Following 12,104 children who entered court-supervised out-of-home care in Washington State for the first time between 2004 and 2007, this article evaluates the impact of a program of enhanced parental legal representation on the timing of permanency outcomes. The 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.
Citation
Courtney, M. E., & Hook, J. L. (2012). Evaluation of the impact of enhanced parental legal representation on the timing of permanency outcomes for children in foster care. Children and Youth Services Review, 34(7), 1337-1343.