OCA-DGCP-049 Attorney for the Child Services Juvenile Defense Alternative Providers New York City

BACKGROUND INFORMATION

Pursuant to the relevant section of Part 7.2 of the Rules of the Chief Judge, the function of the attorney for the child is:  

As used in this part, "attorney for the child" means a law guardian appointed by the family court pursuant to section 249 of the Family Court Act, or by the supreme court or a surrogate's court in a proceeding over which the family court might have exercised jurisdiction had such action or proceeding been commenced in family court or referred thereto.

Article 2, part 4 of the Family Court Act § 241 provides that minors who are the subject of Family Court proceedings or appeals in proceedings originating in the Family Court should be represented by counsel of their own choosing or by an assigned counsel, as it is recognized that children “require the assistance of counsel to help protect their interests and to help them express their wishes to the court.”

In the Family Court, the cost of assigned counsel is borne by the state through appropriations to the judiciary. The New York State Unified Court System (UCS) meets this obligation through the attorney for the child (“AFC”) program, which consists of two parts: (i) panels of attorneys (or contracted attorneys) designated by the respective Departments of the Appellate Division and (ii) the subject of this solicitation: institutions that provide Attorney for the Child services under contract with the UCS.

The UCS Office of Court Administration’s Division of Grants, Contracts and Procurement (DGCP) is soliciting proposals via this Request for Proposals (RFP) from not-for-profit legal services organizations for the purpose of providing alternative assigned counsel AFC Services to minors, ages 7-17, in juvenile defense proceedings in the Bronx, Kings, New York, and Queens County Family Courts.

PROJECT INFORMATION

In New York City Family Court, the majority of juvenile defense respondents are assigned to and represented by a primary provider of AFC Services who handles approximately 90% of such proceedings. However, there are many instances where the primary provider is unable to provide representation either due to conflicts, or for “in concert” matters that require multiple different legal representation where individual interests may not be aligned. For these instances, alternative AFC contract providers are required to ensure sufficient and adequate legal representation is available in compliance with state law.

1. Pursuant to Sections 243(a) and 245(a) of the Family Court Act, the UCS is authorized to enter into contracts with legal service providers to be assigned counsel for minors who are the respondent in Juvenile Defense matters in New York City Family Court. Juvenile defense AFCs provide legal representation on behalf of children in juvenile delinquency (“JD”), Persons in Need of Supervision (“PINS”), designated felony, adolescent offender (“AO”) and juvenile offender (“JO”) matters. AFC contract awardees will be expected to provide the following services listed in Section V, “Project Services.”

UCS seeks institutional providers of AFC Services who will implement a holistic representation approach. The holistic approach typically includes teams comprised of attorneys, social workers, and paraprofessionals to provide comprehensive legal advice, advocacy and support to children who are the subject of child welfare and juvenile defense matters.

UCS anticipates making one or more contract awards per county. The amount of available funding for each respective county is detailed in Exhibit 7. Applicants may apply for funding in more than one county but must submit a program narrative and budget FOR EACH COUNTY in accordance with the requirements set forth in this RFP. All allocations are subject to available state appropriations. Funding will be made available to eligible providers as determined by the Chief Administrative Judge of the Courts. § 127.5 of the Rules of the Chief Administrative Judge states that the number of children represented at any given time by an attorney appointed pursuant to § 249 of the Family Court Act shall not exceed 150.

Key Bid Dates (Note: UCS reserves the right to modify any Key Bid Date as it may deem appropriate.)

Key Bid Dates (Note: UCS reserves the right to modify any Key Bid Date as it may deem appropriate.) 

Note: Throughout this RFP, the terms bidder, proposer, vendor, and applicant are used interchangeably, as are RFP, bid and solicitation.

AWARD

Term of Award

One (1) or more AFC Juvenile Defense Service contracts (“Contract(s)”) will be awarded to successful bidders (“Awarded Contractor(s)”) for each county listed in Exhibit 7. Applicants awarded for one or more counties will enter into to one Contract with UCS covering all applicable counties. Contracts will be for an Initial Term of sixty (60) months (“Initial Term”), with budget periods corresponding with each NYS fiscal year ending March 31. The Contract(s) are expected to commence on or about January 1, 2026, and terminate on or about December 31, 2030 (“Contract Term”). The initial budget period of the Contract will be for three (3) months, from January 1, 2026, through March 31, 2026.

Any Contract resulting from this solicitation is subject to the approval of both the office of the New York State Attorney General and the New York State Office of the State Comptroller.

