S-4049

AN ACT Relating to maintaining the residential parenting program at the women's correctional center; amending RCW 72.09.010, 72.09.015, and 72.09.450; adding new sections to chapter 72.09 RCW; and creating a new section.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that a child's early attachment to his or her parent influences physical and intellectual development, forms the foundation for psychological development, and becomes the prototype for subsequent interpersonal relationships. The legislature also finds that the late stages of gestation, birth, and first two years of life are critical in an infant's development of conscience, his or her ability to trust and relate to others, and establishes the foundation for key protective factors such as intelligence, trust, and empathy. The legislature finds that when these are depressed or when an infant is mistreated, it may lead to early aggression, impulsive temperament, and violent behavior which are the strongest developmental predictors of future involvement in violent behavior. The legislature finds persuasive research that strongly indicates that the best way to improve later developmental outcomes is to improve mother-child interaction and prevent early loss of primary relationships or breaks in caregiving.

The legislature also finds persuasive national statistics that demonstrate that incarcerated mothers who develop strong parenting skills and bond with their children are less likely to reoffend. Consequently, the legislature finds that the residential parenting program at the women's correctional center protects public safety and promotes outcomes that are socially and fiscally responsible by reducing recidivism and reducing the likelihood that a child of an incarcerated mother will become at-risk for committing criminal offenses as a juvenile or adult.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 72.09 RCW to read as follows:

The department shall maintain a residential parenting program at its major correctional institution for women to allow those inmates who meet eligibility requirements to keep their infants with them during their incarceration. The program shall provide an appropriate living situation for the infants, promote positive parenting skills, and facilitate transition services back into the community.

Sec. 3. RCW 72.09.010 and 1995 1st sp.s. c 19 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

It is the intent of the legislature to establish a comprehensive system of corrections for convicted law violators within the state of Washington to accomplish the following objectives.

(1) The system should ensure the public safety. The system should be designed and managed to provide the maximum feasible safety for the persons and property of the general public, the staff, and the inmates.

(2) The system should punish the offender for violating the laws of the state of Washington. This punishment should generally be limited to the denial of liberty of the offender.

(3) The system should positively impact offenders by stressing personal responsibility and accountability and by discouraging recidivism.

(4) The system should treat all offenders fairly and equitably without regard to race, religion, sex, national origin, residence, or social condition.

(5) The system, as much as possible, should reflect the values of the community including:

(a) Avoiding idleness. Idleness is not only wasteful but destructive to the individual and to the community.

(b) Adoption of the work ethic. It is the community expectation that all individuals should work and through their efforts benefit both themselves and the community.

(c) Maintaining, to the extent appropriate, any existing parent-child relationship with their children. The community expects parents to be responsible for their children and for their parenting decisions. Where the court and/or the department has not prohibited contact or terminated parental rights, and where the inmate's parental role will continue on release, incarceration should not provide an excuse to avoid this responsibility.

(d) Providing opportunities for self improvement. All individuals should have opportunities to grow and expand their skills and abilities so as to fulfill their role in the community.

((~~(d)~~)) (e) Linking the receipt or denial of privileges to responsible behavior and accomplishments. The individual who works to improve himself or herself and the community should be rewarded for these efforts. As a corollary, there should be no rewards for no effort.

((~~(e)~~)) (f) Sharing in the obligations of the community. All citizens, the public and inmates alike, have a personal and fiscal obligation in the corrections system. All communities must share in the responsibility of the corrections system.

(6) The system should provide for prudent management of resources. The avoidance of unnecessary or inefficient public expenditures on the part of offenders and the department is essential. Offenders must be accountable to the department, and the department to the public and the legislature. The human and fiscal resources of the community are limited. The management and use of these resources can be enhanced by wise investment, productive programs, the reduction of duplication and waste, and the joining together of all involved parties in a common endeavor. Since most offenders return to the community, it is wise for the state and the communities to make an investment in effective rehabilitation programs for offenders and the wise use of resources.

(7) The system should provide for restitution. Those who have damaged others, persons or property, have a responsibility to make restitution for these damages.

(8) The system should be accountable to the citizens of the state. In return, the individual citizens and local units of government must meet their responsibilities to make the corrections system effective.

(9) The system should meet those national standards which the state determines to be appropriate.

Sec. 4. RCW 72.09.015 and 1995 1st sp.s. c 19 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Base level of correctional services" means the minimum level of field services the department of corrections is required by statute to provide for the supervision and monitoring of offenders.

(2) "Contraband" means any object or communication the secretary determines shall not be allowed to be: (a) Brought into; (b) possessed while on the grounds of; or (c) sent from any institution under the control of the secretary.

