CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT

               SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1249

                        57th Legislature

                2001 Regular Legislative Session

Passed by the House April 20, 2001   Yeas 90   Nays 0 Speaker of the House of Representatives Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 19, 2001   Yeas 46   Nays 0	CERTIFICATE We, Timothy A. Martin and Cynthia Zehnder, Co-Chief Clerks of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1249  as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth.                           Chief Clerk                           Chief Clerk
President of the Senate

Approved Place Style On Codes above, and Style Off Codes below.	FILED
Governor of the State of Washington	Secretary of State                   State of Washington

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                 SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1249

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                     AS AMENDED BY THE SENATE

             Passed Legislature - 2001 Regular Session

State of Washington      57th Legislature     2001 Regular Session

By House Committee on Appropriations (originally sponsored by Representatives Kagi, Boldt, Ballasiotes, Tokuda, Dickerson, Gombosky, Darneille, Morell, Anderson, Schual‑Berke, Esser, McIntire, Doumit, Kenney, Clements, Edwards, Fromhold, Miloscia, Barlean, Talcott, Ruderman, Conway, Kessler, Ogden, Lovick, D. Schmidt, O'Brien, Edmonds, Wood and Haigh)

Read first time .  Referred to Committee on .

Regarding the quality of foster care services. 

    AN ACT Relating to the quality of foster care services; and adding new sections to chapter 74.13 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW, to be codified after RCW 74.13.010, to read as follows:

    The legislature finds that accreditation of children's services by an independent entity can significantly improve the quality of services provided to children and families.  Accreditation involves an ongoing commitment to meeting nationally recognized standards of practice in child welfare and holds organizations accountable for achieving improved outcomes for children.

    Accreditation is a structured process designed to facilitate organizational change and improvement within individual local offices.  Standards require improved case management, documentation, internal case management practices, and accountability.  Accreditation requires the establishment of clear communication with biological parents, foster and adoptive parents, providers, the courts, and members of the community.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW, to be codified after section 1 of this act, to read as follows:

    The department shall undertake the process of accreditation with the goal of completion by July 2006.  The department, in conjunction with a national independent accreditation entity, shall report to the appropriate legislative committees its progress towards complete accreditation on an annual basis, starting December 2001.

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