BILL REQ. #:  H-1183.2 

Read first time 02/19/2003.   Referred to Committee on Juvenile Justice & Family Law.

     AN ACT Relating to third-party custody proceedings involving the Indian Child Welfare Act; amending RCW 13.04.030, 13.34.245, and 26.10.130; and adding a new section to chapter 26.10 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 13.04.030 and 2000 c 135 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in this section, the juvenile courts in this state shall have exclusive original jurisdiction over all proceedings:
     (a) Under the interstate compact on placement of children as provided in chapter 26.34 RCW;
     (b) Relating to children alleged or found to be dependent as provided in chapter 26.44 RCW and in RCW 13.34.030 through ((13.34.170)) 13.34.161;
     (c) Relating to the termination of a parent and child relationship as provided in RCW 13.34.180 through 13.34.210;
     (d) To approve or disapprove out-of-home placement as provided in RCW 13.32A.170;
     (e) Relating to juveniles alleged or found to have committed offenses, traffic or civil infractions, or violations as provided in RCW 13.40.020 through 13.40.230, unless:
     (i) The juvenile court transfers jurisdiction of a particular juvenile to adult criminal court pursuant to RCW 13.40.110;
     (ii) The statute of limitations applicable to adult prosecution for the offense, traffic or civil infraction, or violation has expired;
     (iii) The alleged offense or infraction is a traffic, fish, boating, or game offense, or traffic or civil infraction committed by a juvenile sixteen years of age or older and would, if committed by an adult, be tried or heard in a court of limited jurisdiction, in which instance the appropriate court of limited jurisdiction shall have jurisdiction over the alleged offense or infraction, and no guardian ad litem is required in any such proceeding due to the juvenile's age: PROVIDED, That if such an alleged offense or infraction and an alleged offense or infraction subject to juvenile court jurisdiction arise out of the same event or incident, the juvenile court may have jurisdiction of both matters: PROVIDED FURTHER, That the jurisdiction under this subsection does not constitute "transfer" or a "decline" for purposes of RCW 13.40.110(1) or (e)(i) of this subsection: PROVIDED FURTHER, That courts of limited jurisdiction which confine juveniles for an alleged offense or infraction may place juveniles in juvenile detention facilities under an agreement with the officials responsible for the administration of the juvenile detention facility in RCW 13.04.035 and 13.20.060;
     (iv) The alleged offense is a traffic or civil infraction, a violation of compulsory school attendance provisions under chapter 28A.225 RCW, or a misdemeanor, and a court of limited jurisdiction has assumed concurrent jurisdiction over those offenses as provided in RCW 13.04.0301; or
     (v) The juvenile is sixteen or seventeen years old and the alleged offense is:
     (A) A serious violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030;
     (B) A violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 and the juvenile has a criminal history consisting of: (I) One or more prior serious violent offenses; (II) two or more prior violent offenses; or (III) three or more of any combination of the following offenses: Any class A felony, any class B felony, vehicular assault, or manslaughter in the second degree, all of which must have been committed after the juvenile's thirteenth birthday and prosecuted separately;
     (C) Robbery in the first degree, rape of a child in the first degree, or drive-by shooting, committed on or after July 1, 1997;
     (D) Burglary in the first degree committed on or after July 1, 1997, and the juvenile has a criminal history consisting of one or more prior felony or misdemeanor offenses; or
     (E) Any violent offense as defined in RCW 9.94A.030 committed on or after July 1, 1997, and the juvenile is alleged to have been armed with a firearm.
     In such a case the adult criminal court shall have exclusive original jurisdiction.
     If the juvenile challenges the state's determination of the juvenile's criminal history under (e)(v) of this subsection, the state may establish the offender's criminal history by a preponderance of the evidence. If the criminal history consists of adjudications entered upon a plea of guilty, the state shall not bear a burden of establishing the knowing and voluntariness of the plea;
     (f) Under the interstate compact on juveniles as provided in chapter 13.24 RCW;
     (g) Relating to termination of a diversion agreement under RCW 13.40.080, including a proceeding in which the divertee has attained eighteen years of age;
     (h) Relating to court validation of a voluntary consent to an out-of-home placement under chapter 13.34 RCW, by the parent or Indian custodian of an Indian child, except if the parent or Indian custodian and child are residents of or domiciled within the boundaries of a federally recognized Indian reservation over which the tribe exercises exclusive jurisdiction;
     (i) Relating to petitions to compel disclosure of information filed by the department of social and health services pursuant to RCW 74.13.042; and
     (j) Relating to judicial determinations and permanency planning hearings involving developmentally disabled children who have been placed in out-of-home care pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement between the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian and the department of social and health services.
     (2) The family court shall have concurrent original jurisdiction with the juvenile court over all proceedings under this section if the superior court judges of a county authorize concurrent jurisdiction as provided in RCW 26.12.010.
     (3) The juvenile court shall have concurrent original jurisdiction with the family court over child custody proceedings under chapter 26.10 RCW:
     (a) As provided for in RCW 13.34.155; or
     (b) Where the court knows or has reason to know that a child who is the subject of a contested custody proceeding is an Indian child as defined in 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1903(4), except if the parent or Indian custodian and child are residents of or domiciled within the boundaries of a federally recognized Indian reservation over which the tribe exercises exclusive jurisdiction.
     (4) A juvenile subject to adult superior court jurisdiction under subsection (1)(e)(i) through (v) of this section, who is detained pending trial, may be detained in a detention facility as defined in RCW 13.40.020 pending sentencing or a dismissal.

