BP BHEAD INT S [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to the creation of a unified court-family; and adding a new chapter to Title 2 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes the increasing incidence of concurrent involvement of family members in multiple areas of the justice system. Analysis shows significant case overlap in the case types of juvenile offender, juvenile dependency, domestic violence, and domestic relations. It is believed that in such situations, an efficient and effective response is through creation of a unified court system centered around the family that: Provides a dedicated, trained, and informed judiciary; incorporates case management practices based on a family's judicial system needs; enables multiple case type resolution by one judicial officer or judicial team; provides coordinated legal services; and considers and evaluates the needs of the family as a whole.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The administrator for the courts shall conduct a unified court-family pilot program.

(1) Pilot program sites shall be selected through a request for proposal process and using the following criteria:

(a) Program sites shall be established in no fewer than three superior court judicial districts;

(b) Program sites shall only be located in superior court judicial districts with a statutorily authorized judicial complement of no fewer than five judges;

(d) At least one program site shall be located in a superior court judicial district where the judicial complement is fewer than the number of judges authorized by statute.

(2) The administrator for the courts shall develop criteria for the unified court-family pilot program that shall include, but not be limited to, the following criteria:

(a) At a minimum, unified court-family pilot programs shall include all case types under Title 13 RCW, chapters 26.12, 26.50, and 28A.225 RCW, and adult criminal cases of persons who have family members with matters before the unified court-family;

(b) Unified court-family judicial officers shall volunteer for the program, serve a minimum term of two years, and complete mandatory training requirements as established by local court rule;

(c) Case management practices shall provide a flexible response to the diverse court-related needs of families involved in multiple areas of the justice system. Case management practices should result in a reduction in process redundancies and an efficient use of time and resources, and create a system enabling multiple case type resolution by one judicial officer or judicial team;

(d) A court facilitator to provide assistance to parties with matters before the unified court-family; and

(e) An emphasis on providing nonadversarial methods of dispute resolution.

(3) The office of the administrator for the courts shall provide to the judicial districts selected for the pilot program the computer resources needed by each judicial district to implement the unified court-family pilot program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The judges of the superior court judicial districts with unified court-family pilot programs shall adopt local court rules directing the program. The local court rules shall comply with the criteria established by the administrator for the courts and shall include, but not be limited to, the following:

(1) All judicial officers hearing cases in unified court-family shall:

(a) Complete an initial mandatory training program including the topic areas of early childhood development, domestic violence, cultural sensitivity, child abuse and neglect, chemical dependency, and mental health;

(b) Annually attend a minimum of eight hours of continuing education of pertinence to the unified court-family, subsequent to the initial mandatory training; and

Time spent meeting the judicial training requirements of the unified court-family shall be considered in-service and not deducted from the judicial participant's other judicial education time allotments or vacation time;

(2) Case management based on the practice of one judge or judicial team to handle all matters relating to a family;

(3) To the extent possible, coordination and consolidation of all cases before the unified court-family relating to a family;

(4) Mandatory collection and reporting of information specified by the administrator for the courts to the Washington state institute for public policy; and

(5) Record confidentiality that protects the confidentiality of court records in accordance with the law but that ensures law enforcement agencies have access to the records to the extent permissible under the law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) The legislature finds that it is critical to evaluate the effectiveness of the pilot projects for purposes of measuring improvements in the judicial system's response to family involvement. To accomplish this evaluation, the Washington state institute for public policy shall conduct a study of the pilot program in accordance with guidelines and criteria established by the office of the administrator for the courts.

(2) The Washington institute for public policy shall report preliminary findings and final results of the study to the governor, the chief justice of the supreme court, and the legislature on a biennial basis. The initial report is due not later than July 1, 2000, and the final report is due not later than December 1, 2004.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Sections 1 through 4 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 2 RCW.