.130 through SCR 3.995). Should the Kentucky Rules of Professional Conduct impose a different duty than these Statewide Standards, the higher standard controls.

(2) Essential Practices for All Court-Appointed Attorneys All appointed attorneys, including guardians ad litem and those appointed to represent adults, should:

1. Zealously advocate for his or her client;

2. Communicate with his or her client(s) regularly, including minor children, where practical, based upon the child's age and ability to communicate;

3. Explain the child welfare legal process and the client(s)'s rights and duties in a manner that best facilitates the client(s)'s understanding of the same;

4. Have knowledge and understanding of current federal and state child welfare laws;

5. Prepare for and attend court hearings and reviews;

6. Discuss and understand the client's life circumstances, including strengths, needs, and the client(s)'s available resources; and assist them with accessing such resources when possible;

7. Understand trauma and client's specific trauma history, how the client's trauma history impacts client's experience with the child welfare system and ability to engage in child welfare services, and how trauma impacts the attorney/client relationship;

8. Build a relationship of trust and ensure the client experiences fairness;

9. Seek court accommodations that promote equal access and full participation in proceedings;

10. Prepare his or her client and the client's witnesses for court;

11. Maintain a reasonable caseload and devote sufficient time for advocacy;

12. Conduct an independent investigation at every state of the proceeding, before and after the jurisdictional/dispositional phase of the proceedings, which should include obtaining and reviewing on an ongoing basis and to the extent allowable under state law (including via subpoena, discovery, or court order), child welfare agency records, service provider records, and all other relevant records for parents and children;

13. Provide ethical legal representation;

14. Confirm his or her client receives proper notice and understands, to the best of the client's ability, the duties and restrictions imposed by court orders;

15. Actively engage in conflict resolution and negotiation;

16. Proactively move the case forward if it is in the client's interests, including reducing case continuances and timely filing any necessary pleadings, motions, or briefs;

17. File motions and appeals necessary to protect his or her client rights and interests;

18. Understand how cultural, social, and economic differences affect the attorney-client relationship sufficiently to ensure that all clients receive the same quality of representation;

19. Understand how racial, cultural, social, and economic differences may impact the attorney/client relationship, avoid imposing personal values upon clients, and take these factors into account when working with clients to achieve their case goals, including identifying and accessing services;

20. Understand and recognize the impact of personal and system bias stemming from race, gender identity, sexual orientation and expression, ethnicity, culture, country-of-origin, disability, and socioeconomic status, and develop strategies, including legal strategies, to mitigate the negative impact of personal and system bias on clients' case goals; and

21. Identify and use to clients' advantage their individual, familial, cultural, and community strengths.

(3) Standards for Guardians ad litem The guardian ad litem's role is to advance the child(ren)'s interests in court, provide legal counsel, help the child understand the legal process, and empower the child to participate. To achieve this, the guardian ad litem should:

1. Explain to the child that he or she represents the child and advocates in the child's best interest;

2. Understand the child's wishes in regard to the outcome of the case;

3. Ensure the client's voice is heard in the proceedings, which includes informing the court, upon permission of the child, of any wishes the child has that differ from the child's best interest;

4. Ensure the child has an opportunity to attend and participate in court hearings;

5. Advocate for the child to maintain contact with parents, siblings, and kin through visitation, placement, and permanency planning, when appropriate;

6. Communicate with any person or agency who has relevant information to the case, including teachers, foster parents, and service providers;

7. Promote tailored and specific case plans and services; and

8. Advocate for the child's access to education and community supports.

(4) Standards for Attorneys Representing Adults The role of an attorney appointed to represent an adult is to protect the client's legal rights, advance the client's interests in court, and help the client understand the legal process. To achieve this, the court-appointed attorney, in addition to the Essential Practices for All Court-Appointed Attorneys, should:

1. Diligently pursue the clients' case goals and as needed and when consistent with client's interests and objectives;

2. ensure the client's voice is heard in the proceedings;

3. Help the client problem-solve and meet case goals;

4. Advocate parent-child contact through visitation and permanency planning; and

5. Identify potential ancillary legal issues that could impact client's dependency case, refer client to legal resources to address issues, and communicate regularly with client's other legal service providers to with the goal of ensuring that dependency proceedings and other legal proceedings benefit client.

End

Amendment History

Kentucky publishes each rule’s amendment record as a “HISTORY” note beneath the rule, citing the Supreme Court order that adopted or amended it and that order’s effective date. It is reproduced verbatim below.

HISTORY: Amended by Order 2022-58, eff. 1-1-23. Adopted by Order 2020-1, eff. 2-1-20

Plain-English Summary

Unlike the three appendices before it, this one is not a menu. FCRPP 35(2) requires court-appointed counsel to follow these Statewide Standards, and a Circuit or District may depart from them only by local rule approved by the Chief Justice. The appendix describes itself as the default standards, noting that local courts may have adopted alternatives.

Their scope reaches every court-appointed lawyer in this area — those representing children, parents, persons exercising custodial control, or anyone else entitled to representation in adoption, dependency, neglect and termination proceedings, guardians ad litem included.

The essential practices are what a client would recognise as competent representation, written down. Advocate zealously. Communicate regularly, including with minor children where practical given the child's age and ability. Explain the process and the client's rights in a way that client can actually follow. Know the current federal and state child welfare law. Prepare for and attend hearings and reviews. Understand the client's circumstances, strengths, needs and resources, and help them reach those resources.

Several go further than a general practice standard would. Counsel are to understand trauma and their client's own trauma history, how it shapes the client's experience of the child welfare system and their ability to engage with services. They are to build a relationship of trust and ensure the client experiences fairness, and to seek court accommodations that promote equal access and full participation. They are to maintain a reasonable caseload and devote sufficient time to advocacy, and to conduct an independent investigation at every stage — before and after the jurisdictional and dispositional phases — rather than relying on the agency's account.

Frequently Asked Questions

Are the Appendix D standards binding on Kentucky court-appointed counsel?

Yes. FCRPP 35(2) requires court-appointed counsel to follow the Statewide Standards set out in Appendix D. A Circuit or District may deviate by local rule only if approved by the Chief Justice.

Who do the standards apply to?

All court-appointed counsel who represent children, parents, persons exercising custodial control, or any other person entitled to representation in adoption, dependency, neglect and termination proceedings — guardians ad litem included.

What do the standards say about caseloads?

That appointed attorneys should maintain a reasonable caseload and devote sufficient time for advocacy.

Do the standards address trauma?

Yes. Appointed attorneys should understand trauma and their client's specific trauma history, how it impacts the client's experience with the child welfare system and their ability to engage in child welfare services.

Source & verification. The rule text and amendment history are reproduced verbatim from the Kentucky Family Court Rules of Procedure and Practice (Ky. FCRPP App. D). Promulgated by the Supreme Court of Kentucky. The plain-English summary is original and written by us. Last verified September 8, 2026. · Official source

Also known as: statewide standardscourt-appointed counsel conductguardian ad litem standardstrauma-informed representationindependent investigation