Dependency
Advocacy
Center

Interdisciplinary legal services for the reunification and preservation of families in Santa Clara County's child welfare system

If you have a court case in Santa Clara County that involves CPS (Department of Family and Children's Services) and need legal representation:

Call Us - (408) 401-6691

If you do not have a court case, but have been contacted by Santa Clara County CPS (Department of Family and Children's Services) and need legal advice:

Call Our Warm Line - (408) 856-2992 Call Our Warm Line -
(408) 856-2992

DAC’s Holistic Approach

Dependency Advocacy Center (DAC) serves Santa Clara’s County parents and children involved in the child welfare system. DAC’s multi-pronged approach to advocacy, which focuses on both protecting the client’s legal rights while simultaneously engaging the client to better their circumstances, is targeted toward making the family whole again. DAC supports families involved in the system through an interdisciplinary team.

Attorneys providing free legal representation

Social Workers providing clinical expertise

Mentor Parents that have lived experience in the child welfare system

Since 2008 DAC’s work has supported thousands of families reunifying with or preventing the removal of children from their family home.

Breaking Cycles of System Involvement

DAC's team gave me my life back. Because they took my case when I was incarcerated and gave me a second chance. I have everything today. I have a career. I have a home. I have my kids back. I have a relationship with my family, the people that I hurt.

In Santa Clara County, African American and Latino children living in poverty are far more likely to enter foster care — a system that regularly serves as a pipeline to incarceration, substance abuse, sex trafficking, and homelessness.

Without effective intervention strategies that target long-term family wellbeing, the parents and children served by DAC are particularly susceptible to repeated cycles of separation and court involvement.

Find Out What DAC Has Been Up To

A Letter to Our Colleagues, Community Partners, and Client Families

January 17, 2025

In 2018, at the height of the Trump administration’s policy of separating families at the southern border, I spent a week in Texas volunteering with a...

Remembering DAC Co-Founder, AnnaLisa Chung

November 4, 2024

Dependency Advocacy Center is very sad to share that AnnaLisa Chung, one of our co-founders and our first Chief Executive Officer, passed away on Nove...

Congratulations to Judge Cynthia Chen, the newest member of the Santa Clara County bench!

July 31, 2024

DAC Mourns the Loss of Longstanding Board Member, Ann Whyte J.D.

August 5, 2024

We are very sad to share that Ann Whyte, a longstanding member of our Board of Directors and previous Board Chair, passed away Sunday, August 4, 2024....

Cynthia Chen, Appointed as a Judge in the Santa Clara County Superior Court

June 20, 2024

Congratulations to our Supervising Attorney Cynthia Chen on her appointment as a Judge in Santa Clara County!

13th Annual Family Reunification Day Celebration

June 15, 2024

Santa Clara County celebrated its 13th Annual Family Reunification Day on June 14, 2024, honoring families and youth who overcame immense challenges t...

Dependency Advocacy Center Turns 15!

November 3, 2023

Dependency Advocacy Center turned 15 on October 1, 2023! Oh, how time flies!

SSA Director Receives AnnaLisa Chung Award

October 31, 2023

Daniel Little, Director of the County’s Social Services Agency, was honored for his exceptional contributions to child welfare reform in an event mark...

DAC Announces Selection of Next CEO!

September 2, 2023

Since the retirement of our Co-Founder and CEO, AnnaLisa Chung, the Board of Directors has been conducting a search for a new CEO.

Cornerstones of Interdisciplinary Prevention Advocacy

February 16, 2023

The views expressed herein have not been approved by the House of Delegates or the Board of Governors of the American Bar Association, and accordingly...

DAC’s Corridor Program Presented in Washington D.C.

April 14, 2019

On April 12, 2019, members of DAC’s Corridor Program presented at the ABA’s 2019 National Conference on Parent Representation in Washington D.C. This...