Salary: $84,490.00 - $105,612.00 Annually
Location : Spokane County - Spokane, WA
Job Type: Full Time - Permanent
Job Number:
Department: Dept of Children, Youth, and Families
Division: CW Field Operations - Division HQ
Opening Date: 09/08/2026
Closing Date: 9/22/2026 11:59 PM Pacific

Job Title: Legal Liaison (WMS2)
Location: Spokane, WA. Work is performed in a hybrid setting. This position involves statewide travel to engage in training efforts.
Closes: 09/22/2026
Salary: $84,490 - $105-612. Annually.

The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is seeking an experienced and strategic Legal Liaison to support Child Welfare Field Operations in strengthening dependency court practice, legal sufficiency, court readiness, and risk management. This position serves as the regional subject matter expert for the dependency process and TORT testimony and guides direct service staff from petition development through preparation for court testimony. The Legal Liaison works closely with the Attorney General's Office (AGO), agency legal officers, court partners, and Child Welfare leadership to develop legal strategies, identify and mitigate risk, improve staff competence, and advance court improvement efforts that support safe permanency and wellbeing outcomes for children, youth, and families.

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The Opportunity:
As the Legal Liaison for an assigned regional catchment, you will provide expert consultation and support across the dependency court process. The position was established to help DCYF address concerning trends related to the HPSO crisis and to strengthen the ability of Child Welfare staff to navigate court proceedings and prepare legally defensible dependency petitions and testimony. In this role, you will serve as a strategic partner to regional and statewide Child Welfare leadership. You will assess dependency-process trends, identify training and capacity gaps, recommend risk-mitigation strategies, and help develop approaches to improve court outcomes. You will also represent DCYF in court improvement efforts and work with system partners including AGO, OPD, CASA, GAL, FJCIP, court officers, judges, and other partners. This position requires independent judgment in matters that may involve novel legal issues, conflicting operational information, evolving child welfare practices, and limited precedent. Recommendations may influence litigation strategy, policy implementation, organizational credibility, financial liability, workforce confidence, and outcomes for children and families. This position reports to the newly established Child Welfare Dependency Administrator, who reports to the Child Welfare Deputy Assistant Secretary.

Some of what you will get to do:

• Provide guidance and consultation to Child Welfare staff and leadership on dependency and risk management matters arising from court work performed by direct service staff.
• Facilitate and coordinate consistent and timely support from the Attorney General's Office (AGO) and agency legal officers.
• Serve as the regional CR 30(b)(6) representative and expert witness for TORT testimony when centrally located litigation consultants are not available.
• Help develop legal strategy in collaboration with the AGO and agency legal officers; identify responsive information, prepare testimony, evaluate legal risk, and support discovery in TORT litigation.
• Conduct in-depth research into cases and prior authorizing environments and provide expert-level testimony in highly contentious court proceedings.
• Interview executive leadership, administrators, subject matter experts, and program staff to accurately represent agency knowledge and operational practices.
• Recommend operational, policy, and procedural improvements based on litigation findings to reduce legal exposure and improve statewide practice.
• Assess staff competencies in the dependency court process and develop/deliver training curriculum to address deficiencies and mitigate risk.
• Assist staff in drafting legally defensible court petitions in complex cases and prepare staff for court testimony.
• Provide strategic consultation to Child Welfare leadership around dependency court improvement efforts and lead collaborative work with system partners.
• Assess regional trends related to the dependency process and identify training, capacity, FTE resourcing, and risk-mitigation needs.
• Support additional dependency-process work within the assigned catchment, which may include tracking permanency timeframes and targeted training related to child safety, wellbeing, and disproportionality.

What we are looking for (Required Qualifications):

• Equivalent education and experience totaling nine (9) years of progressively responsible, paid, professional experience in child welfare, criminal justice, or related fields.

OR

• Master's degree in public administration, social work, social science, or criminal justice or a closely allied field AND five (5) years of progressively responsible, paid, professional experience in delivery of public child welfare, social service, or related fields.

AND

• The ability to take action to learn and grow.
• The ability to take action to meet the needs of others.

