AN ACT
Relating to family preservation services; and adding a new chapter to Title 74
RCW.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE
OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1. (1)
It is the intent of the legislature to make available, within available funds,
intensive services to children and families that are designed to prevent the
unnecessary imminent placement of children in foster care, and designed to
facilitate the reunification of the children with their families. These
services are known as family preservation services and are characterized by the
following values, beliefs, and goals:
(a)
Safety of the child is always the first concern;
(b)
Children need their families and should be raised by their own families
whenever possible;
(c)
Interventions should focus on family strengths and be responsive to individual
family needs; and
(d)
Improvement of family functioning is essential in order to promote the child's
health, safety, and welfare and thereby allow the family to remain intact and
allow children to remain at home.
(2)
Subject to the availability of funds for such purposes, the legislature intends
for family preservation services to be made available to all eligible families
on a state-wide basis through a phased-in process. Except as otherwise
specified by statute, the department of social and health services shall have
the authority and discretion to implement and expand family preservation
services according to a plan and time frame determined by the department.
(3)
Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to create an entitlement to services
nor to create judicial authority to order the provision of family preservation
services to any person or family where the department has determined that such
services are unavailable or unsuitable or that the child or family are not
eligible for such services.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2. Unless
the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply
throughout this chapter.
(1)
"Department" means the department of social and health services.
(2)
"Family preservation services" means services that are delivered
primarily in the home, that follow intensive service models with demonstrated
effectiveness in reducing or avoiding the need for unnecessary imminent foster
care placement, and that have all of the characteristics delineated in section
3 of this act.
(3)
"Foster care" means placement of a child by the department or a licensed
child placing agency in a home or facility licensed pursuant to chapter 74.15
RCW, or in a home or facility that is not required to be licensed pursuant to
chapter 74.15 RCW.
(4)
"Imminent" means a decision has been made by the department that,
without family preservation services, a petition requesting the removal of a
child from the family home will be immediately filed under chapter 13.32A or
13.34 RCW, or that a voluntary placement agreement will be immediately
initiated.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 3. Family
preservation services shall have all of the following characteristics:
(1)
Services are provided by specially trained caseworkers who have received at
least forty hours of training from recognized family preservation services
experts. Caseworkers provide the services in the family's home, and may
provide some of the services in other natural environments of the family, such
as their neighborhood or schools;
(2)
Caseload size averages two families per caseworker;
(3)
The services to the family are provided by a single caseworker, with backup
caseworkers identified to provide assistance as necessary;
(4)
Caseworkers have the authority and discretion to spend funds, up to a maximum
amount specified by the department, to help families obtain necessary food,
shelter, or clothing, or to purchase other goods or services that will enhance
the effectiveness of intervention;
(5)
Services are available to the family within twenty-four hours following receipt
of a referral to the program;
(6)
Services are available to the family twenty-four hours a day and seven days a
week;
(7)
Duration of service is limited to a maximum of forty days, unless the department
authorizes an additional provision of service through an exception to policy;
(8)
Services assist the family to improve parental and household management
competence and to solve practical problems that contribute to family stress so
as to effect improved parental performance and enhanced functioning of the
family unit; and
(9)
Services help families locate and utilize additional assistance, including, but
not limited to, counseling and treatment services, housing, child care,
education, job training, emergency cash grants, state and federally funded
public assistance, and other basic support services.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 4. (1)
The department shall be the lead administrative agency for family preservation
services and may receive funding from any source for the implementation or
expansion of such services. The department shall:
(a)
Provide coordination and planning for the implementation and expansion of
family preservation services; and
(b)
Monitor and evaluate such services to determine whether the programs meet
measurable standards specified by this chapter and the department.
(2) In
carrying out the requirements of subsection (1)(a) of this section, the
department shall consult and coordinate with at least one qualified private,
nonprofit agency that has demonstrated expertise and experience in family
preservation services.
(3)
The department may provide family preservation services directly and shall,
within available funds, contract with private, nonprofit social service
agencies to provide services, provided that such agencies meet measurable
standards specified by this chapter and by the department.
