CHIPS Copilot.
For parents in the CPS system.
An open-source CLI agent for parents navigating Child Protective Services, CHIPS, dependency, and TPR proceedings. Deploys on Claude Code, OpenCode, and Codex CLI. Evidence integrity by default. No hallucinated citations. No legal advice.
The agent a parent in a CPS case actually needs.
CHIPS Copilot ingests court orders, agency reports, transcripts, and PDFs, then helps the parent build a case file with proper evidence integrity, draft state-court motions, draft federal civil-rights complaints, run discovery, prepare witnesses, and never quote a fabricated case. It is not a lawyer. It is the toolkit a parent should have had before the first hearing.
Built for the parent. Designed to be hardened for adversarial conditions — every draft can be cite-checked, every exhibit can be chain-of-custody verified, every reply can be stress-tested before it goes out. Use does not establish an attorney–client relationship and is not a substitute for licensed counsel.
26 slash commands across the parent's full workflow.
Intake & analysis
/analyze-pdfPDF metadata forensics + consumer-software red-flag detection/analyze-orderCourt-order analyzer: requirements, deadlines, rights, gaps/analyze-reportAdversarial read of CPS / GAL reports/extract-admissionsParty-opponent admissions from transcripts/chronologyMaster case timeline builder/compliance-auditStatutory compliance audit vs. state child-welfare law
Evidence management
/index-evidenceMaster Evidence Index with hash verification + cross-references/exhibit-packageCourt-ready exhibit packages with FRE 901/902 authentication/battle-mapElement-by-element evidence map; witness order; cross targets/preserveFull backup with hash re-verification and manifest
Drafting (you review and decide)
/draft-motionGenerates a state-court motion-shaped first draft (compel, suppress, reconsideration, emergency) for the user to edit and decide whether to file. Not legal advice./draft-emailCaseworker / GAL / attorney correspondence drafts/draft-declaration§1746 declaration and notarized-affidavit drafts/draft-records-requestFOIA / state open-records / agency-records request drafts/draft-discoveryDrafts for interrogatories, RFPs, RFAs, subpoenas/draft-witness-prepDirect- and cross-examination outline drafts
Federal & appellate (drafts only)
/pre-demandPre-litigation demand letter draft (fact-heavy, argument-light)/federal-complaint§1983 / §1985 / Monell complaint scaffolding (drafts only). Federal-court filing decisions belong with licensed counsel.
Strategy
/triagePrioritized action list — today / week / month/case-theoryOne-paragraph case theory with multiple framings/leverage-analysisWhat each side has; asymmetries; time decay/endgameWork backward from desired outcome; critical path; Plan B/C
Research & verification
/find-precedentVerified case law and statutory authority via free tools/cite-checkCitation verification before any filing/stress-testAdversarial review of any draft
Sustainability
/check-inBrief wellbeing check-in; 988 escalation on crisis signals
A team of specialists, not one generalist.
Each subagent has a single job and is tuned for adversarial review of its own output before passing work back up.
Plugged into the public-record stack.
Federal + state case law verification — the primary citation firewall.
Retrieve case-related correspondence, draft replies.
Local case-file access scoped to the case directory.
Optional evidence-vault sync.
Court-portal automation for public dockets.
Targeted research on agency policy and statutory guidance.
Deadline math and timezone handling for court calendars.
Local case database for the Master Evidence Index.
Multi-step reasoning for complex strategy and analysis.
Hardcoded guardrails, not best efforts.
Evidence integrity is non-negotiable.
SHA-256 hashing, no modification of originals, documented chain of custody.
Never hallucinate legal citations.
Every case, statute, and rule verified before any filing. case-law-researcher and citation-verifier pair as a firewall.
Never practice law.
Drafts and analyses only. The parent decides, signs, files.
Preserve everything; delete nothing.
Deletes go to archive. Overwrites get .bak suffixes. Session logs are append-only.
Calibrated for a parent in crisis.
Direct, warm, specific, no false reassurance. wellbeing-checker runs when crisis signals appear.
Strategy presents options, not recommendations.
Tradeoffs, conditional language, reversibility flags, escalation to attorney consultation for high-stakes irreversible decisions.
Up and running in 60 seconds.
Works with Claude Code, OpenCode, and Codex CLI. Same configuration, three runtimes.
# 1 — Clone or extract git clone https://github.com/NORAFoundation/chips-copilot.git ~/my-case cd ~/my-case # 2 — Move case-template contents to top level (one time) cp -r case-template/* case-template/.[!.]* . 2>/dev/null || true $EDITOR 00-MASTER-INDEX.md # set your case identity # 3 — Install Claude Code (or OpenCode / Codex — see INSTALL.md) npm install -g @anthropic-ai/claude-code # 4 — Optional API keys for MCP servers export COURTLISTENER_API_TOKEN=... export FIRECRAWL_API_KEY=... # 5 — Launch claude # First commands to run # /triage — get oriented # /index-evidence — build the Master Evidence Index # /case-theory — develop the one-paragraph case spine # /chronology — build the master timeline
- Not legal advice. The agent produces drafts and analyses; the parent decides, signs, and files. If you can get a lawyer, get one.
- Not therapy. The wellbeing-checker is a brief check-in, not treatment. Crisis signals escalate to 988.
- Not strategic counsel. The strategist presents options with tradeoffs; the parent decides. High-stakes irreversible decisions escalate to attorney consultation.
CHIPS Copilot is the CLI v0 of LawLlama.
The web version of LawLlama — same philosophy, same firewalls, no-install browser experience — is in development for Q3 2026. The CLI is shipping for parents who need it today.
Both NORA Foundation and Nora's Law Foundation were founded by J. Patrick White; the entities maintain separate boards, finances, and decision-making, and Nora's Law Foundation's IRS tax-exempt determination status is pending. CHIPS Copilot code is MIT licensed; the companion prompt library is CC BY-SA 4.0.