Method of Award

Tier I: Minimum Qualifications (Threshold Pass/Fail)

The Awarded Contractor(s) must meet the minimum qualifications outlined in Article IV.

Tier II: Evaluation and Scoring

Reviewers will evaluate proposals that meet the Tier I Minimum Qualifications. Proposers who receive a score of at least 70 points (average score among Tier II reviewers) will advance to Tier III.

The technical criteria of each proposal will be reviewed and rated by a team composed of qualified UCS staff and reasonableness of cost criteria will be reviewed and scored by the UCS Contracts and Procurement staff. Please be sure to include separate Program Capacity/Proposed Service Delivery narratives for each county you are applying for. Do not provide one narrative covering more than one county. Scores for Organizational Capacity and Program Capacity/Proposed Service Delivery will be averaged across all scorers to arrive at an average score for each category. Reasonableness of cost will be assigned one score based on the objective criteria outlined in Exhibit 5(C). These scores will then be summed to arrive at a Final Score for each proposal. Scoring will be awarded as follows:

Organizational Capacity, Program Capacity and Proposed Service Delivery, and Reasonableness of Cost criteria are contained in the Rating Tool attached as Exhibit 5 hereto.

Note: A minimum technical score of 70 (average of all evaluators) is required for an award to be made.

Tier III: Final Evaluation

The Tier III Evaluation assessments will be conducted by designated UCS executive staff. During the Tier III Evaluation, applicants shall be selected for funding and award amounts shall be determined through consideration of some or all of the following: Tier III Evaluation scoring and comments, strategic priorities, available funding and best overall value to New York State.

The Chief Administrative Judge or designee will make final decisions regarding approval and individual award amounts based on the quality of each submission, the recommendations of the reviewers, and the specific criteria set forth in this solicitation, in accordance with the best interests of the State. Nothing herein requires UCS to approve funding for any applicant.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS

Proposals will be considered only from applicants who are a “legal aid society” defined as a nonprofit organization that provides legal assistance to individuals who cannot afford legal services, as articulated in section 243 of the NYS Family Court Act. Such organizations must provide proof of NYS Charities Bureau registration prior to finalization of contract award.

PROJECT SERVICES

UCS seeks proposals describing how the applicant will provide the services listed below (collectively, “Project Services”):

Awarded Contractor(s) shall be required to represent the following categories of minors:

A. Pursuant to section 712(a) of the Family Court Act, a “person in need of supervision” (PINS) is defined as:

A person less than eighteen years of age: (i) who does not attend school in accordance with the provisions of part one of article sixty-five of the education law; (ii) who is ungovernable or habitually disobedient and beyond the lawful control of a parent or other person legally responsible for such child’s care, or other lawful authority; (iii) who violates the provisions of section 230.00 of the penal law; (iv) or who appears to be a sexually exploited child as defined in paragraph (a), (c) or (d) of subdivision one of section four hundred forty-seven-a of the social services law, but only if the child consents to the filing of a petition under this article.

B. Pursuant to section 301.2(1) of the Family Court Act, a “juvenile delinquent” (JD) is defined as:

(a)(i) a person at least twelve and less than eighteen years of age, having committed an act that would constitute a crime if committed by an adult; or

(ii) a person over sixteen and less than seventeen years of age or, a person over sixteen and less than eighteen years of age commencing October first, two thousand nineteen, having committed an act that would constitute a violation as defined by subdivision three of section 10.00 of the penal law if committed by an adult, where such violation is alleged to have occurred in the same transaction or occurrence of the alleged criminal act; or

(iii) a person over the age of seven and less than twelve years of age having committed an act that would constitute one of the following crimes, if committed by an adult: (A) aggravated criminally negligent homicide as defined in section 125.11 of the penal law; (B) vehicular manslaughter in the second degree as defined in section 125.12 of the penal law; (C) vehicular manslaughter in the first degree as defined in section 125.13 of the penal law; (D) aggravated vehicular homicide as defined in section 125.14 of the penal law; (E) manslaughter in the second degree as defined in section 125.15 of the penal law; (F) manslaughter in the first degree as defined in section 125.20 of the penal law; (G) aggravated manslaughter in the second degree as defined in section 125.21 of the penal law; (H) aggravated manslaughter in the first degree as defined in section 125.22 of the penal law; (I) murder in the second degree as defined in section 125.25 of the penal law; (J) aggravated murder as defined in section 125.26 of the penal law; and (K) murder in the first degree as defined in section 125.27 of the penal law; and

(b) who is:

(i) not criminally responsible for such conduct by reason of infancy; or

(ii) the defendant in an action ordered removed from a criminal court to the family court pursuant to article seven hundred twenty-five of the criminal procedure law.

