In 1999, the Washington State Legislature asked the Washington State Office of Public Defense (OPD) to report on inequalities in attorney funding in dependency and termination cases. OPD conducted an investigation of Washington’s juvenile courts, finding severe disparities between state funding for the Attorney General’s Office (AGO) for the initiation and processing of these cases compared to the funds provided by counties for legal representation of the indigent parents involved. 

In 2000, OPD sought a legislative appropriation to create an innovative state-funded enhanced parent representation pilot program in the Benton-Franklin and Pierce juvenile courts.

The Legislature established five program goals to enhance the quality of defense representation in dependency and termination hearings: 

1. Reduce the number of continuances requested by attorneys; including those based on their unavailability;
2. Set maximum caseload requirements per full-time attorney. In 2003, OPD set the fulltime maximum caseload at 80 open cases per attorney.
3. Enhance defense attorneys’ practice standards, including reasonable time for case preparation and the delivery of adequate client advice;
4. Support the use of investigative and expert services in dependency cases; and
5. Ensure implementation of indigency screenings of parents, guardians, and legal custodians.

To achieve these goals, program implementation includes reasonable compensation for attorneys, reduced caseloads, access to social worker staff, expert and investigative resources, periodic attorney trainings, and oversight of attorneys' performance. 

Since 2000, the program has been continuously re-funded by the Legislature.  The 2005 and 2006 Legislatures provided additional funding to allow expansion of the Program to Clallam, Clark, Cowlitz, Ferry, Grant, Grays Harbor, Kitsap, Kittitas, Pacific, Pend Oreille, Skagit, Snohomish, Spokane, Stevens and Yakima counties.  The 2007 Legislature appropriated additional monies that funded expansion of the program to Chelan, Jefferson, Klickitat, Mason, Skamania, Thurston and Wahkiakum counties.

The Parents’ Representation Program has succeeded in meeting its goals, according to evaluations and juvenile court stakeholder interviews (see, e.g. Northwest Institute for Children and Families, Evaluation Report 2005 and Improving Parents' Representation in Dependency Cases: A Washington State Pilot Program Evaluation).  It has resulted in better outcomes for children, including increased family reunifications, continuance reductions, improved case participation by parents, and better access to services, among other benefits.  To listen to an audio of parents, their attorneys, and judicial officers talking about the program, click Reuniting More Families.

For further information about the program’s design and goals, see Implementing Equal Justice for Parents in Washington: A Dual Approach, published in the Juvenile Justice Journal in 2002. A parallel statewide effort, the Dependency and Termination Equal Justice Committee Report, was a companion system-wide effort to analyze and improve dependency and termination court proceedings. The report describes various recommendations that can be implemented in conjunction with the Parents’ Representation Program by juvenile courts interested in increasing the quality and efficiency of court practices and processes.