No foster child will be forgotten: A state mandate means all kids in the system will have attorneys on their side

"When Elliot Brittain was 17, the two people who’d been raising him — his grandparents — both died unexpectedly, and he found himself immersed in the Clark County foster care system.

He was called to family court for a hearing to determine whether his mother, who had relinquished custody of him when he was 5, or his father, whom he had never met and knew only by name, were willing and able to take care of him.

“I was not prepared for these circumstances,” said Brittain, now 22. “Although I was almost considered an adult, I was unprepared to begin my life.”

Fortunately, he was not alone..."

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