Where children in state child welfare proceedings were not automatically entitled to counsel and decision on appointment of counsel was best left to state court judge.The 7th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals affirmed a decision by Judge James Patrick Hanlon, Southern District of Indiana. Officials in Indiana use a process they call CHINS, or child in need of services, when they believe that children may be suffering from abuse or neglect. Indiana automatically appoints lawyers to represent the parents in CHINS proceedings …