H-4229

AN ACT Relating to establishment of a volunteer service credit program; adding a new chapter to Title 74 RCW; and making an appropriation.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The legislature finds that it is valuable to establish and encourage community-based services that enable persons with physical or mental disabilities or illnesses to remain in their communities and homes. The legislature further finds that voluntary community assistance activities constitute an effective mechanism to supplement and not supplant essential public and private community-based services needed by persons with physical or mental disabilities or illnesses. The legislature further finds that volunteers should have the opportunity to receive credits for their donated time so that they can receive similar assistance if they or a family member, at some later time, experience a physical or mental disability or illness.

(2) It is the purpose of this chapter to establish a volunteer service credit program that will enhance the community-based services available to persons with physical or mental disabilities or illnesses who wish to remain in their communities and homes.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Eligible person" means an individual who is sixty years of age or older or is functionally disabled as a result of a physical or mental disability or illness;

(2) "Service credit" means the unit of exchange upon which the volunteer service credit program operates. No monetary value may be attached to the service credit;

(3) "Sponsor" means a nonprofit organization or a consortium of nonprofit organizations that receives and dispenses service credits on behalf of eligible persons and is designated by the department to perform the administrative tasks necessary to implement this chapter.

(4) "Targeted service" means a task for which service credits may be earned when performed by a volunteer for an eligible person.

(5) "Volunteer" means an individual who earns service credits by:

(a) Providing targeted services to an eligible person not related to him or her by blood, marriage, guardianship, or adoption;

(b) Participating in preservice or inservice training under the volunteer service credit program; or

(6) "Program" means the volunteer credit service program established by this chapter, funded entirely or in part by appropriation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The department shall establish a volunteer service credit program, in at least three program sites, through which individuals may volunteer targeted services and in return earn service credits that may be subsequently exchanged for targeted services. To implement the program, the department shall develop a process for notifying potential sponsors of the availability of program grants, then awarding grants to those sponsors that best meet the objectives set forth in this chapter.

(2)(a) The department shall ensure that each sponsor maintains a register containing all of the following:

(i) The names of participating volunteers, services for which they are available, and any other personal information relevant to the program;

(ii) An accounting system with the capacity to make available to the department, each volunteer, and the sponsor a monthly balance of service credits earned and used; and

(iii) Any other data that may be needed to monitor and administer the program.

(b) The register required by this section shall be used solely to match volunteers with eligible persons and to accomplish other tasks consistent with the purposes of this chapter.

(3) The department shall require that any grantee of funds awarded under this chapter shall provide twenty-five percent of the funding for its program under this chapter in matching funds provided by private or public entities. Contributions of materials, supplies, or physical facilities may be considered as all or part of the matching funds.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Targeted services consist of those tasks that the department has determined will foster the independence, self-sufficiency, and noninstitutionalized living of eligible persons by providing services directly to these people or respite care to their caregivers. A program volunteer shall not perform services required by law to be performed by a licensed professional unless the volunteer holds a current, valid license to perform that service. Targeted services shall be defined to fall within the following categories:

(1) Personal care tasks performed in the home of an eligible person, such as personal grooming and meal preparation;

(2) Tasks such as light housekeeping, cleaning, or minor repairs performed in or around the home of an eligible person; and

(3) Those tasks, such as transportation and escort services, that enhance the ability of an eligible person to function outside the home.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) To initiate the program, the department shall establish a pool of service credits to be awarded to eligible persons who are in need of targeted services. The department may award credits to eligible persons directly from this pool or may distribute all or part of these credits to sponsors who shall in turn be authorized to award them. The awarding of credits to eligible persons shall be commensurate with the availability of volunteers.

(2) In addition to the pool of service credits established under subsection (1) of this section, a sponsor may, with the prior written approval of the department, establish its own pool of service credits to be awarded to eligible persons. In order to receive this approval, a sponsor shall satisfy the department that it has volunteer resources and contingency plans sufficient to meet the obligations created by distribution of service credits.

