SHB 2165 -
By Committee on Human Services & Corrections
Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:
"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 A new section is added to chapter 43.215
RCW to read as follows:
(1)(a) The department shall conduct a child fatality review if a
child fatality occurs in an early learning program described in RCW
43.215.400 through 43.215.450 or a licensed child care center or a
licensed child care home.
(b) The department shall convene a child fatality review committee
and determine the membership of the review committee. The committee
shall comprise individuals with appropriate expertise, including but
not limited to experts from outside the department with knowledge of
early learning licensing requirements and program standards. The
department shall ensure that the review committee is made up of
individuals who had no previous involvement in the case. The committee
may consult with experts who are not members of the committee,
including but not limited to the coroner or medical examiner, or his or
her designee, of the county in which the fatality or near fatality
occurred.
(c) The primary purpose of the fatality review shall be the
development of recommendations to the department and legislature
regarding changes in licensing requirements, practice, or policy to
prevent fatalities and strengthen safety and health protections for
children.
(d) Upon conclusion of a child fatality review required pursuant to
this section, the department shall, within one hundred eighty days
following the fatality, issue a report on the results of the review,
unless an extension has been granted by the governor. Reports must be
distributed to the appropriate committees of the legislature, and the
department shall create a public web site where all child fatality
review reports required under this section must be posted and
maintained. A child fatality review report completed pursuant to this
section is subject to public disclosure and must be posted on the
public web site, except that confidential information may be redacted
by the department consistent with the requirements of RCW 13.50.100,
68.50.105, and 74.13.500 through 74.13.525, chapter 42.56 RCW, and
other applicable state and federal laws.
(2) The department shall consult with the office of the family and
children's ombuds to determine if a review should be conducted in the
case of a near child fatality that occurs in an early learning program
described in RCW 43.215.400 through 43.215.450 or licensed child care
center or licensed child care home.
(3) In any review of a child fatality or near fatality, the
department and the fatality review committee must have access to all
records and files regarding the child or that are otherwise relevant to
the review and that have been produced or retained by the early
education and assistance program provider or licensed child care center
or licensed family home provider.
(4)(a) A child fatality or near fatality review completed pursuant
to this section is subject to discovery in a civil or administrative
proceeding, but may not be admitted into evidence or otherwise used in
a civil or administrative proceeding except pursuant to this section.
(b) A department employee responsible for conducting a child
fatality or near fatality review, or member of a child fatality or near
fatality review committee, may not be examined in a civil or
administrative proceeding regarding the following:
(i) The work of the child fatality or near fatality review
committee;
(ii) The incident under review;
(iii) The employee's or member's statements, deliberations,
thoughts, analyses, or impressions relating to the work of the child
fatality or near fatality review committee or the incident under
review; or
(iv) Statements, deliberations, thoughts, analyses, or impressions
of any other member of the child fatality or near fatality review
committee, or any person who provided information to the child fatality
or near fatality review committee, relating to the work of the child
fatality or near fatality review committee or the incident under
review.
(c) Documents prepared by or for a child fatality or near fatality
review committee are inadmissible and may not be used in a civil or
administrative proceeding, except that any document that exists before
its use or consideration in a child fatality or near fatality review,
or that is created independently of such review, does not become
inadmissible merely because it is reviewed or used by a child fatality
or near fatality review committee. A person is not unavailable as a
witness merely because the person has been interviewed by or has
provided a statement for a child fatality or near fatality review, but
if called as a witness, a person may not be examined regarding the
person's interactions with the child fatality or near fatality review
committee including, without limitation, whether the person was
interviewed during such review, the questions that were asked during
such review, and the answers that the person provided during such
review. This section may not be construed as restricting a person from
testifying fully in any proceeding regarding his or her knowledge of
the incident under review.
(d) The restrictions in this section do not apply in a licensing or
disciplinary proceeding arising from an agency's effort to revoke or
suspend the license of any licensed professional based in whole or in
part upon allegations of wrongdoing in connection with a minor's death
or near fatality reviewed by a child fatality or near fatality review
committee.
(5) For the purposes of this section, "near fatality" means an act
that, as certified by a physician, places the child in serious or
critical condition.
(6) The department shall develop and implement procedures to carry
out the requirements of this section.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 This act may be known and cited as the Eve
Uphold act."
SHB 2165 -
By Committee on Human Services & Corrections
On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "reviews;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "adding a new section to chapter 43.215 RCW; and creating a new section."
EFFECT: Allows the review committee to consult with the coroner or medical examiner in the county in which the fatality or near fatality occurred; defines the term "near fatality."