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                                   ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5844

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State of Washington                              53rd Legislature                             1993 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Government Operations (originally sponsored by Senators McAuliffe, Erwin, M. Rasmussen, Amondson, Drew, Prentice, Pelz, Niemi, Winsley, Sheldon, McDonald, Talmadge, Owen, Snyder, Haugen, Hargrove, Moyer, Quigley, Roach, Jesernig, Oke, Hochstatter and Spanel)

Read first time 03/01/93.

Allowing volunteers to assist agencies to serve at-risk children's needs.

          AN ACT Relating to volunteers serving the needs of at-risk children; and adding a new section to chapter 43.150 RCW.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 43.150 RCW to read as follows:

          A volunteer organization or individual volunteer may assist a public agency, with the agency's approval, in a collaborative program designed to serve the needs of at-risk children.  The center, with the advice and counsel of the attorney general, shall develop guidelines defining at-risk children and establish reasonable safety standards for the activities of any volunteers, including but not limited to background checks as provided in RCW 43.43.830 through 43.43.834.  In carrying out the volunteer activity, the individual volunteer or member of the volunteer organization shall not be considered to be an employee or agent of any public agency involved in the collaborative program.  Prior to participation, a volunteer and the public agency administering the collaborative program shall sign a written master agreement, approved in form by the attorney general, that includes provisions defining the scope of the volunteer activities and waiving any claims against each other.  An individual volunteer shall not be liable for civil damages resulting from any act or omission arising from volunteer activities which comply with safety standards issued by the center for volunteerism and citizen service, other than acts or omissions constituting gross negligence or wilful or wanton misconduct.  In any action for damages against a public agency or volunteer organization, a claimant must establish by a preponderance of the evidence that a public agency or other sponsor of a program under this section failed to comply with reasonable safety standards established by the center.

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