AN ACT Relating to child abuse; amending RCW 26.44.030; adding new sections to chapter 26.44 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The Washington state legislature finds and declares:

The children of the state of Washington are the state's greatest resource and the greatest source of wealth to the state of Washington. Children of all ages must be protected from child abuse. Governmental authorities must give the prevention, treatment, and punishment of child abuse the highest priority, and all instances of child abuse must be reported to the proper authorities who should diligently and expeditiously take appropriate action, and child abusers must be held accountable to the people of the state for their actions.

The legislature recognizes the current heavy caseload of governmental authorities responsible for the prevention, treatment, and punishment of child abuse. The information obtained by child abuse reporting requirements, in addition to its use as a law enforcement tool, will be used to determine the need for additional funding to ensure that resources for appropriate governmental response to child abuse are available.

Sec. 2. Section 3, chapter 13, Laws of 1965 as last amended by section 3, chapter 97, Laws of 1984 and RCW 26.44.030 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) When any practitioner, professional school personnel, registered or licensed nurse, social worker, psychologist, pharmacist, or employee of the department has reasonable cause to believe that a child or adult dependent person has suffered abuse or neglect, he shall report such incident, or cause a report to be made, to the proper law enforcement agency or to the department as provided in RCW 26.44.040. The report shall be made at the first opportunity, but in no case longer than ((~~seven days~~)) forty-eight hours after there is reasonable cause to believe that the child or adult has suffered abuse or neglect.

(2) Any other person who has reasonable cause to believe that a child or adult dependent person has suffered abuse or neglect may report such incident to the proper law enforcement agency or to the department of social and health services as provided in RCW 26.44.040 ((~~as now or hereafter amended~~)).

(3) The department, upon receiving a report of an incident of abuse or neglect pursuant to this chapter, involving a child or adult dependent person who has died or has had physical injury or injuries inflicted upon him other than by accidental means or who has been subjected to sexual abuse, shall report such incident in writing to the proper law enforcement agency((.)) and to the county prosecutor of the county where the abuse or neglect is believed to have occurred. The report shall include the items provided in RCW 26.44.040 and shall indicate whether the department will be able to do the necessary follow-up for prosecution.

(4) Any law enforcement agency receiving a report of an incident of abuse or neglect pursuant to this chapter, involving a child or adult dependent person who has died or has had physical injury or injuries inflicted upon him other than by accidental means, or who has been subjected to sexual abuse, shall report such incident in writing as provided in RCW 26.44.040 to the proper county prosecutor or city attorney for appropriate action whenever the law enforcement agency's investigation reveals that a crime has been committed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 26.44 RCW to read as follows:

If an investigating agency responds to a complaint of child abuse and discovers that another agency has also responded to the complaint, the agency shall notify the other agency of their presence, and the agencies shall coordinate the investigation and keep each other apprised of progress.

The department, each law enforcement agency, and each county prosecuting attorney shall make as soon as practicable a written record and shall maintain records of all incidents of suspected child abuse reported to that person or agency. Records kept under this section shall be identifiable by means of a department code for child abuse.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 26.44 RCW to read as follows:

The prosecuting attorney responsible for making the decision whether or not to prosecute cases referred under this chapter shall advise the office of the department referring the case of the decision within five days of the receipt of the report.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. A new section is added to chapter 26.44 RCW to read as follows:

The prosecuting attorney shall include in his annual report a section stating the number of child abuse reports received by his office under this chapter and the number of cases where charges were filed. Prosecutors shall also maintain, for public inspection, a file showing the following information for each completed case in which an adult has been charged with a crime in which a juvenile has been a victim: (1) Case name; (2) referring agency or agencies; (3) charge filed; (4) disposition; (5) sentence, if any; and (6) any comments about factors affecting the disposition.