HOUSE BILL REPORT

ESHB 1782

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

As Amended by the Senate

Title: An act relating to encouraging early and consistent engagement of parents in children's dependency matters.

Brief Description: Concerning parent participation in dependency matters.

Sponsors: House Committee on Early Learning & Children's Services (originally sponsored by Representatives Goodman, Roberts, Walsh, Dickerson, Darneille, Kagi and Nelson).

Brief History:

Committee Activity:

Early Learning & Children's Services: 2/10/09, 2/20/09 [DPS].

Floor Activity

Passed House: 3/11/09, 96-0.

Senate Amended.

Passed Senate: 4/16/09, 41-0.

Brief Summary of Engrossed Substitute Bill

  • Requires additional language be included in the standard notice to parents regarding shelter care hearings and the child dependency process.

  • Directs the Department of Social and Health Services to attach a standard reminder note to all individual services and safety plans developed for dependency review hearings.

  • Directs the dependency court to consider the impact of placement changes on the child's ability to form secure attachments.

  • Permits the dependency court to consider a parent's failure to have contact with a child for an extended period of time when the court is analyzing the liklihood conditions will be remedied so that the child may return to the parent's care in the near future.

  • Provides that a parent's actual inability to have visitation with a child due to mitigating circumstances, including but not limited to a parent's incarceration or service in the military, is not in and of itself a failure to have contact with a child.

HOUSE COMMITTEE ON EARLY LEARNING & CHILDREN'S SERVICES

Majority Report: The substitute bill be substituted therefor and the substitute bill do pass. Signed by 7 members: Representatives Kagi, Chair; Roberts, Vice Chair; Haler, Ranking Minority Member; Walsh, Assistant Ranking Minority Member; Angel, Goodman and Seaquist.

Staff: Sydney Forrester (786-7120)

Background:

When a shelter care hearing is scheduled in a child's dependency case, a standard notice must be provided to the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian. The notice must be understandable and take into consideration the parent's, guardian's, or custodian's primary language, level of education, and cultural issues. The shelter care notice must include specific information about:

Federal and state laws require the filing of a petition to terminate the parental rights (TPR petition) of the parent of a child who has been in out-of-home care when certain criteria are met relating to the length of time the child has been in foster care, the circumstances requiring the foster care placement, and the progress made towards reunification. Unless an exception applies, state law requires a TPR petition to allege specific elements to be proved at trial, one of which relates to the likelihood that conditions will be remedied so that the child can be returned to the parent in the near future. In analyzing this determination, the court may consider:

Summary of Engrossed Substitute Bill:

The requirements for the shelter care notice to parents are expanded to include:

The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) is required to attach a single-page standard reminder to all individual services and safety plans prepared for dependency review hearings. The standard reminder must inform parents regarding:

During the TPR process, when the court is analyzing the likelihood that conditions will be remedied so that the child can be returned to the parent in the near future, the court also may consider the failure of a parent to have contact with a child for an extended period of time after the fling of the dependency petition when two circumstances are present:

A parent’s actual inability to have visitation with a child due to mitigating circumstances, such as a parent’s incarceration or service in the military, do not in and of themselves constitute failure to have contact with a child.

EFFECT OF SENATE AMENDMENT(S):

The Senate amendment replaces the underlying bill with the following provisions:

(1) Requires the child dependency court, during shelter care hearings, to inquire of parents and determine what efforts were made by the DSHS to discuss with the parents the option of placing the child with a relative.

(2) Directs the dependency court, if the child is not placed with a relative, to include in all shelter care orders, disposition orders, and dependency review orders the reasons why relative placement is not currently appropriate or why placement did not occur.

(3) Requires the Administrative Office of the Courts, by November 1, 2009, to develop standard court forms for mandatory use in children's dependency cases beginning January 1, 2010.

(4) Directs the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to post on its website and provide to youth in foster care a listing of its responsibilities toward youth.

(5) Authorizes the Office of the Family and Children's Ombudsman (OFCO) to investigate allegations of retaliation against foster parents and provide its findings to the DSHS.

(6) Requires the DSHS to notify the OFCO in writing within 30 days of receipt of OFCO's findings regarding any personnel action taken or planned in response to the findings.

(7) Require the DSHS to provide information to prospective adoptive parents regarding the limits of the adoption support program.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Preliminary fiscal note available. New fiscal note requested on February 20, 2009.

Effective Date: The bill takes effect 90 days after adjournment of the session in which the bill is passed.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony:

(In support of original bill) Increasing efforts to motivate parents to engage early and consistently in the dependency process will benefit children. We need to inject urgency into the process before the petition for termination of parental rights is filed. Reminding parents of the consequences of long-term failure to have contact with a child is important. Some, usually non-custodial fathers, believe that in a child dependency case it is best to let the child's mother have first shot at being able to reunify with the child. But, when the mother is not successful, many months or years may have passed while the child has been in out-of-home care and is bonding to the foster parents. When the other parent comes forward at the eleventh hour of a dependency, seldom does it result in anything more than causing the children tremendous trauma and anxiety about where they are going to live. The child experiences confusion when told the new plan is for her to live with a biological parent she has never known.

This bill will save children from years of heartache while the court changes the permanent plan in response to the late-comer parent who refused to engage in the child's case earlier. Children, especially young children, are in the process of bonding with their caregivers during the years a parent may voluntarily have no contact with a child. When faced with a petition for termination of parental rights, the parent may suddenly decide to get involved, but in most cases the opportunity for bonding with the child has already passed. The child experiences confusion and anxiety when told she will be leaving the only home she has ever known, often resulting in negatively impacting the child's ability to function at home, in school, or in child care. Children are always seeking permanency and they naturally will begin bonding to their nurturing caregivers, regardless of a biological connection. Motivating both of the child's parents to engage in the dependency case early will promote better outcomes and informed decision-making about the child's best interests.

The added language in shelter care hearing notices and afterward moves the system in the right direction. From a child's perspective, especially young children, a year or two is a lifetime. The more open-ended and uncertain a child's future is, the greater the damage is to their normal and healthy development. The one thing the child wants and needs most is an unshakeable sense of belonging with the knowledge that it won't change. The sooner birth parents realize the importance of engaging in decision-making on the child's behalf, the better it is for the child.

(With concerns on original bill) The practice standards for attorneys representing parents in dependency cases is to encourage parents to engage early in the child case. The notice should be carefully written so as not to discourage a parent unintentionally. Each case is unique. Some parents who receive a shelter care notice are not abusive or neglectful and a dependency order is never entered. The current language may be overly harsh for these parents and may be confusing or discouraging to other parents.

(Opposed) None.

Persons Testifying: (In support of original bill) Representative Goodman, prime sponsor; Gary Malkasian and Robert Adams, Foster Care Justice Alliance; and Paul Guppy.

(With concerns on original bill) Joanne Moore, Office of Public Defense.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: None.