Right to counsel

A Connecticut statute guarantees counsel for indigent parents in termination proceedings. Conn. Gen. Stat. Ann. § 45a-717(a)-(b).

Conn. Stat. 45a-717(b), which specifically pertains to termination proceeedings, says:

If the respondent parent is unable to pay for such respondent's own counsel or if the child or the parent or guardian of the child is unable to pay for the child's counsel, in the case of a Superior Court matter, the reasonable compensation of counsel appointed for the respondent parent or the child shall be established by, and paid from funds appropriated to, the Judicial Department and, in the case of a Probate Court matter, the reasonable compensation of counsel appointed for the respondent parent or the child shall be established by, and paid from funds appropriated to, the Judicial Department, however, in the case of a Probate Court matter, if funds have not been included in the budget of the Judicial Department for such purposes, such compensation shall be established by the Probate Court Administrator and paid from the Probate Court Administration Fund.

In In re Baby Girl B., 224 Conn. 263, 297 n.22 (1992), the Connecticut Supreme Court stated that a trial court "should seriously consider the appointment of legal counsel to represent an absent parent in proceedings for the termination of parental rights in those cases in which the parent has received only constructive notice of the pendency of the proceedings."