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Senate Judiciary advances bill to create child‑focused units in public defender’s office
Summary
The Senate Judiciary Committee advanced SB151, a measure to create specialized children and parent representation units within the Office of the State Public Defender. Supporters said specialized OPD units shorten assignment times and improve training; proponents urged an appropriation to staff the units.
Senate Judiciary advanced legislation on which the Office of the State Public Defender and child‑welfare advocates agreed would speed legal representation for parents and children in child‑protective cases.
Sponsor Senator Dennis Lehi told the committee SB151 builds on last session’s changes that mandated counsel in many child protective cases and would formalize organizational units "for parents and organizational unit for children" inside OPD to improve training, supervision and consistency.
Kelly Driscoll, family defense bureau chief with…
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