About Us - Family Defense Council

What we believe

Child welfare-involved parents and children deserve counsel with deep expertise in the child welfare system, who understand their circumstances and have the time and passion to represent them well.

Most children who enter foster care are not there because of abuse, but because their families lacked support. High-quality legal counsel can help them get the support to navigate the system and stabilize their families, often before a petition is ever filed.

Quality representation starts with reasonable caseloads, ongoing training and an interdisciplinary team supporting every family.

The funding to build toward these outcomes already exists. States need a clear, practical path to claim it.

How we help

Build your plan.

We help you design and frame your program leveraging evidence and models that demonstrate the impact of high-quality interdisciplinary defense, giving policymakers and program leaders the data they need for investment.

Leverage technology appropriately.

Coordinating an effective and efficient interdisciplinary team or a statewide network requires the smart, strategic use of technology to communicate securely, track caseloads and keep documents and deadlines visible to everyone on the team. We connect organizations with the right technology solutions and recommend funding sources.

Unlock funding.

We help organizations secure the resources to launch interdisciplinary programs and pilots that can grow into statewide offices of family representation, modeled on programs like Oklahoma's Office of Family Representation.

Our origin story

Family Defense Council was founded by the team behind Sunlight [getsunlight.org], who pledged to support the expansion of the family defense movement.

"Investing in high-quality legal representation protects vulnerable children and families. We're excited to launch the Family Defense Council to support zealous, multi-disciplinary and client-centered advocacy that all children and families deserve."

— Ryan O'Donnell
CEO and Co-Founder, Sunlight

Beginning

Today Family Defense Council is led by Wendy Sotolongo, J.D., former…

"As the first Executive Director of the Family Defense Council, my role is to shape the vision and strategic direction of the FDC to realize its mission of ensuring zealous, client-centered, multi-disciplinary advocacy for children and parents in the child welfare system."

— Wendy Sotolongo
Executive Director, Family Defense Council

See Wendy's LinkedIn Profile

Today

Get in touch

If your court, public defender office or legal aid organization is seeking to build or strengthen parent and child representation, we would like to connect with you.

Contact the Family Defense Council