AN
ACT Relating to coordinated service and education planning for children in
out-of-home care; creating new sections; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE
LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 1. (1)
Within existing resources, the department of social and health services, in
cooperation with the office of the superintendent of public instruction, shall
convene a working group to prepare a plan for the legislature which addresses
educational stability and continuity for school-age children who enter into
short term foster care. The working group shall be comprised of
representatives from:
(a)
The children's administration of the department of social and health services;
(b)
The special education, transportation, and apportionment divisions of the
office of the superintendent of public instruction;
(c)
The Washington state institute for public policy;
(d)
School districts;
(e)
Organizations that regularly advocate for foster children;
(f)
Foster parents; and
(g)
Other individuals with related expertise as deemed appropriate by the working
group.
(2)(a)
The working group shall develop a plan for assuring that the best interests of
the child are a primary consideration in the school placement of a child in
short‑term foster care. The plan must:
(i)
Determine the current status of school placement for children placed in short‑term
foster care;
(ii)
Identify options and possible funding sources from existing resources which
could be made available to assure that children placed in short‑term
foster care are able to remain in the school where they were enrolled prior to
placement;
(iii)
Submit recommendations to the legislature by November 1, 2002, to assure the
best interest of the child receives primary consideration in school placement
decisions.
(b)
The plan shall be developed within existing resources.
NEW
SECTION. Sec. 2. (1)
The Nooksack Valley and Mount Vernon school districts shall implement a pilot
project within existing resources to assist school-age children in foster care
fewer than seventy-five days to continue attending the school where they were
enrolled before entering foster care. The pilot project shall be implemented
as provided in this section no later than April 30, 2002, and shall conclude
June 30, 2003. Data from the pilot project shall be compiled and submitted to
the working group established in section 1 of this act no later than July 30,
2002, and periodically thereafter.
(2)
For the purposes of the pilot project in the two school districts, the
department of social and health services and the school districts shall, as
appropriate, undertake the following activities:
(a)
A school-age child who enters foster care on or after April 30, 2002, shall,
unless it is determined to be not in the best interest of the child, continue
attending the school where she or he was enrolled before entering foster care,
notwithstanding the physical location of the child's principal abode. The best
interest of the child determination shall be made at the seventy-two hour
shelter care hearing, and reviewed at any subsequent shelter care hearing.
(b)
The department of social and health services, the school the child was
attending prior to entering foster care, and the school that serves the child's
foster home shall negotiate a plan for transporting the child to the school the
child was attending prior to entering foster care. The department of social
and health services shall not be responsible for the cost of transportation of
the children in the pilot project.
(c)
If the department of social and health services places a child in foster care,
and the child does not continue to attend the school the child was attending
prior to entering foster care, the department shall notify the school about the
change.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. This
act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or
safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions,
and takes effect immediately.