In addition to those required qualifications, our ideal applicant will also have some or all of the following:

• Advanced knowledge of dependency court processes and Washington State child welfare laws.
• Experience supporting dependency litigation, court preparation, and testimony.
• Experience coordinating dependency process support and litigation support with agency counsel and the Attorney General's Office.
• Experience developing or delivering training related to court practice, legal sufficiency, testimony, and risk management.
• Experience conducting research and translating complex facts into operational, policy, or procedural recommendations.
• Experience building productive relationships with court and child welfare system partners, including judges, AGO, OPD, CASA, GAL, and FJCIP.
• Experience identifying practice, training, capacity, or risk gaps and developing strategies to address them.

How do I apply?
Complete your applicant profile and attach the following:

• Cover Letter
• Resume

Supplemental Information:
The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) is committed to Washington's children and youth growing up safe, healthy, and thriving. We invite all candidates to join us in our goal to create a diverse and equitable workplace that reflects the communities we serve. If you are excited about this role but you believe that your education and/or experience might not align perfectly with every qualification in the job posting, we encourage you to apply anyway.

2026-04646
More than Just a Paycheck!
Employee benefits are not just about the kind of services you get, they are also about how much you may have to pay out of pocket. Washington State offers one of the most competitive benefits packages in the nation.

We understand that your life revolves around more than just your career. Like everyone, your first priority is ensuring that you and your family will maintain health and financial security. That's why choice is a key component of our benefits package. We have a selection of health and retirement plans, paid leave, staff training and other compensation benefits that you can mix and match to meet your current and future needs.

Read about our benefits:
The following information describes typical benefits available for full-time employees who are expected to work more than six months. Actual benefits may vary by appointment type or be prorated for other than full-time work (e.g. part-time); view the job posting for benefits details for job types other than full-time.

Note: If the position offers benefits which differ from the following, the job posting should include the specific benefits.

Insurance Benefits
Employees and their families are covered by medical (including vision), dental and basic life insurance. There are multiple medical plans with affordable monthly premiums that offer coverage throughout the state.

Staff are eligible to enroll each year in a medical flexible spending account which enables them to use tax-deferred dollars toward their health care expenses. Employees are also covered by basic life and long-term disability insurance, with the option to purchase additional coverage amounts.

To view premium rates, coverage choice in your area and how to enroll, please visit the Public Employees Benefits Board (PEBB) website. The Washington Wellness program from the Health Care Authority works with PEBB to support our workplace wellness programs.

Dependent care assistance allows the employee to save pre-tax dollars for a child or elder care expenses.

Other insurance coverage for auto, boat, home, and renter insurance is available through payroll deduction.

The Washington State Employee Assistance Program promotes the health and well-being of employees.

Retirement and Deferred Compensation
State Employees are members of the Washington Public Employees' Retirement System (PERS). New employees have the option of two employer contributed retirement programs. For additional information, check out the Department of Retirement Systems' web site.

Employees also have the ability to participate in the Deferred Compensation Program (DCP). This is a supplemental retirement savings program (similar to an IRA) that allows you control over the amount of pre-tax salary dollars you defer as well as the flexibility to choose between multiple investment options.

Social Security
All state employees are covered by the federal Social Security and Medicare systems. The state and the employee pay an equal amount into the system.

Public Service Loan Forgiveness
If you are employed by a government or not-for-profit organization, and meet the qualifying criteria, you may be eligible to receive student loan forgiveness under the Public Service Loan Forgiveness Program.

Holidays
Full-time and part-time employees are entitled to paid holidays and one paid personal holiday per calendar year.

Note: Employees who are members of certain Unions may be entitled to additional personal leave day(s), please refer to position specific Collective Bargaining Agreements for more information.

Full-time employees who work full monthly schedules qualify for holiday compensation if they are employed before the holiday and are in pay status for at least 80 nonovertime hours during the month of the holiday; or for the entire work shift preceding the holiday.

Part-time employees who are in pay status during the month of the holiday qualify for the holiday on a pro-rata basis. Compensation for holidays (including personal holiday) will be proportionate to the number of hours in pay status in the month to that required for full-time employment, excluding all holiday hours. Pay status includes hours worked and time on paid leave.

Sick Leave
Full-time employees earn eight hours of sick leave per month. Overtime eligible employees who are in pay status for less than 80 hours per month, ear