Bill > SB0885

This bill creates the "Parent and Child Legal Representation Act," establishing a new state commission and administrative office within the Department of Licensing and Regulatory Affairs to oversee, standardize, and fund legal representation for indigent parents and children involved in child welfare and protective proceedings. The newly created Parent and Child Legal Representation Commission will be responsible for setting attorney practice standards—such as maximum caseloads, mandatory training, and client contact rules—defining financial eligibility (indigency) guidelines based on factors like public assistance or income relative to the federal poverty level, and establishing standardized pay rates and expert witness services for appointed counsel. Meanwhile, the companion Office of Parent and Child Legal Representation will carry out these policies by managing attorney rosters, overseeing payment processing, conducting performance reviews, and collecting statewide data for annual reporting to state leaders. To fund these improvements, local governments will contribute an inflation-adjusted amount based on their past three years of spending, while the state legislature will provide additional appropriations to help cover costs.