Washington Association of Child Advocate Programs

In 1977, Judge David Soukup, the presiding judge of King Co. Superior Court in Seattle, started a volunteer Guardian ad Litem program to make sure he would know all he could about the long-term welfare needs of each dependent child that came through his court room. During that first year, the King County program provided 110 trained volunteers for 498 children in 376 dependency cases.

Our Association was formed in 1988 by local programs and stakeholders to carry out statewide training, legislative advocacy, data collection and awareness statewide about the issues affecting abused and neglected children. From our humble beginnings, we have grown to a statewide network that includes 35 local programs serving in 35 of the state’s 39 counties and 5 Tribal Nations.

In 2020, our Association officially changed it name to the Washington Association of Child Advocate Programs to whose membership includes any program in Washington State that serves dependent children with volunteer guardians ad litem, regardless of a local program’s choice to affiliate with external entities.

Washington State is 1500+ child advocate strong network serving over 5,000+ of our most vulnerable children.

Our advocates are appointed by the court to advocate for the best interests of abused and neglected children in dependency court. To do this, advocates investigate case facts, recommend a course of action to the court, facilitate the resolution of problems, and monitor progress towards establishing permanency for the child.

Child Advocates are people from all walks of life who step forward to make a difference in a child’s life. Appointed by a judge, they work as trained advocates for children who have entered the court system as victims of abuse or neglect on the part of their caregivers. In many instances, the the child advocate is the one consistent adult in the life of a child, who has already lost so much by the time he or she enters an over-burdened system. Children with an advocate representation generally spend less time in the court system, less time in foster care, and have a better chance at a safe, stable home.