New Hampshire, like most states, is facing a budget crisis. To cope with this, they've joined Mississippi in not providing lawyers to low income parents being accused of child abuse or neglect. I mean if we're talking about people who are beating their children, that doesn't sound so cruel, right? But that's not what NH is talking about.
In an NPR story that aired yesterday, a father who cannot currently provide a home for his child is attempting to represent himself with the looming threat of his child (a four year old) being taken away from him permanently. This particular man has a 10th grade education and, due to his dyslexia, can barely read. Imagine attempting to keep the state from taking your child away with these limited tools.
The state prosecutor in this case laments that his job is like "shooting fish in a barrel." These people cannot properly navigate the legal system or properly represent themselves, and a lawyer going up against them clearly has the upper hand. Judges and lawyers alike are dissatisfied, and families are being torn apart.
The father interviewed is not abusing his child. This issue is economical, not physical. Yet he risks losing his child permanently, with no parental rights or responsibilities. It seems likely that this will be true of the vast majority of NH cases, as the vast majority of parents do not abuse their children. Let's call this what it is: an attack on low income families.
That is a sad story indeed. However, those people do not pay State tax. How can the State offer them lawyers if it doesn't even have money to pay them? Since they are living free, they should be able to face the consequences of anarchy.
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