(3) "County" means a county or combination of counties.

(4) "Department" means the department of corrections.

(5) "Earned early release" means earned ((~~early~~)) release as authorized by RCW 9.94A.728.

(6) "Extended family visit" means an authorized visit between an inmate and a member of his or her immediate family that occurs in a private visiting unit located at the correctional facility where the inmate is confined.

(7) "Good conduct" means compliance with department rules and policies.

(8) "Good performance" means successful completion of a program required by the department, including an education, work, or other program.

(9) "Immediate family" means the inmate's children, stepchildren, grandchildren, great grandchildren, parents, stepparents, grandparents, great grandparents, siblings, and a person legally married to an inmate. "Immediate family" does not include an inmate adopted by another inmate or the immediate family of the adopted or adopting inmate.

(10) "Indigent inmate," "indigent," and "indigency" mean an inmate who has less than a ten-dollar balance of disposable income in his or her institutional account on the day a request is made to utilize funds and during the thirty days previous to the request.

(11) "Inmate" means a person committed to the custody of the department, including but not limited to persons residing in a correctional institution or facility and persons released on furlough, work release, or community custody, and persons received from another state, state agency, county, or federal jurisdiction.

(12) "Privilege" means any goods or services, education or work programs, or earned early release days, the receipt of which are directly linked to an inmate's (a) good conduct; and (b) good performance. Privileges do not include any goods or services the department is required to provide under the state or federal Constitution or under state or federal law.

(13) "Residential parenting program" means a program for infants born of eligible inmates to develop a parent-child relationship with their inmate mothers through the mother's participation in a residential program that permits her to actively parent her child.

(14) "Secretary" means the secretary of corrections or his or her designee.

((~~(14)~~)) (15) "Superintendent" means the superintendent of a correctional facility under the jurisdiction of the Washington state department of corrections, or his or her designee.

((~~(15)~~)) (16) "Work programs" means all classes of correctional industries jobs authorized under RCW 72.09.100.

Sec. 5. RCW 72.09.450 and 1996 c 277 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An inmate shall not be denied access to services or supplies required by state or federal law solely on the basis of his or her inability to pay for them.

(2) An eligible inmate mother shall not be denied entrance into the residential parenting program on the basis of indigence.

(3) The department shall record all lawfully authorized assessments for services or supplies as a debt to the department. The department shall recoup the assessments when the inmate's institutional account exceeds the indigency standard, and may pursue other remedies to recoup the assessments after the period of incarceration.

((~~(3)~~)) (4) The department shall record as a debt any costs assessed by a court against an inmate plaintiff where the state is providing defense pursuant to chapter 4.92 RCW. The department shall recoup the debt when the inmate's institutional account exceeds the indigency standard and may pursue other remedies to recoup the debt after the period of incarceration.

((~~(4)~~)) (5) In order to maximize the cost-efficient collection of unpaid offender debt existing after the period of an offender's incarceration, the department is authorized to use the following nonexclusive options: (a) Use the collection services available through the department of general administration, or (b) notwithstanding any provision of chapter 41.06 RCW, contract with collection agencies for collection of the debts. The costs for general administration or collection agency services shall be paid by the debtor. Any contract with a collection agency shall only be awarded after competitive bidding. Factors the department shall consider in awarding a collection contract include but are not limited to a collection agency's history and reputation in the community; and the agency's access to a local data base that may increase the efficiency of its collections. The servicing of an unpaid obligation to the department does not constitute assignment of a debt, and no contract with a collection agency may remove the department's control over unpaid obligations owed to the department.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. A new section is added to chapter 72.09 RCW to read as follows:

Participation in the residential parenting program is not a right and decisions about admission to the program shall be made on a case-by-case basis.

(1) No inmate who is the subject of a no contact order which prohibits contact with minor children or has a documented history of sex offenses against children is eligible to participate.

(2) The department shall maintain published procedures including notice provisions for application and approval of the application.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. A new section is added to chapter 72.09 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The department shall maintain a separate financial account for infant participants in the residential parenting program. Funds deposited to the infant's account are not subject to the mandatory inmate deductions required by RCW 72.09.111.

(2) Infant participants are eligible for temporary assistance for needy families grants and women infants children funds for child-related expenses. The department shall hold these funds in the infant's account.

(3) Child support payments made for the support of the infant and not subject to an assignment pursuant to Title IV-D of the federal social security act shall be held in the infant's account.

(4) Funds in the infant's account may be used only for the infant's needs and expenses and equipment needed for proper infant care. Such funds may not be used to pay for maternal expenses and may not be applied to the mother's legal financial obligations.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.