AN
ACT Relating to termination of the parent and child relationship; and
reenacting and amending RCW 13.34.130 and 13.34.180.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
13.34.130 and 1995 c 313 s 2, 1995 c 311 s 19, and 1995 c 53 s 1 are each
reenacted and amended to read as follows:
If,
after a fact-finding hearing pursuant to RCW 13.34.110, it has been proven by a
preponderance of the evidence that the child is dependent within the meaning of
RCW 13.34.030; after consideration of the predisposition report prepared
pursuant to RCW 13.34.110 and after a disposition hearing has been held
pursuant to RCW 13.34.110, the court shall enter an order of disposition pursuant
to this section.
(1)
The court shall order one of the following dispositions of the case:
(a)
Order a disposition other than removal of the child from his or her home, which
shall provide a program designed to alleviate the immediate danger to the child,
to mitigate or cure any damage the child has already suffered, and to aid the
parents so that the child will not be endangered in the future. In selecting a
program, the court should choose those services that least interfere with
family autonomy, provided that the services are adequate to protect the child.
(b)
Order that the child be removed from his or her home and ordered into the
custody, control, and care of a relative or the department of social and health
services or a licensed child placing agency for placement in a foster family
home or group care facility licensed pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW or in a home
not required to be licensed pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW. Unless there is
reasonable cause to believe that the safety or welfare of the child would be
jeopardized or that efforts to reunite the parent and child will be hindered,
such child shall be placed with a person who is related to the child as defined
in RCW 74.15.020(4)(a) and with whom the child has a relationship and is
comfortable, and who is willing and available to care for the child. Placement
of the child with a relative under this subsection shall be given preference by
the court. An order for out-of-home placement may be made only if the court
finds that reasonable efforts have been made to prevent or eliminate the need
for removal of the child from the child's home and to make it possible for the
child to return home, specifying the services that have been provided to the
child and the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian, and that preventive
services have been offered or provided and have failed to prevent the need for
out-of-home placement, unless the health, safety, and welfare of the child
cannot be protected adequately in the home, and that:
(i)
There is no parent or guardian available to care for such child;
(ii)
The parent, guardian, or legal custodian is not willing to take custody of the
child;
(iii)
The court finds, by clear, cogent, and convincing evidence, a manifest
danger exists that the child will suffer serious abuse or neglect if the child
is not removed from the home and an order under RCW 26.44.063 would not protect
the child from danger; or
(iv)
The extent of the child's disability is such that the parent, guardian, or
legal custodian is unable to provide the necessary care for the child and the
parent, guardian, or legal custodian has determined that the child would
benefit from placement outside of the home.
(2)
If the court has ordered a child removed from his or her home pursuant to
subsection (1)(b) of this section, the court may order that a petition seeking
termination of the parent and child relationship be filed if the court finds it
is recommended by the supervising agency, that it is in the best interests of
the child and that it is not reasonable to provide further services to reunify
the family because the existence of aggravated circumstances make it unlikely
that services will effectuate the return of the child to the child's parents in
the near future. In determining whether aggravated circumstances exist, the
court shall consider one or more of the following:
(a)
Conviction of the parent of rape of the child in the first, second, or third
degree as defined in RCW 9A.44.073, 9A.44.076, and 9A.44.079;
(b)
Conviction of the parent of criminal mistreatment of the child in the first or
second degree as defined in RCW 9A.42.020 and 9A.42.030;
(c)
Conviction of the parent of one of the following assault crimes, when the child
is the victim: Assault in the first or second degree as defined in RCW
9A.36.011 and 9A.36.021 or assault of a child in the first or second degree as
defined in RCW 9A.36.120 or 9A.36.130;
(d)
Conviction of the parent of murder, manslaughter, or homicide by abuse of the
child's other parent, sibling, or another child;
(e)
A finding by a court that a parent is a sexually violent predator as defined in
RCW 71.09.020;
(f)
Failure of the parent to complete available treatment ordered under this
chapter or the equivalent laws of another state, where such failure has
resulted in a prior termination of parental rights to another child and the
parent has failed to effect significant change in the interim.
