Pima County officials have created an Office of Children's Counsel to handle abuse and neglect cases, hoping to save hundreds of thousands of dollars by not hiring outside attorneys.
The office will be composed of county-paid attorneys and staff members who will handle cases in which authorities have questions about whether parents are able to take proper care of their children.
So far, one attorney has been hired to head up the office, but additional lawyers will be hired at intervals once it's determined what an appropriate caseload is, said Assistant County Administrator Lindy Funkhouser.
Instead of paying a contract attorney $60 to $65 an hour, the county will pay the attorneys an annual salary based on their years of experience, Funkhouser said.
Edith Croxen, who is heading up the office, was hired at an annual salary of $105,000.
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"We think the low end of the savings for the first year could be about $350,000," Funkhouser said.
The office officially opened Thursday.
It is also possible the office will one day begin to represent the parents in such cases, again alleviating the need to hire contract attorneys, Funkhouser said.
Up until now, the county has paid contract attorneys about $4.5 million annually to represent children and adults in dependency cases, Funkhouser said.
Jan Kearney, presiding Pima County Superior Court judge, said she is pleased with the move.
"I do think at the outset that it's important with our financial situation the way it is, to make the most efficient use of our resources that we can," Kearney said.
Kearney said she expects the quality of the representation each child receives to continue to be of the highest caliber.
People who choose to practice in this field are highly dedicated, specially trained attorneys who routinely "go above and beyond," Kearney said.
"We're lucky to have the expertise we have in Pima County," Kearney said.
Contact reporter Kim Smith at 573-4241 or kimsmith@azstarnet.com
