READ FIRST TIME 02/23/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to home visitation services for families; adding new sections to chapter 43.121 RCW; and repealing RCW 43.70.530.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 43.121 RCW to read as follows:
     The legislature finds that:
     (1) The years from birth to three are critical in building the social, emotional, and cognitive developmental foundations of a young child. Research into the brain development of young children reveals that children are born learning.
     (2) The farther behind children are in their social, emotional, physical, and cognitive development, the more difficult it will be for them to catch up.
     (3) A significant number of children age birth to five years are born with two or more of the following risk factors and have a greater chance of failure in school and beyond: Poverty; single or no parent; no parent employed full time or full year; all parents with disability; and mother without a high school degree.
     (4) Parents and children involved in home visitation programs exhibit better birth outcomes, enhanced parent and child interactions, more efficient use of health care services, enhanced child development including improved school readiness, and early detection of developmental delays, as well as reduced welfare dependence, higher rates of school completion and job retention, reduction in frequency and severity of maltreatment, and higher rates of school graduation.
     The legislature intends to promote the use of voluntary home visitation services to families as an early intervention strategy to alleviate the effect on child development of factors such as poverty, single parenthood, parental unemployment or underemployment, parental disability, or parental lack of a high school diploma, which research shows are risk factors for child abuse and neglect and poor educational outcomes.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 43.121 RCW to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout sections 1 through 4 of this act unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Evidence-based" means a program or practice that has had multiple site random controlled trials across heterogeneous populations demonstrating that the program or practice is effective for the population.
     (2) "Home visitation" means providing services in the permanent or temporary residence, or in other familiar surroundings, of the family receiving such services.
     (3) "Research-based" means a program or practice that has some research demonstrating effectiveness, but that does not yet meet the standard of evidence-based practices.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 43.121 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Within available funds, the children's trust of Washington shall fund evidence-based and research-based home visitation programs for improving parenting skills and outcomes for children. Home visitation programs must be voluntary and must address the needs of families to alleviate the effect on child development of factors such as poverty, single parenthood, parental unemployment or underemployment, parental disability, or parental lack of high school diploma, which research shows are risk factors for child abuse and neglect and poor educational outcomes.
     (2) The children's trust of Washington shall develop a plan with the department of social and health services, the department of health, the department of early learning, and the family policy council to coordinate or consolidate home visitation services for children and families and report to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2007, with their recommendations for implementation of the plan.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 43.121 RCW to read as follows:
     To recognize the focus on home visitation services, the Washington council for the prevention of child abuse and neglect is hereby renamed the children's trust of Washington. All references to the Washington council for the prevention of child abuse and neglect in the Revised Code of Washington shall be construed to mean the children's trust of Washington.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   RCW 43.70.530 (Home visitor program) and 1998 c 245 s 75 & 1993 c 179 s 2 are each repealed.