(3)
Whenever a child is ordered removed from the child's home, the agency charged
with his or her care shall provide the court with:
(a)
A permanency plan of care that shall identify one of the following outcomes as
a primary goal and may identify additional outcomes as alternative goals:
Return of the child to the home of the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian;
adoption; guardianship; or long-term relative or foster care, until the child
is age eighteen, with a written agreement between the parties and the care
provider; and independent living, if appropriate and if the child is age
sixteen or older. Whenever a permanency plan identifies independent living as
a goal, the plan shall also specifically identify the services that will be
provided to assist the child to make a successful transition from foster care
to independent living. Before the court approves independent living as a
permanency plan of care, the court shall make a finding that the provision of
services to assist the child in making a transition from foster care to
independent living will allow the child to manage his or her financial affairs and
to manage his or her personal, social, educational, and nonfinancial affairs.
The department shall not discharge a child to an independent living situation
before the child is eighteen years of age unless the child becomes emancipated
pursuant to chapter 13.64 RCW.
(b)
Unless the court has ordered, pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, that
a termination petition be filed, a specific plan as to where the child will be
placed, what steps will be taken to return the child home, and what actions the
agency will take to maintain parent-child ties. All aspects of the plan shall
include the goal of achieving permanence for the child.
(i)
The agency plan shall specify what services the parents will be offered in
order to enable them to resume custody, what requirements the parents must meet
in order to resume custody, and a time limit for each service plan and parental
requirement.
(ii)
The agency shall be required to encourage the maximum parent-child contact
possible, including regular visitation and participation by the parents in the
care of the child while the child is in placement. Visitation may be limited
or denied only if the court determines that such limitation or denial is
necessary to protect the child's health, safety, or welfare.
(iii)
A child shall be placed as close to the child's home as possible, preferably in
the child's own neighborhood, unless the court finds that placement at a
greater distance is necessary to promote the child's or parents' well-being.
(iv)
The agency charged with supervising a child in placement shall provide all
reasonable services that are available within the agency, or within the
community, or those services which the department of social and health services
has existing contracts to purchase. It shall report to the court if it is
unable to provide such services.
(c)
If the court has ordered, pursuant to subsection (2) of this section, that a
termination petition be filed, a specific plan as to where the child will be
placed, what steps will be taken to achieve permanency for the child, services
to be offered or provided to the child, and, if visitation would be in the best
interests of the child, a recommendation to the court regarding visitation
between parent and child pending a fact-finding hearing on the termination petition.
The agency shall not be required to develop a plan of services for the parents
or provide services to the parents.
(4)
If there is insufficient information at the time of the disposition hearing
upon which to base a determination regarding the suitability of a proposed
placement with a relative, the child shall remain in foster care and the court
shall direct the supervising agency to conduct necessary background
investigations as provided in chapter 74.15 RCW and report the results of such
investigation to the court within thirty days. However, if such relative
appears otherwise suitable and competent to provide care and treatment, the
criminal history background check need not be completed before placement, but
as soon as possible after placement. Any placements with relatives, pursuant
to this section, shall be contingent upon cooperation by the relative with the
agency case plan and compliance with court orders related to the care and
supervision of the child including, but not limited to, court orders regarding
parent-child contacts and any other conditions imposed by the court.
Noncompliance with the case plan or court order shall be grounds for removal of
the child from the relative's home, subject to review by the court.
(5)
Except for children whose cases are reviewed by a citizen review board under
chapter 13.70 RCW, the status of all children found to be dependent shall be
reviewed by the court at least every six months from the beginning date of the
placement episode or the date dependency is established, whichever is first, at
a hearing in which it shall be determined whether court supervision should
continue. The review shall include findings regarding the agency and parental
completion of disposition plan requirements, and if necessary, revised
permanency time limits.
(a)
A child shall not be returned home at the review hearing unless the court finds
that a reason for removal as set forth in this section no longer exists. The
parents, guardian, or legal custodian shall report to the court the efforts
they have made to correct the conditions which led to removal. If a child is
returned, casework supervision shall continue for a period of six months, at
which time there shall be a hearing on the need for continued intervention.
