Unless upstate panel attorneys for children (AFC) are adequately compensated at the same hourly rate as their downstate counterparts—$164, as the Assembly one-house budget proposes for both AFC and assigned counsel attorneys (18-B attorneys)—and given annual cost of living adjustments (COLAs), our upstate AFC panels will continue to be decimated.

Our Family Courts will not be able to function without the representation of children provided by panel AFC.