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Senate committee backs bill to create child and family representation program in courts
Summary
House Bill 2604 would establish a child and family representation program in the Administrative Office of the Courts with a $200,000 FY2026 appropriation and one FTE to coordinate counsel training and appointment practices for juvenile proceedings; the committee gave the bill a due-pass recommendation.
House Bill 2604 would establish a child and family representation program in the Administrative Office of the Courts and appropriate $200,000 and one FTE from the state general fund in FY2026 to implement the program. The program’s stated goals are to enhance uniform legal representation for children, parents and guardians in juvenile court proceedings and to provide training and coordination for attorneys handling dependency matters.
Supporters said the FTE would coordinate attorney appointments and training to improve legal representation for children and families in dependency matters. Rob Dahlager, representing the Center for the Rights of Abused Children, told senators that children are entitled by law to their own attorney in dependency proceedings and that training and coordination would improve representation quality.
Parent testimony also accompanied the bill. Brandy Coone described personal experience as a parent of children who rely on state support services and warned that gaps in Division of Developmental Disabilities (DDD) funding were leading to provider shortages and disruptions to care. She said potential DDD funding interruptions (referred to in testimony as ‘‘gap funding’’) could destabilize services and that even with improved representation, immediate budgetary fixes for DDD are needed to avoid service interruptions.
The committee recorded 6 ayes, 0 nays and 4 not voting and gave HB2604 a due-pass recommendation.
Ending: The bill advances to the full Senate. Supporters emphasized that the program will focus on training, appointment coordination and improving representation in juvenile court; witnesses asked lawmakers to concurrently address DDD funding instability affecting families.
