Evaluation of the impact of enhanced parental legal representation on the timing of permanency outcomes for children in foster care

While the U.S. Supreme Court has expressed the opinion that providing parental counsel to indigent parents is generally a sound practice, it has ruled that parents do not have an absolute constitutional right to counsel in termination of parental rights proceedings, and not all states provide a statutory right to counsel after child protection proceedings have been initiated or in termination proceedings. What constitutes adequate representation for indigent parents involved in abuse and neglect and parental rights termination proceedings remains an open question. This study addresses gaps in knowledge about the functioning of child welfare services and juvenile courts by evaluating the impact of a program of enhanced parental legal representation on the timing of permanency outcomes for 12,104 children who entered court-supervised out-of-home care in Washington State for the first time between 2004 and 2007. The study employs methods that are methodologically superior to prior efforts to evaluate parental representation and focuses on key outcomes of the child welfare and dependency court systems. Study findings provide evidence that the availability of improved parental legal representation speeds reunification with parents, and for those children who do not reunify, it speeds achieving permanency through adoption and guardianship.

► We study legal permanency for foster children using child welfare and court data. ► We find between-jurisdiction differences in the rate of legally permanent exits. ► Interaction between courts and child welfare agencies explains much variation. ► Availability of services for troubled youth and their families also plays a role. ► Findings call for shared responsibility for outcomes between courts and agencies.