Subject of Possible Rule Making: The department of children, youth, and families (DCYF) will be making changes to the child welfare WAC in chapter 110-50 WAC regarding referrals to the division of child support when children and [are] placed into DCYF's care. Currently DCYF has an automatic referral process to start collecting child support 72 hours after a child or youth is removed from the parents' or guardians' care and custody, unless good cause exists to not pursue collection. DCYF wants to minimize the number of referrals to the division of child support and revise good cause criteria as the current process can cause financial hardship and delay reunification.

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: Referrals to the division of child support can be harmful to families in the child welfare system by causing financial hardship, prolonged debt, and delayed reunification. Minimizing referrals will help family reunification occur sooner. Per RCW 74.14C.005, "children need their families and should be raised by their own families whenever possible," and "improvement of family functioning is essential in order to promote the child's health, safety, and welfare." Per RCW 13.34.020, the legislature declares that "the family unit should remain intact unless a child's right to conditions of basic nurture, health, or safety is jeopardized."

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Tara Camp, P.O. Box 12500, Mailstop B39-12, Yakima, WA 98909, phone 509-823-7503, email tara.camp@dcyf.wa.gov, website https://dcyf.wa.gov.