SOI# 003 Attorney for the Child - Child Custody (Bronx County)

The New York State Unified Court System (UCS), Office of Court Administration (OCA) seeks letters of interest from eligible non-profit legal service organizations to become the primary provider representing children who are the subject of private custody matters in Bronx County Family Court (and a limited number of family court matters in the integrated domestic violence part of the Bronx Supreme Court).  For the purposes of this solicitation, private custody matters include cases where the court appoints an attorney in a child custody or visitation matter that originates outside of a child protective proceeding. 

Background Information 

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 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 OCA. Pursuant to §243(a) the OCA is authorized to enter contracts with “legal aid societies”1 to provide AFC services. 

The OCA 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 custody matters. 

Contract and Funding 

This solicitation seeks letters of interest from organizations interested in contracting with the OCA for a term expected to commence on or about January 1, 2026, and continuing through December 31, 2031.  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. 

The OCA will provide an allocation for the initial annual period in the contract term based on a historical analysis of the number of filings, dispositions, and pending child custody and visitation matters in Bronx County, an analysis of the proportion of those matters that originate outside of a child protective proceeding and an estimate of the proportion of those children represented by the primary institutional provider in prior years.  This analysis results in an estimated “average daily census” of approximately 1,400 children to be represented in 2026. 

The client children to be served under this contract shall primarily include children who are the subject of private custody and/or visitation matters but may also include any other matters assigned by the court or matters in which the organization has an existing attorney/client relationship. 

The contractor shall be responsible for managing resources and for allocating cases among staff attorneys to promote the effective representation of children and to distribute assignments such that the average workload of each attorney in the office remains in compliance with the standard whenever practicable. 

The OCA will allocate funding to the contractor sufficient to support staff attorneys, supervisory and support staff, indirect costs, occupancy costs and other than personnel services expenses.  Actual annual allocations shall be limited by available appropriations. 

For subsequent annual periods, the OCA will review the workload of the contractor and will take steps to promote ongoing compliance with the caseload standard. 

Eligible Providers 

Eligible contractors are limited to non-profit legal service organizations. The organization must have sufficient staff attorneys with experience representing children in the New York City Family Court or provide a detailed plan as to how the organization will retain staff to provide the services. 

To indicate interest in and eligibility to provide these services, please send a letter of interest, which includes the necessary components listed below to the email address below by 2 p.m. on June 6, 2025. 

1. Describe the organization’s current capacity to provide legal representation for children who are the subject of private custody matters in Bronx County based on the number of children anticipated to be assigned and/or steps the organization would take to recruit a sufficient staff of professionals with the requisite experience to provide the representation services. 
2. Describe any ancillary support such as social workers, paralegals or other services that the organization will implement to promote quality representation. 
3. Describe the supervisory structure that will be implemented to promote quality representation.  Include bios of key managerial staff that will oversee the program. 
4. Include the following information to establish the organization’s eligibility: 

• Documentation of the organization’s non-profit status. 

• The organization’s mission statement. 

• A list of current board members. 

• The organization’s most recent audited financial statements. 

• If any government entity terminated a contract with the organization or suspended or debarred the organization from participation in future government contracts, the letter of intent must include a detailed explanation of the circumstances. 

The letter of interest and required documents should be sent by 2:00pm on June 6, 2025 to: 

Jillian Halse 

Court Analyst  

jhalse@nycourts.gov 

Please write “SOI # 003 AFC, Custody Representation Services in Bronx County” in the subject line.