The Parental Defense Alliance is a 501(c)3 tax exempt charitable organization that exists to provide training and assistance to attorneys who represent parent in Juvenile Court.

In 2005 we were awarded a contract with the State Office of Child Welfare and Parental Defense. This office has its charter codified in Title ?? of the Utah State Code.

In 2006

• The PDA of Utah spent over 554 hours in providing education, training, professional services, & communicating with Parental Defense Attorneys in Utah.

• Materials and education provided by the Alliance are designed to give attorneys reference resources and new ideas wich they can use to improve oucomes for thier parent clients and thier families.

• We conducted educational luncheons in St. George, Price, & Roosevelt. These luncheons focused on the Family Advocate System, the Practice Guidelines. Thirty-Five (35) attorneys attended these luncheons.

• We published nine (9) newsletters that highlight and instruct attorneys on

• The availability and use of family advocates
• Legal updates
• Sharing ideas regarding the practice of representing parents gathered from other attorneys
• Legislative updates
• The practice guidelines
• Tips & Tricks of the practice
• These newsletters were emailed and mailed to the parental defense community.

• We produced and facilitated a two-day conference for parental defense attorneys at the Homestead Resort in Midway, UT on May 4-5, 2006.

• Sixty-nine (69) people, primarily parental defense attorneys, attended this conference. They received thirteen (13) hours of continuing legal education, including 3 hours of ethics training.
• Several attorneys have related that they applied something learned at our conference and outcomes for parents have been improved.

• The PDA of Utah was incorporated in Utah as a non-profit and has received tax-exempt charitable status from the IRS as a 501(c)3 organization.

• Our contract with the Office of Child Welfare and Parental Defense has allowed the Court Improvement Project to apply for and receive federal matching funds for education.

• We facilitated the attendance, to the CIP's Meth Seminar, of parental defense attorneys from every court jurisdiction in the State.

• We continued to be a resource to parental defense attorneys to discuss cases and ideas for parents.

• We have assisted in half-a-dozen cases ranging from giving advice and sharing ideas to helping draft motions and depose witnesses.

• We endeavored to acquire a list of professionals willing to testify as experts on behalf of parents.