Data indicate that compared to attorneys representing parents, those representing children were ineffective. Their failure was a result of systemic and structural problems related both to how they were provided and what was expected of them. The process of their appointment was highly discretionary. The courts' paternalistic approach resulted in a therapeutic approach to providing representation for the children. In part because of inadequate compensation, children's attorneys spent minimal time on cases, suggesting that they simply followed social service recommendations and minimized their own contributions to case processing. In addition, attorneys were confused about their role in such cases: most believed that many judges did not expect them to take an active adversarial role, and they typically lacked specialized training in child abuse and neglect cases. The lack of client-centered independence of attorneys and the therapeutic approach to such cases taken by both the attorneys and the courts results in inadequate representation for children. An independent agency to train attorneys and monitor their performance is suggested. 106 notes.