C. Pursuant to section 1.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law, a “juvenile offender” (JO ) means:

(42) (1) a person, thirteen years old who is criminally responsible for acts constituting murder in the second degree as defined in subdivisions one and two of section 125.25 of the penal law, or such conduct as a sexually motivated felony, where authorized pursuant to section 130.91 of the penal law; and (2) a person fourteen or fifteen years old who is criminally responsible for acts constituting the crimes defined in subdivisions one and two of section 125.25 (murder in the second degree) and in subdivision three of such section provided that the underlying crime for the murder charge is one for which such person is criminally responsible; section 135.25 (kidnapping in the first degree); 150.20 (arson in the first degree); subdivisions one and two of section 120.10 (assault in the first degree); 125.20 (manslaughter in the first degree); paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision one, paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision two and paragraphs (a) and (b) if subdivision three of section 130.35 (rape in the first degree); former subdivisions one and two of section 130.35 (rape in the first degree); subdivisions one and two of former section 130.50; 130.70 (aggravated sexual abuse in the first degree); 140.30 (burglary in the first degree); subdivision one of section 140.25 (burglary in the second degree); 150.15 (arson in the second degree); 160.15 (robbery in the first degree); subdivision two of section 160.10 (robbery in the second degree) of the penal law; or section 265.03 of the penal law, where such machine gun or such firearm is possessed on school grounds, as that phrase is defined in subdivision fourteen of section 220.00 of the penal law; or defined in the penal law as an attempt to commit murder in the second degree or kidnapping in the first degree, or such conduct as a sexually motivated felony, where authorized pursuant to section 130.91 of the penal law.

D. Pursuant to section 1.20 of the Criminal Procedure Law, an “adolescent offender”

(AO) means:

(44) A person charged with a felony committed on or after October 1, 2018 when he or she was 16 years of age or on or after October 1, 2019, when he or she was 17 years of age.

Awarded Contractor(s) shall be required to perform the following AFC Services:

1. Provide attorneys proficient in juvenile defense practice in the Family Court who are able to deliver high-quality representation in line with the Juvenile Defense Standards promulgated by the National Juvenile Defender Center https://njdc.info/wpcontent/uploads/2013/09/NationalJuvenileDefenseStandards2013.pdf

2. Provide enhanced services such as social workers, investigators, or other services that would promote quality representation.

3. Assume representation of each client at the earliest practical opportunity in the proceeding, and shall, where appropriate, contact, interview and provide initial services to the client at the earliest possible opportunity, prior to the client’s first court appearance, when feasible.

4. Be reasonably accessible to each client by phone and in person.

5. Ensure that all necessary case preparation is conducted on behalf of each client, including a review of documents pertaining to the child and any necessary factual investigation, and shall arrange for any necessary expert evaluations.

6. Ensure that the legal remedies available to each client are evaluated and pursued where appropriate.

7. Appear at and participate actively in all court proceedings conducted in relation to each client.

8. While a dispositional order in relation to a client is in effect, maintain such contact with the client and other relevant individuals and agencies as necessary to monitor implementation of such order, and shall seek intervention of the court when necessary to assure compliance with such order or otherwise protect the interests of the client.

9. Provide, or refer for provision of, such other legal and associated support services for each client as the Court may direct or as Awarded Contractor(s) may determine are necessary and appropriate to properly represent each such client.

10. Provide substantial training for staff attorneys representing youth and enhanced services providers on topics to include adolescent brain development, effective adolescent interviewing and counseling techniques.

11. Provide substantial training for staff attorneys representing youth and enhanced services providers on the topic of communication with young clients in a trauma-informed, developmentally appropriate and effective manner.

12. Provide substantial training for staff attorneys representing youth and enhanced services providers on the topic of representing special populations (e.g., youth with developmental disabilities, LGBTQIA+ youth, substance using youth, etc.)

13. Identify attorney conflicts and implement procedures to appropriately re-assign such conflicts.

14. Provide services at after-hours arraignments.

In addition, as directed in Part 7.2 of the Rules of the Chief Judge, the attorney for the child is subject to the ethical requirements applicable to all lawyers, including but not limited to constraints on: ex parte communication; disclosure of client confidences and attorney work product.

RFP Issue Date August 29, 2025

Deadline to Submit Written Questions September 12, 2025

Follow-up Question Due Date September 24, 2025

Deadline to Submit Proposal October 3, 2025 

Estimated Contract Start Date January 1, 2026 

The UCS looks forward to your response.