Chief Judge Rowan Wilson Advocates for Funding Increases and Reform of Family Court System
4.25.2025
At the opening of the Family Defense Conference in Albany on Thursday, Chief Judge Rowan Wilson laid out his agenda for reforming the Family Court system. The conference is a joint effort of the New York State Bar Association and the Indigent Legal Services Fund, which provides aid to county governments to fund programs for clients who cannot afford an attorney.
The Office of Court Administration under Wilson’s leadership has focused on improving Family Court since his confirmation as chief judge in 2023. He told the crowd of more than 200 lawyers, who represent parents in Family Court, that the system is not living up to its mission to find benevolent ways to keep families together.
“The state’s care for families is underwhelming. Family Court is under resourced and often neglected. We need to bring back that ethos to work for families,” he said.
Wilson said one of his main objectives is to offer families early intervention before the courts get involved. He is also proposing to increase funding of the Court Appointed Special Advocates and provide $150 million for indigent legal services for parent representation.
He reminded the lawyers attending the conference to consider safety, dignity and compassion in everything that they do.
“We can and we must do better,” he said. “We are stewards of the justice system that serves children for good or ill and I look forward to working with you on this cause.”
New York State Bar Association President Domenick Napoletano received a lot of applause when he talked about the association’s support of a Family Miranda bill. If passed, the bill would require Child Protective Services to advise parents and caregivers of their rights similar to the Miranda warnings given to those arrested.
“In custody investigations, parents have the right to an attorney and the right to refuse access to their homes and medical records,” Napoletano said. “The Family Miranda bill protects parents from an often-overzealous CPS process.”
Napoletano went on to highlight the association’s recent success in preventing the state from taking millions from the IOLA Fund, which funds lawyers for indigent clients across New York State.
