Dependency and Incarcerated Parents by Randall Enlow

Someone in handcuffs

Incarcerated parents have an especially difficult time maintaining a meaningful role in their dependency cases for many reasons, including:


·             DSHS often has little to no information on the parent, including their name and basic whereabouts. They often rely on the other parent for that information which for obvious reasons may not be reliable. Even so, prison facilities often make service of the initial dependency petition and documents complicated or impossible.


·             Once a parent is ordered by the court to participate in a service they most often find that their facility does not offer or allow such a service while in custody.


·             Many facilities allow attorneys to contact their clients by phone only if there is a court-ordered hearing. Attorneys thus often face the choice of in-person contact or written letter, which is especially problematic for public defenders who may carry up to 80 cases and have a large number of those clients in facilities in all areas of the state (or sometimes, out of state). Even when an inmate receives mail, there may be significant delays in sending and receiving and they often do not have the money to send a letter back. Filing timely responses for incarcerated parents is nearly always difficult and sometimes impossible.


·             Dependency court maintains a fluid calendar – meaning an 8:30 a.m. hearing may not occur until 11:00 a.m. This is a problem as typically parents must have their DOC counselor present for the call, so they must have the hearing start at a definite time and could miss their hearing entirely if court congestion cannot accommodate a definite time.


These are only a few of the things that make engagement in a dependency case very hard for incarcerated parents. This is especially troublesome given many incarcerated parents are the most viable or only placement option for their children when released. This heightens an attorney’s responsibility to aggressively ensure the voices of their incarcerated clients can be heard

STAY UP TO DATE

Subscribe to our newsletters

 
Subscribe to one or more of our newsletters, delivering meaningful insight on topics that matter to you and your family.

FURTHER READING

Latest Blog Posts

Far too many families end up fighting, or at least experiencing tension, over a family inheritance, but it does not have to be that way. Having counseled families for years, we offer the following advice to help your family avoid fighting over your property — while you are here and after you die.

If you are getting divorced, you may be worried about what it will do to your finances. Maybe your finances are heavily intertwined with your spouse’s, or you are worried about what your future will look like, given these changes.…

Establishing paternity and parentage is important for many families and parents. Regardless of why you want to establish paternity and parentage, the process has the potential to be confusing, especially if you are unfamiliar with the terms and rules for…

After divorce, you may find yourself living on one less stream of income than you did when you were married and want to find a way to make up for it. Or even if you didn’t lose any income by…

If you are in the process of getting remarried, a prenuptial agreement may be the last thing on your mind. It should be at the forefront of it, however, as it can be beneficial for you, your spouse, and, if…

As a mom of four (now adult) kids, I remember well the flood of emotions that came each time they went to my ex’s, especially during the early days of my separation and eventually after my divorce. Not only was…

The holidays can look much different during a divorce than they did only a year earlier, and the changes can take some getting used to. The challenge is that you have to start somewhere, and in these “newer” moments, it…

You can use Collaborative Law to support your process of creating and negotiating a prenup with your partner.

In Washington state, if you are involved in a custody dispute, which involves difficult questions related to specific needs for your children or serious parenting deficits (such as mental health, substance abuse, or domestic violence), an evaluation service may be…

Apologizing can be hard, especially if you have a contentious relationship with the person you are apologizing to. If you want to have a polite (even friendly) relationship with your ex in the future, though, owning up to and apologizing…