Washington Courts: Press Release Detail

Justice Barbara Madsen appointed new co-chair of Commission working to aid foster children

Justice Barbara Madsen has been appointed co-chair of the Washington Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care, just the second justice to take on the role in 14 years.

Madsen will succeed retired Justice Bobbe Bridge, who spearheaded the founding of the Commission in 2005, and who retained the co-chair position after she retired from the Court in 2008. Bridge is now stepping down from the Commission.

The Commission on Children in Foster Care brings together judges, legislators, attorneys, child welfare officials, and representatives of foster parents, birth parents and foster youth who have the knowledge and ability to improve the journeys of foster children through the dependency process. The Commission acts by improving court processes, laws, regulations and policies so children can move safely and more quickly into stable homes, either through reunification with parents or through adoption.

The other co-chair of the Commission is Jody Becker, Deputy Secretary of the state Department of Children, Youth and Families (DCYF). Co-chair duties have been shared between the Supreme Court and previously the DSHS Children’s Administration, which has now been succeeded by DCYF.

“Justice Bridge has done incredible work on this Commission since its founding, and it is important for this work to continue. I am very happy now to name Justice Madsen to this leadership role on the Commission,” said Chief Justice Mary Fairhurst, who appointed Madsen to the position. “She has the experience, insight and the drive needed to improve justice for vulnerable populations.”

Justice Madsen is the third woman to serve on the state Supreme Court, and the first to be popularly elected to the position in 1992.  She helped found the Initiative for Diversity which supports Washington law firms in efforts to increase diversity, and was elected by her fellow justices to two terms as Chief Justice beginning in 2010. She chaired the Court’s Gender and Justice Commission — focused on research, laws and court processes to address gender bias — for nearly 20 years, until 2017.

“I am excited to join the Commission and the members who are committed to doing such vital work,” said Justice Madsen, who had supported creation of the Commission in 2005. “They have made amazing strides in improving the lives of some of our most vulnerable residents, and I very much look forward to helping them continue those efforts.”

The Commission on Children in Foster Care was established by Supreme Court Order and launched in 2005 with Justice Bridge as co-chair along with the head of the DSHS Children’s Administration. Bridge urged formation of the Commission after a 2004 study by the national Pew Commission found that court processes and federal funding mechanisms can actually impede the placement of foster children into permanent homes — delaying either a return home after parents have done the hard work of fixing problems, or adoption into new families.

The Commission’s primary mission is to study court processes and other barriers to moving children efficiently through the dependency process, and remove those barriers through collaborative efforts with other system stakeholders.

The model Bridge had in mind in 2005 included a small body of decision makers who would not so much study-and-recommend as take action. “The last thing I want to do is reinvent the wheel,” she said when the Commission was formed. “But making it move forward would be a goal we can work on.”

The Commission’s work has grown to include other improvements in the lives of foster children such as supporting laws and policies that reunite siblings, improve educational outcomes for foster youth, giving children and youth a greater voice, and more. Among many other actions, the Commission launched and continues to support the statewide National Adoption Day celebration by courts and communities, and recently initiated the statewide Family Reunification Day celebration.

“I’m very happy that Justice Madsen has agreed to co-chair the Commission. She was there at the founding and I know she cares deeply about its work,” Bridge said.

“The Commission has worked hard since 2005 to ensure the courts and child welfare agencies are supporting children and youth rather than unintentionally impeding their successful development,” she said. “Commission members have accomplished a great deal with help from community partners, but there is still much to do, and I’m particularly excited that the Commission will be working with a new executive branch partner, the Department of Children, Youth and Families.”

For more information about the Supreme Court Commission on Children in Foster Care, visit its Web page at http://www.courts.wa.gov/index.cfm?fa=home.sub&org=commFC&page=about.