NCJ Number
202618
Date Published
August 2003
Length
8 pages
Annotation
This document reports on the Washington State Office of Public Defense’s (OPD) parents’ representation pilot program, aimed at improving the legal representation for parents of dependent children.
Abstract
In order to ensure the effective and proper functioning of juvenile and family courts, it is important that parents of dependent children are properly represented by legal counsel. The pilot program in Washington State was appropriated $500,000 and had among its stated objectives the goals of providing better legal representation to parents, decreasing the amount of court delays, and increasing compensation for parents’ attorneys. The pilot program was implemented in two diverse counties in the State; one in a rural setting and one in an urban setting. The pilot programs increased the support staff and services of the Public Defender's Office, thus allowing pilot attorneys to utilize expert evaluators, increase discovery, and to increase the number of documents submitted to the courts on the parents’ behalf. The specific role of the pilot attorney’s are reviewed and tables are presented that offer county and case demographics and petition allegations. Assessment of the pilot program suggests that improvements were made in case processing times, time spent in out-of-home care, and case outcomes in general. While the scope of the program was limited, the evidence suggests that the pilot program was successful in positively impacting the legal representation of parents of dependent children. Tables