(4)
The department shall not continue direct provision of family preservation
services unless it is demonstrated that provision of such services prevents
foster care placement in at least seventy percent of the cases served for a
period of at least six months following termination of services.
The
department shall not renew a contract with a service provider unless the
provider can demonstrate that provision of services prevents foster care
placement in at least seventy percent of the cases served for a period of at
least six months following termination of service.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 5. (1)
Family preservation services may be provided to children and their families
only when the department has determined that:
(a)
The child has been placed in foster care or is at actual, imminent risk of
foster care placement due to:
(i)
Child abuse or neglect;
(ii) A
serious threat of substantial harm to the child's health, safety, or welfare;
or
(iii)
Family conflict; and
(b)
There are no other available services that will prevent foster care placement
of the child or make it possible to immediately return the child home.
(2)
The department shall refer eligible families to family preservation services on
a twenty-four hour intake basis. The department need not refer otherwise
eligible families, and family preservation services need not be provided, if:
(a)
The services are not available in the community in which the family resides;
(b)
The services cannot be provided because the program is filled to capacity and
there are no current service openings;
(c)
The family refuses the services;
(d)
The department, or the agency that is supervising the foster care placement,
has developed a case plan that does not include reunification of the child and
family; or
(e)
The department or the contracted service provider determines that the safety of
a child, a family member, or persons providing the service would be unduly
threatened.
(3)
Nothing in this chapter shall prevent provision of family preservation services
to nonfamily members when the department or the service provider deems it
necessary or appropriate to do so in order to assist the family or child.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 6. (1)
The department shall, within available funds, conduct a family preservation
services study in at least one region within the state. In developing and
conducting the project, the department shall consult and coordinate with at
least one qualified private, nonprofit agency that has demonstrated expertise
and experience in family preservation services. The purpose of the study is
to:
(a)
Develop a valid and reliable process for accurately identifying clients who are
eligible for family preservation services;
(b)
Collect data on which to base projections of service needs, budget requests,
and long-range planning;
(c)
Develop regional and state-wide projections of service needs;
(d)
Develop a cost estimate for implementation and expansion of family preservation
services on a state-wide basis;
(e)
Develop a long-range plan and time frame for expanding the availability of
family preservation services and ultimately making such services available to
all eligible families on a state-wide basis; and
(f)
Collect data regarding the number of children in foster care, group care, and
institutional placements due to medical needs, mental health needs,
developmental disabilities, and juvenile offenses, and assess the feasibility
of expanding family preservation service eligibility to include all of these
children.
(2)
The department shall prepare a report to the legislature that addresses the
objectives set forth in subsection (1) of this section. The report shall
address the feasibility of expanding and implementing family preservation
services on a state-wide basis. The report is due January 1, 1993.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 7. For
the purpose of providing family preservation services to children who would
otherwise be removed from their homes, the department may:
(1)
Solicit and use any available federal or private resources, which may include
funds, in-kind resources, or volunteer services; and
(2)
Use any available state resources, which may include in-kind resources or
volunteer services.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 8. The
department's provision of family preservation services under section 4(3) of
this act is not intended to replace existing contracts with private nonprofit
social service agencies that provide family preservation services.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 9. After
July 1, 1993, the secretary of social and health services may transfer funds
appropriated for foster care services to purchase family preservation services
for children at imminent risk of foster care placement. The secretary shall
notify the appropriate committees of the senate and house of representatives of
any transfers under this section. The secretary shall include caseload,
expenditure, cost avoidance, identified improvements to the foster care system,
and outcome data related to the transfer in the notification.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 10. The
juvenile issues task force established under chapter 234, Laws of 1991, shall
review the advisability of transferring appropriated funds from foster care to
purchase family preservation services for children at imminent risk of foster
care placement and include findings and recommendations on the transfer of
funds to the appropriate committees of the senate and house of representatives
by December 15, 1992. The task force shall identify ways to improve the foster
care system and expand family preservation services with the savings generated
by avoiding the placement of children at imminent risk of foster care placement
through the provision of family preservation services.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 11. Any
federal funds made available under section 7 of this act shall be used to
supplement and shall not supplant state funds to carry out the purposes of this
chapter.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 12. Sections
1 through 11 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 74 RCW.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 13. 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.