(3)(a) Volunteers who provide targeted services shall earn one service credit for each hour of targeted services provided.

(b) Volunteers may also earn service credits for the completion of preservice and inservice training and for the performance of administrative tasks in direct support of the program. Service credits earned in this manner shall be computed at a rate of one credit for every two hours of training or administrative service.

(4)(a) A volunteer who has service credits may transfer all or part of those credits, either directly or through a sponsor, to an eligible person. Credits thus transferred may not be retransferred.

(b) A volunteer who has service credits may transfer all or part of those credits to the department or a sponsor for the purpose of replenishing a pool of service credits established under subsection (1) or (2) of this section.

(5) Except as otherwise provided by the rules adopted by the department under section 10 of this act, an eligible person may at any time exchange service credits that he or she has earned, received by transfer, or been awarded for an equal number of hours of any targeted service. The sponsor shall determine whether a requested service is a targeted service and whether the requestor is an eligible person.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. (1) Before entering the program, every program volunteer and every eligible person requesting targeted services from the program shall read and sign a clearly written information sheet. This sheet shall include a notice that the program carries no guarantees of credits earned by program volunteers.

(2) To ensure that outstanding service credits can be honored when exchanged for targeted services, the sponsor shall engage in diligent volunteer recruitment.

(3) If the state-wide program expires or is terminated, the department shall promptly give written notice to all sponsors and to all persons known to have outstanding credits. In the event the sponsor expects its program to end, the sponsor shall promptly give written notice of the program's expiration or termination to all other persons known to have outstanding credits.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) Each sponsor shall have an advisory committee that includes all of the following:

(a) Persons skilled in providing targeted services;

(b) Persons who represent or advocate the interests of eligible persons; and

(c) Persons representing the interests of program volunteers. The advisory committee shall monitor the sponsor's compliance with program requirements, make recommendations to the sponsor on program implementation, and carry out any other program-related tasks that the department deems appropriate.

(2) Members of the advisory committee serve in an informal capacity and assume no legal responsibility for program actions or decisions.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. (1) Volunteers shall not, by virtue of their participation in the program be considered for any purpose to be employees or agents of either the department or a sponsor, or be entitled to any monetary compensation for their services. Service credit hours to be claimed are contingent upon the availability of volunteer hours during the course of the program, and shall not cause any liability, monetary or otherwise, to accrue to the sponsor's program, the department, or the state.

(2) Notwithstanding subsection (1) of this section, sponsors may reimburse volunteers for necessary expenses directly related to their provision of targeted services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. (1) If a volunteer completes a department-approved training program, no cause of action may arise against a volunteer participating in a program under this chapter except in instances of gross negligence or intentional conduct.

(2) No cause of action may arise against the state as a result of any negligent or intentional act or omission of a sponsor or volunteer in the implementation of a program under this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. The department shall adopt rules necessary to carry out the purposes of this chapter. The rules shall include, but need not be limited to, standards and procedures with respect to the following:

(1) Volunteer qualifications, screening, preservice and inservice training, monitoring, and termination;

(2) Minimum liability and accident insurance for volunteers;

(3) Sponsor qualifications;

(4) The awarding of service credits;

(5) Weekly and annual limits on the number of service credits a volunteer may earn;

(6) Contingency planning and volunteer reserves; and

(7) Responsibilities of sponsor advisory committees.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. The department shall prepare and submit to the legislature annual reports on the program established by this chapter. These reports shall, at a minimum, include all of the following information on each program:

(1) A description of the participating population, including the number of persons served and the services provided;

(2) The number of service credits outstanding at the conclusion of the reporting period; and

(3) Program costs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections 1 through 10 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 74 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. The sum of one hundred fifty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1993, from the general fund to the department of social and health services for purposes of implementation of this act. No more than forty thousand dollars of the appropriation in this section may be used by the department for administrative costs.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.