HB 1728 - DIGEST
(SEE ALSO PROPOSED 2ND SUB)

Specifies that the parents for parents program currently exists in seven counties and has been shown to increase the number of family reunifications, where appropriate, while decreasing the length of time needed to establish permanence. The goal is to: (1) Continue to support the program in those counties;

(2) Standardize the parents for parents curriculum among counties in which it is currently used; and

(3) Replicate the program statewide by the end of the 2019-2021 biennium.

Requires the parents for parents program to provide structured peer mentoring, administered by veteran parents, for families entering the dependency court system.

Requires funding for the parents for parents program to be through the office of public defense and centrally administered through a pass-through to a state nonprofit-lead organization that has extensive experience supporting veteran parents.

Requires a child welfare research entity based at the University of Washington to conduct an evaluation of the parents for parents program.