The words they use in court.

Dependency hearings move quickly and use language nobody explains. These are the terms you are most likely to hear.

Where a term belongs to a particular point in the case, there is a link to that stage of the walkthrough.

A

Active efforts: The heightened standard of effort required in Indian child welfare cases. It is more demanding than reasonable efforts and must be documented.
Where this comes up: If your child is an Indian child
Adjudication: The part of the case where the court decides whether the allegations are proved and whether a child is legally dependent. Often called fact-finding.
Where this comes up: Fact-finding and disposition
Adoption: A legal process that permanently transfers parental rights to an adoptive parent. In a dependency case it generally follows an order terminating parental rights.
Where this comes up: Guardianship, adoption, and other outcomes
Agreed order of dependency: An order entered by agreement, where a parent does not admit the allegations but agrees the court should be involved. It avoids a contested trial and still carries real legal consequences.
Where this comes up: Fact-finding and disposition
Appeal: A request asking a higher court to review the trial court’s decision for legal error. It is not a second trial and generally does not take new evidence.
Where this comes up: Appeals and other remedies
Assistant Attorney General (AAG): The lawyer who represents the department in a dependency proceeding.
Where this comes up: The shelter care hearing

C

CASA: Court-Appointed Special Advocate. A trained volunteer appointed to advocate for the child’s best interests.
Where this comes up: The shelter care hearing
Case plan: The document setting out the services, goals, and expectations a parent must address. It should connect each service to a specific concern.
Where this comes up: Your case plan and parenting programs
CPS: Child Protective Services — the program within DCYF that screens and investigates reports of abuse or neglect.
Where this comes up: When DCYF first contacts you

D

DCYF: The Washington State Department of Children, Youth, and Families — the agency responsible for child welfare. CPS is a program inside it.
Where this comes up: When DCYF first contacts you
Dependency: A court finding that a child meets the legal definition of a dependent child, giving the court authority to make orders about safety, placement, services, and visitation.
Where this comes up: Fact-finding and disposition
Dependency guardianship: A long-term arrangement giving a caregiver decision-making authority for a child without terminating parental rights.
Where this comes up: Guardianship, adoption, and other outcomes
Disposition: The hearing and order that follow a dependency finding, setting placement, services, and visitation.
Where this comes up: Fact-finding and disposition
Due process: The right to fair legal procedure — including notice, the right to a lawyer, the chance to be heard, and the right to challenge evidence.
Where this comes up: The shelter care hearing

F

Fact-finding: The hearing where the court decides whether the allegations are proved. The petitioner carries the burden of proof.
Where this comes up: Fact-finding and disposition
Family Assessment Response (FAR): A non-court track for lower-risk reports that offers voluntary services instead of a traditional investigation.
Where this comes up: When DCYF first contacts you
Family Team Decision Meeting (FTDM): A facilitated meeting held around a major placement decision, where parents, relatives, and professionals discuss alternatives.
Where this comes up: The Family Team Decision Meeting
Foster care: Temporary out-of-home care for a child who has been removed from the home.
Where this comes up: The shelter care hearing

G

Guardian ad litem (GAL): A person appointed by the court to investigate and represent the child’s best interests in the proceeding.
Where this comes up: The shelter care hearing

I

ICWA: The Indian Child Welfare Act. Federal law, with a Washington counterpart, providing protections for Indian children and their families and tribes.
Where this comes up: If your child is an Indian child
In-home dependency: An order allowing a child to live at home while the dependency remains open and supervised.
Where this comes up: Reunification

K

Kinship placement: Placement with a relative or another suitable person, preferred over placement with strangers.
Where this comes up: The shelter care hearing

M

Motion to revise: A request asking a judge to review an order entered by a court commissioner. It has a short deadline.
Where this comes up: Appeals and other remedies

P

Permanency plan: The written plan for a child’s permanent living arrangement — return home, guardianship, adoption, or another planned arrangement.
Where this comes up: The permanency planning hearing
Permanency planning hearing: The hearing, held no later than twelve months after out-of-home placement, where the court determines the permanent plan.
Where this comes up: The permanency planning hearing

Q

Qualified expert witness: A witness required in Indian child welfare cases to support findings about removal or continued placement.
Where this comes up: If your child is an Indian child

R

Reasonable efforts: The requirement that the department make genuine efforts to prevent removal and support reunification. The court makes findings about whether it did.
Where this comes up: Review hearings
Reinstatement of parental rights: A narrow process by which previously terminated parental rights may be restored. In Washington the petition is filed by the child, not the parent, and strict conditions apply.
Where this comes up: Appeals and other remedies
Reunification: Returning a child to a parent’s care, usually in stages rather than all at once.
Where this comes up: Reunification
Review hearing: A hearing held at least every six months to review progress, placement, services, and the plan.
Where this comes up: Review hearings

S

Safety plan: A short-term written agreement intended to address a safety concern without court involvement. It is agency practice, and the terms are negotiable.
Where this comes up: Safety plans and voluntary placement
Shelter care hearing: The first court hearing after removal, held promptly, where the court decides whether a child can safely return home while the case is pending.
Where this comes up: The shelter care hearing
Supervised visitation: Visits between a parent and child monitored by a third party.
Where this comes up: The shelter care hearing

T

Termination of parental rights (TPR): A separate proceeding that, if granted, permanently ends the legal parent-child relationship. It requires its own petition, hearing, and findings.
Where this comes up: Guardianship, adoption, and other outcomes

V

Voluntary placement agreement (VPA): An agreement placing a child outside the home without a court order. It does not terminate parental rights, and it must be genuinely voluntary.
Where this comes up: Safety plans and voluntary placement

Keep going

Walk through the process.

The stage-by-stage walkthrough explains what happens at each point in a dependency case, what to bring, and what to ask your lawyer.

Open the walkthrough