(b)
If the child is not returned home, the court shall establish in writing:
(i)
Whether reasonable services have been provided to or offered to the parties to
facilitate reunion, specifying the services provided or offered;
(ii)
Whether the child has been placed in the least-restrictive setting appropriate
to the child's needs, including whether consideration and preference has been
given to placement with the child's relatives;
(iii)
Whether there is a continuing need for placement and whether the placement is
appropriate;
(iv)
Whether there has been compliance with the case plan by the child, the child's
parents, and the agency supervising the placement;
(v)
Whether progress has been made toward correcting the problems that necessitated
the child's placement in out-of-home care;
(vi)
Whether the parents have visited the child and any reasons why visitation has
not occurred or has been infrequent;
(vii)
Whether additional services are needed to facilitate the return of the child to
the child's parents; if so, the court shall order that reasonable services be
offered specifying such services; and
(viii)
The projected date by which the child will be returned home or other permanent
plan of care will be implemented.
(c)
The court at the review hearing may order that a petition seeking termination
of the parent and child relationship be filed.
Sec.
2. RCW
13.34.180 and 1993 c 412 s 2 and 1993 c 358 s 3 are each reenacted and amended
to read as follows:
A
petition seeking termination of a parent and child relationship may be filed in
juvenile court by any party to the dependency proceedings concerning that
child. Such petition shall conform to the requirements of RCW 13.34.040, shall
be served upon the parties as provided in RCW 13.34.070(8), and shall allege:
(1)
That the child has been found to be a dependent child under RCW 13.34.030(((2)))
(4); and
(2)
That the court has entered a dispositional order pursuant to RCW 13.34.130; and
(3)
That the child has been removed or will, at the time of the hearing, have been
removed from the custody of the parent for a period of at least six months
pursuant to a finding of dependency under RCW 13.34.030(((2))) (4);
and
(4)
That the services ordered under RCW 13.34.130 have been offered or provided and
all necessary services, reasonably available, capable of correcting the
parental deficiencies within the foreseeable future have been offered or
provided; and
(5)
That there is little likelihood that conditions will be remedied so that the
child can be returned to the parent in the near future. In determining whether
the conditions will be remedied the court may consider, but is not limited to,
the following factors:
(a)
Use of intoxicating or controlled substances so as to render the parent
incapable of providing proper care for the child for extended periods of time
and documented unwillingness of the parent to receive and complete treatment or
documented multiple failed treatment attempts; or
(b)
Psychological incapacity or mental deficiency of the parent that is so severe
and chronic as to render the parent incapable of providing proper care for the
child for extended periods of time, and documented unwillingness of the parent
to receive and complete treatment or documentation that there is no treatment
that can render the parent capable of providing proper care for the child in
the near future; and
(6)
That continuation of the parent and child relationship clearly diminishes the
child's prospects for early integration into a stable and permanent home; or
(7)
In lieu of the allegations in subsections (1) through (6) of this section, the
petition may allege that the child was found under such circumstances that the
whereabouts of the child's parent are unknown and no person has acknowledged
paternity or maternity and requested custody of the child within two months
after the child was found.
A
parent's failure to substantially improve parental deficiencies within twelve
months following entry of the dispositional order shall give rise to a
rebuttable presumption that there is little likelihood that conditions will be
remedied so that the child can be returned to the parent in the near future.
The presumption shall not arise unless the petitioner makes a showing that all
necessary services reasonably capable of correcting the parental deficiencies
within the foreseeable future have been offered or provided.
Notice
of rights shall be served upon the parent, guardian, or legal custodian with
the petition and shall be in substantially the following form:
"NOTICE
A petition for termination of parental rights has been
filed against you. You have important legal rights and you must take steps to
protect your interests. This petition could result in permanent loss of your
parental rights.
1. You have the right to a fact-finding hearing
before a judge.
2. You have the right to have a lawyer represent you
at the hearing. A lawyer can look at the files in your case, talk to the
department of social and health services and other agencies, tell you about the
law, help you understand your rights, and help you at hearings. If you cannot
afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one to represent you. To get a
court-appointed lawyer you must contact: (explain
local procedure) .
3. At the hearing, you have the right to speak on
your own behalf, to introduce evidence, to examine witnesses, and to receive a
decision based solely on the evidence presented to the judge.
You should be present at this hearing.
You may call (insert
agency) for more information about
your child. The agency's name and telephone number are (insert
name and telephone number) ."
