H-2338

AN ACT Relating to the creation of a unified family court; amending RCW 10.14.200, 13.04.021, 26.12.010, and 26.12.060; and creating new sections.

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, at-risk youth, child in need of services, truancy, domestic violence, and domestic relations. Also recognized is the increased complexity of the problems facing family members and the increased complexity of the laws affecting families. It is believed that in such situations, an efficient and effective response is through the 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 and social 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 family court pilot program.

(1) Pilot program sites shall be selected through a request for proposal process, and shall be established in a superior court judicial district with a statutorily authorized judicial complement of at least five judges.

(2) The administrator for the courts shall develop criteria for the unified family court pilot program. The pilot program shall include: (a) All case types under Title 13 RCW, chapters 26.09, 26.10, 26.12, 26.18, 26.19, 26.20, 26.26, 26.50, 26.27, and 28A.225 RCW;

(b) Unified family court judicial officers, who volunteer for the program, and meet training requirements established by local court rule;

(c) Case management practices that 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 family court; and

(e) An emphasis on providing nonadversarial methods of dispute resolution such as a settlement conference, evaluative mediation by attorney mediators, and facilitative mediation by nonattorney mediators.

(3) The office of the administrator for the courts shall publish and disseminate a state-approved listing of definitions of nonadversarial methods of dispute resolution so that court officials, practitioners, and users can choose the most appropriate process for the matter at hand.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The judges of the superior court judicial district with the unified family court pilot program 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:

(1) A requirement that all judicial officers hearing cases in unified family court:

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

(b) Subsequent to the training in (a) of this subsection, annually attend a minimum of eight hours of continuing education of pertinence to the unified family court;

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

(3) An emphasis on coordinating or consolidating, to the extent possible, all cases before the unified family court relating to a family;

(4) Programs that collect and report to the Washington state institute for public policy all information specified by the administrator for the courts or the institute for public policy; and

(5) Programs that provide for record confidentiality to protect the confidentiality of court records in accordance with the law. However law enforcement agencies shall 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 project for purposes of measuring improvements in the judicial system's response to family involvement in the judicial system. 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 by July 1, 2000, and the final report is due by December 1, 2004.

Sec. 5. RCW 10.14.200 and 1995 c 246 s 35 are each amended to read as follows:

Any order available under this chapter may be issued in actions under chapter 13.32A, 26.09, 26.10, or 26.26 RCW. An order available under this chapter that is issued under those chapters shall be fully enforceable and shall be enforced pursuant to the provisions of this chapter.

Sec. 6. RCW 13.04.021 and 1994 sp.s. c 7 s 538 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The juvenile court shall be a division of the superior court. In judicial districts having more than one judge of the superior court, the judges of such court shall annually assign one or more of their number to the juvenile court division. In any judicial district having a court commissioner, the court commissioner shall have the power, authority, and jurisdiction, concurrent with a juvenile court judge, to hear all cases under this chapter and to enter judgment and make orders with the same power, force, and effect as any judge of the juvenile court, subject to motion or demand by any party within ten days from the entry of the order or judgment by the court commissioner as provided in RCW 2.24.050. In any judicial district having a family law commissioner appointed pursuant to chapter 26.12 RCW, the family law commissioner shall have the power, authority, and jurisdiction, concurrent with a juvenile court judge, to hear cases ((~~under chapter 13.34 RCW or any other case~~)) under Title 13 RCW and chapter 28A.225 RCW as provided in RCW 26.12.010, and to enter judgment and make orders with the same power, force, and effect as any judge of the juvenile court, subject to motion or demand by any party within ten days from the entry of the order or judgment by the court commissioner as provided in RCW 2.24.050.

(2) Cases in the juvenile court shall be tried without a jury.

Sec. 7. RCW 26.12.010 and 1994 sp.s. c 7 s 537 are each amended to read as follows:

((~~(1)~~)) Each superior court shall exercise the jurisdiction conferred by this chapter and while sitting in the exercise of such jurisdiction shall be known and referred to as the "family court." A family ((~~law~~)) court proceeding under this chapter is: (1) Any proceeding under this title or any proceeding in which the family court is requested to adjudicate or enforce the rights of the parties or their children regarding the determination or modification of parenting plans, child custody, visitation, or support, or the distribution of property or obligations, or (2) concurrent with the juvenile court, any proceeding under Title 13 or chapter 28A.225 RCW.

(((2) Superior court judges of a county may by majority vote, grant to the family court the power, authority, and jurisdiction, concurrent with the juvenile court, to hear and decide cases under Title 13 RCW.))

Sec. 8. RCW 26.12.060 and 1993 c 289 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

The court commissioners shall: (1) Make appropriate referrals to county family court services program if the county has a family court services program or appoint a guardian ad litem pursuant to RCW 26.12.175; (2) order investigation and reporting of the facts upon which to base warrants, subpoenas, orders or directions in actions or proceedings under this chapter; (3) exercise all the powers and perform all the duties of court commissioners; (4) make written reports of all proceedings had which shall become a part of the record of the family court; (5) provide supervision over the exercise of its jurisdiction as the judge of the family court may order; (6) cause the orders and findings of the family court to be entered in the same manner as orders and findings are entered in cases in the superior court; (7) cause other reports to be made and records kept as will indicate the value and extent of reconciliation, mediation, investigation, and treatment services; and (8) conduct hearings under ((~~chapter 13.34 RCW~~)) Title 13 and chapter 28A.225 RCW, as provided in RCW 13.04.021.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 1999, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.