May Training at a Glance

Supporting Suitable Adult/Relative Placements

May 10, 2016

12:05 PM - 1:35 PM

MRJC Community Room

RSVP to casa.group@kingcounty.gov

Parental Alienation and High Conflict Personalities

Please Note: this training has been cancelled for May 11, 2016 and

May 25, 2016.  They apologize for cancellation and ask that you stay tuned for future training announcements.

Forum on Poverty:  The Impact on Children and Families

May 26, 2016

12:00 PM - 4:00 PM

Seattle - Location TBD

Hosted by Partners for Our Children and the Washington State Budget & Policy Center; contact info@partnersforourchildren.org for more information.

Dependency Court Calendar Changes

Due to the increasing disparity of filings between the Kent and Seattle Courthouses, calendars are being realigned to equalize the number of cases on the Commissioner calendars. 

In order to reduce the stress to the system in moving hearings, the court is implementing a phased rollout which started in April and is scheduled to be complete by the Fall.  The calendars will continue to be aligned with DSHS offices.

These changes will undoubtedly affect CASAs and program staff.  We will do our best to communicate any CASA attorney changes as these decisions are being made.  Thank you for your patience and understanding while we navigate the calendar changes.

In a nutshell:  King East cases will be moving to Seattle on Mondays; all Adoptions will be heard in Kent on Mondays; OICW and White Center will be heard together on Tuesdays in Seattle; King South will expand to Tuesdays and Thursdays in Kent; Kent Pre-trials will be heard on Monday afternoons; and Family Treatment Court will expand to a full day in Kent on Wednesdays. 

Resource Tip:  Family Advocacy Center Project

New Project Announcement from CCYJ:  A project of the Center for Children & Youth Justice (CCYJ), the Family Advocacy Center (FAC) is an innovative service model that provides legal representation and, if needed, social work services, and parent ally supports to families to prevent the unnecessary placement or prolonged stay of children in foster care. Launched by the University of Michigan Law School in 2009 and institutionalized in Detroit, the FAC model has a track record of improved outcomes for children and families at risk of or already involved in the child welfare system. 

FAC collaborates with DSHS Children’s Administration and keeps families together by strengthening a caregiver’s ability to provide for a child’s safety or permanence. FAC’s multi-disciplinary team (attorney Cindy Yeung, Northwest Justice Project; social worker Bryna Desper, CCYJ; and parent allies from King County Superior Court Parents for Parents Program) resolves legal issues that propel children unnecessarily into foster care AND removes legal barriers to a child’s exit from care. Our goals are to keep children safe and stable within their families; to minimize the emotional trauma caused by removal and foster care placement; and to allow the foster care system to focus its resources on children who need its protection.

To become a client, a parent or other caregiver must:

• Have a legal issue that, if successfully resolved, would prevent placement of a child in foster care, close a CPS investigation, close a FAR case, or lead to the dismissal of an ongoing dependency proceeding with no additional intervention or services, OR
• Have a legal issue that, if successfully resolved, would allow a child to exit foster care to a permanent home with no additional intervention or services.

Common legal issues handled by the FAC include:

Parenting Plan, Temporary Custody Order, Non-Parental/Third-Party Custody, Guardianship, Paternity, Dissolution/Divorce, DV Protection/No-Contact Order, Criminal Record Clean-Up/Outstanding Warrants, Landlord/Tenant, Public Benefits, and/o Licensing

DSHS Children’s Administration and other child welfare stakeholders, including CASAs, public defenders and Assistant Attorneys General, are referral sources for FAC clients.  We also encourage referrals from the bench.

Referrals may be directed to: FAC@ccyj.org

For questions, please contact: Gina Cumbo, Project Director, Center for Children & Youth Justice: glcumbo@ccyj.org, 206-696-7503 x. 14