Volunteering Pays Off for All
KCBA Volunteer Program of the Month
More than 32,000 children in Washington live with relatives other than their parents. Many factors such as abuse and neglect, incarceration, substance abuse, mental or physical illness or death of the parent(s) explain why children in increasing numbers are in kinship care. Oftentimes, kinship families encounter legal hurdles that impede their ability to safeguard the safety, health and welfare of the children.
The Kinship Care Solutions Project, managed by the King County Bar Association, provides direct representation to relatives and caregivers in non-parental custody cases. Started as a collaborative effort with Columbia Legal Services, the Seattle Area Pro Bono Coordinators and others, the project provides legal services to low-income clients living at or below 200 percent of the federal poverty level. Clients must be either King County residents or involved in a case in King County Superior Court, and have a significant relationship with the child(ren).
Case Study: In re T.L. & C.L.
In a highly contested non-parental custody case, volunteer attorneys Darya Swingle, Sarah Bhagwandin and Jason Mills from the Davis Wright Tremaine firm represented the maternal aunt, who had filed a non-parental custody petition pro se. At issue were the lives of two children, ages 7 and 8, who been neglected by their mother, physically and emotionally abused by their mother and her boyfriends, and sexually abused by one of the mother’s boyfriends.
The incidents of abuse were heartbreaking and included the mother pushing her son to the ground, causing a head injury that required stitches, the mother’s boyfriend burning one of the children with a cigarette and tying him up with duct tape for discipline, and the children being locked outdoors without coats in cold weather. The father was incarcerated out of state for a violent felony, but joined in the petition and attended trial by telephone.
The attorneys from Davis Wright Tremaine represented the client in multiple motions for revision and interpretation of a protection order and temporary orders. In May 2005, the client prevailed on a motion for adequate cause and the court granted her temporary custody of the children. Following this hearing, the mother did not exercise her option for supervised visitation and failed to cooperate with Family Court Services.
During the months leading up to trial, her whereabouts were unknown. Much to everyone’s surprise, the mother appeared pro se for the trial in early 2006 and presented argument, cross-examined witnesses and called her own surprise witnesses. Swingle represented the client at trial and Kathleen Royer, an experienced family law attorney, served as mentor on the case. At the close of trial, the court awarded the client custody of the two children, entered a five-year domestic violence protection order, and required that the mother complete parenting classes and counseling and undergo drug treatment before she may petition the court for visitation with the children.
Swingle commented that this was one of the most rewarding cases she has worked on during her career. It provided a unique, if weighty, opportunity to make a difference in the lives of a family and especially the lives of two young children who deserve a safe and stable living environment. Swingle reports that the children are doing well in the care of their aunt and summed up the experience: “Most of the clients that I work with don’t hug me at the end of a trial.”
Referral to Kinship Care
Potential clients may call KCBA at 206-267-7010 for an initial intake and are screened and assessed prior to referral to a volunteer attorney. Once a case is referred and accepted by a panel member, an intake packet is compiled, including basic information, a Washington State Patrol criminal background check on all adult members of the petitioner’s household, and other legal and relevant documents. Clients are asked to sign an agreement outlining the parameters of the project and representation.
Our volunteer attorneys receive training and mentoring in non-parental custody actions through a comprehensive manual addressing procedural and substantive areas of the law and ongoing live training sessions throughout the year. Volunteer attorneys are covered under KCBA’s malpractice insurance with primary or secondary coverage.
To volunteer or obtain additional information, please contact Judy Lin, KCBA staff attorney, at 206-267-7023 or judyl@kcba.org.
Technology Update
In keeping with the Bar Bulletin’s theme, I want to share with you some recent steps KCBA has taken to keep up with current technology for the benefit of our members and staff. Four years ago, the association first looked at a product that showed a lot of promise and innovation. The product, known as e-Series, directly interacts with our current database (iMIS) and brings the functionality, information and relationships contained in the database to the Web for easy use by our members.
The benefits of e-Series include features such as list-serves, self-management of data, online photo directories and the ease of ordering KCBA products, registering for KCBA events such as CLEs and consolidating access to related events and information. These are just a few advantages e-Series can provide for KCBA members.
Many thanks go to our unsung technology heroes, Richerd Sadler and James Fischl. Sadler has been our IT manager since December 2000. Fischl serves as our IT assistant and joined the association in October 2005. n
Gary Maehara is the current president of the King County Bar Association. He can be reached at garmae@safeco.com.
