AN ACT Relating to the children and family services pilot project; creating new sections; making appropriations; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The purpose of this act is to establish the children and family services pilot project in order to guide the state in establishing a comprehensive system of children and family services state-wide by 1990. The department of social and health services shall implement the pilot project. The pilot project's effectiveness shall be evaluated by the department and the joint select committee on children and family services established under section 6 of this act.

(2) The goals of the pilot project are:

(a) To demonstrate delivery of a continuum of services for children and families that will maximize problem prevention, early problem intervention and resolution, and family independence while maintaining the physical safety and emotional well-being of the child;

(b) To demonstrate the use of outcome measures to ascertain cost-effectiveness of service components and the system as a whole;

(c) To demonstrate that services can be designed to be appropriate, accessible, and sensitive to the needs of all populations within the community, including minority cultures and ethnic groups;

(d) To eliminate fiscal and process barriers where possible in order to increase efficiency in providing family-focused services and out-of-home placements of children in the least-restrictive manner possible;

(e) To encourage the concept of a continuum of services in providing for the needs of children and families which maximize available federal, state, and local resources;

(f) To involve local communities, schools, private entities, and other state agencies, including the division of mental health of the department of social and health services, in the future assessment and planning of services in an open and formal way; and

(g) To enhance the provision of quality services through a system of workload management.

(3) The pilot project shall be conducted in the following service areas: The Kent children's service office, the Spokane children's service office, and the Chehalis children's service office.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) A continuum of services shall consist of the following services: Intake, early intervention, service needs assessment, crisis intervention, family support, intensive family support, foster care, group care, reunification, permanency planning, and adoption support. The pilot project shall assure broad-based community participation by involving local agencies and professionals in initial and continued planning and by funding contracts and other agreements for services from private and community agencies.

(2) In order to provide services in a continuum: (a) Clients shall enter the system at the least intrusive and most cost-effective level of service appropriate to the needs of the client; (b) client service needs shall be frequently assessed to assure that services continue to be at the least intrusive level appropriate to meet the needs of the client; and (c) guidelines for assessment shall be written and consistently applied throughout the project to assure that service levels may only be skipped under these specific guidelines.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) In order to demonstrate the use of outcome measures, the department of social and health services shall:

(a) Implement at the earliest possible date a management information system for monitoring both baseline and outcome data for this project;

(b) Define and quantify outcomes and determine measurement methods before beginning the descriptive phase of planning;

(i) The number of children and families requesting services and a categorization of the problems presented;

(ii) The number of children and families receiving services at each level of service and categorization of the problems presented;

(iii) The number of children and families not receiving services at each level because of service unavailability;

(iv) The average length of stay in each level of foster care;

(v) The average length of stay in each level of group care;

(vi) Documentation of services provided prior to placement;

(vii) If services were not provided prior to placement, documentation of the reason therefor;

(viii) Documentation of services provided during or after placement to assist with reunification;

(ix) If reunification services were not provided during or after placement, documentation of the reason therefor; and

(x) Systematic input from public and private service providers, schools, law enforcement, parents, and children regarding current system functioning;

(d) Set goals, outcomes, and objectives regarding the desired effect of the pilot project as a whole and its individual components; and

(e) Monitor individual service providers and the entire system for progress in meeting goals and objectives.

(2) Information collected under this section shall be maintained for the duration of the pilot project.

(3) The department shall report to the senate and house judiciary committees, the senate human services and corrections committee, and the house social services committee regarding the cost of implementing the management information system prior to implementation.

(4) The department shall adopt rules prescribing standards for the operation of services provided as part of the pilot projects and such other rules as may be necessary for the administration of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The pilot project shall commence on January 1, 1988, and shall terminate December 31, 1989. The department of social and health services shall provide a detailed implementation plan to the legislature by October 15, 1987, for review and approval by the joint select committee on children and families. During the planning and implementation phases of the pilot project, the department shall report monthly to the joint select committee on its progress.

(2) The department's implementation plan shall include alternative management models for the pilot project providing for administration of the pilot projects by (a) the local administrator for the courts, (b) the department, (c) a community-based organization, or (d) any combination of these entities.

(3) For purposes of providing services for the pilot projects, the department is authorized to combine funding categories in order to provide for efficient case management to meet the actual needs of children and families.

(4) The department's implementation plan shall also include a proposal for a mechanism establishing a decision-making process when services needed by children and families extend beyond those services available from the division of children and family services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) .......... dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the department of social and health services for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund for costs associated with the implementation plan for the pilot project and data collection. The department is authorized to employ additional personnel or consultants.

(2) .......... dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the department of social and health services for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund for the operation of the pilot project and personnel training costs associated with its implementation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. There is established a joint select committee on children and family services to be composed of eight legislators, two appointed by each caucus of the senate and house of representatives, and four lay members, one to be appointed by each caucus. The chair of the committee shall rotate annually among the legislative members of the majority parties in the senate and house of representatives. A senate member of the committee shall be the first chair. It is the function of the committee to provide oversight in the planning and implementation of the pilot project.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. This act shall expire December 31, 1989.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.