H-0796.2  _______________________________________________

                          HOUSE BILL 1397

          _______________________________________________

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By Representatives Tokuda, Boldt, Kagi, Benson, Kenney, Cody, Schual‑Berke and Santos

Read first time 01/25/2001.  Referred to Committee on Children & Family Services.

Creating the relative caregiver program.

    AN ACT Relating to children placed in the care of relatives; adding a new section to chapter 74.13 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  It is the intent of the legislature in enacting this act to:

    (1) Recognize family relationships in which a relative is the head of a household that includes a child otherwise at risk of foster care placement;

    (2) Enhance family preservation and stability by recognizing that most children in such placements with relatives do not need intensive supervision of the placement by the courts or by the department of social and health services;

    (3) Recognize that permanency in the best interests of the child can be achieved through a variety of permanency options, including long‑term relative custody, guardianship, or adoption, by providing additional placement options and incentives that will achieve permanency and stability for many children who are otherwise at risk of foster care placement because of abuse, abandonment, or neglect, but who may successfully be able to be placed in the care of relatives.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW to read as follows:

    The department shall adopt rules to establish and operate the relative caregiver program.  The program shall include, but is not limited to, the following elements:

    (1) Relatives who qualify for and participate in the relative caregiver program are not required to meet foster care licensing requirements.

    (2) Relatives who are caring for children shall receive a special monthly relative caregiver benefit, which shall be in the amount of at least one hundred dollars per child per month.  This benefit shall not be available to relatives for the first child placed; the benefit shall be available only for the second child and each subsequent child placed with the relative.  The relative caregiver benefit is not intended to supplant any other grant or benefit for which relatives or the children in their care are currently eligible.

    (3) Within available funding, the relative caregiver program shall provide relative caregivers with a range of support services designed to assist relatives in parenting the children placed in their care.

    (4) Children living with relative caregivers who are receiving assistance under this section shall be eligible for medicaid coverage.

    (5) The department may use appropriate available state, federal, and private funds to operate the relative caregiver program.

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