August 31, 2008

Timelines of Dependency Case Processing in Washington. Annual Report, 2008

The purpose of this report is to present data on a set of performance measures designed to assess the timelines of dependency case processing in Washington's courts. This report was developed in response to RCW 13.34.820, in which the Washington State Legislature requested information about dependency cases that fail to meet statutory guidelines to achieve permanency for dependent children. In addition to meeting the Legislature's request, these performance measures and the structure of this report were developed to assist the court community in measuring case processing, identifying areas for improvement, and tracking progress on specific court improvement projects. Each of the measures has a basis in State or Federal law and is consistent with court performance measures suggested by the American Bar Association, the National Center for State Courts, and the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges.