About the Children’s Representation Program Research

The Children’s Representation Program (CRPExternal link - opens in a new window) provides legal counsel to children in dependency and termination proceedings and represents their stated interests in court. The Office of Civil Legal Aid (OCLA) provides training in standards-based legal representation, trauma informed care and cultural competency to attorneys contracted with the program. The CRP is being implemented by county cohorts based on highest need and will eventually be rolled out in all 39 Washington State counties. As of January 2025, the CRP program has been implemented in 20 counties.

WSCCR was directed by the Legislature to evaluate the original pilot program, in which CRP was implemented in two counties in 2017; it found positive results from the pilot program. WSCCR has again been directed by the Legislature to conduct an evaluation of the statewide implementation of CRP. These efforts are funded by House Bill 1219External link - opens in a new window. The evaluation will assess the impact of the standards-based legal representation program on youth who received the service compared to those who were not assigned a CRP attorney. The legislature has requested that the evaluation outcomes include “family reunification, number of placement changes and placement with kin of appointment” (2SHB 1219, page 12). Additionally, the legislation requests that the WSCCR convenes stakeholders, including youth and young adults, to identify additional outcomes and data collection methods.

WSCCR has contracted with researchers from University of Washington’s Partners for our ChildrenExternal link - opens in a new window to help complete the work. In the summer and fall of 2024, ten youth and one parent with lived experience in foster care and dependency were formally interviewed. In addition, parent attorneys and youth attorneys were informally asked about additional outcomes for the CRP. These data were compiled and used to draft a formal evaluation plan. We anticipate that outcomes analyses will be completed and results will be published in 2026.