Bills › 91st General Assembly
Establishing the state public defender’s pilot project to implement innovative models of child welfare legal representation as the project to preserve families
Proposed by the Public Defender, State · all agency proposals
Where it is now
- Done: IntroducedJanuary 27, 2026
- Done: SubcommitteeJanuary 27, 2026
- Done: Senate committeeFebruary 17, 2026
- Skipped: Passes the SenateContinued as SF 2370
- Next: House committee
- Next: Passes the House
- Next: To the Governor
- Next: Signed into law
Became SF 2370 → Its progress continues under the new number. Go to SF 2370 What’s a funnel?
What’s in it
AI summary The state public defender can now run a permanent program called the Project to Preserve Families to help families in the child welfare system. Instead of being a temporary test project, this program will be available in counties across the state. The state public defender will also have the power to create rules for how the program is managed.1
Read the official explanation
_____ the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly. Under current law, the state public defender (SPD) may establish a pilot project to implement innovative models of legal representation to assist families involved in the child welfare system by implementing and studying ways to achieve positive outcomes for families, reduce trauma to young children, and deliver financial benefits to families and their communities. The SPD may implement the pilot project in up to counties throughout the state, and the pilot project expires on June 30, 2025. This bill changes the pilot project into a permanent program known as the project to preserve families (PPF) and allows the SPD to administer and maintain the PPF throughout the state. The SPD may adopt rules to administer the PPF.
Senate subcommittee
Named January 27, 2026. On February 11, 2026 it recommended passage.
Three legislators hear a bill first and recommend what the committee should do; it’s the best time to weigh in. How to take part
1 written public comment to its subcommittee: February 11, 2026 (1) · on the Legislature’s site
Fiscal note
AI summary This bill makes the State Public Defender's child welfare legal representation pilot project a permanent program called the Project to Preserve Families. Once fully implemented, the program is estimated to result in approximate cost savings of $1.5 million annually to the Indigent Defense Fund compared to fiscal year 2027. The Juvenile Justice Improvement Fund is estimated to have an annual cost of $471,000, which is funded by federal moneys.3
From the note: 5 million annually to the Indigent Defense Fund once the PPF is fully implemented across the State. However, that estimate is compared to current law for FY 2027, in which the pilot program would be expired. The pilot program has been in operation since 2020, and therefore a portion of the cost savings under the Bill may be a status quo savings compared to previous fiscal years.
- Final Fiscal Note — State Public Defender, Child Welfare Legal Representation · May 20, 2026
- State Public Defender, Child Welfare Legal Representation · March 20, 2026 · $471,000
- State Public Defender, Child Welfare Legal Representation · February 25, 2026 · $471,000
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91st General Assembly