Sec. 2   RCW 13.34.245 and 1997 c 386 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Where any parent or Indian custodian voluntarily consents to foster care placement of an Indian child and a petition for dependency has not been filed regarding the child, such consent shall not be valid unless executed in writing before the court and filed with the court. The consent shall be accompanied by the written certification of the court that the terms and consequences of the consent were fully explained in detail to the parent or Indian custodian during the court proceeding and were fully understood by the parent or Indian custodian. The court shall also certify in writing either that the parent or Indian custodian fully understood the explanation in English or that it was interpreted into a language that the parent or Indian custodian understood. Any consent given prior to, or within ten days after, the birth of the Indian child shall not be valid.
     (2) To obtain court validation of a voluntary consent to foster care placement, any person may file a petition for validation alleging that there is located or residing within the county an Indian child whose parent or Indian custodian wishes to voluntarily consent to foster care placement of the child and requesting that the court validate the consent as provided in this section. The petition shall contain the name, date of birth, and residence of the child, the names and residences of the consenting parent or Indian custodian, and the name and location of the Indian tribe in which the child is a member or eligible for membership. The petition shall state whether the placement preferences of 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1915 (b) or (c) will be followed. Reasonable attempts shall be made by the petitioner to ascertain and set forth in the petition the identity, location, and custodial status of any parent or Indian custodian who has not consented to foster care placement and why that parent or Indian custodian cannot assume custody of the child.
     (3) Upon filing of the petition for validation, the clerk of the court shall schedule the petition for a hearing on the court validation of the voluntary consent no later than forty-eight hours after the petition has been filed, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. Notification of time, date, location, and purpose of the validation hearing shall be provided as soon as possible to the consenting parent or Indian custodian, the department or other child-placing agency which is to assume responsibility for the child's placement and care pursuant to the consent to foster care placement, and the Indian tribe in which the child is enrolled or eligible for enrollment as a member. If the identity and location of any nonconsenting parent or Indian custodian is known, reasonable attempts shall be made to notify the parent or Indian custodian of the consent to placement and the validation hearing. Notification under this subsection may be given by the most expedient means, including, but not limited to, mail, personal service, telephone, and telegraph.
     (4) Any parent or Indian custodian may withdraw consent to a voluntary foster care placement, made under this section, at any time. Unless the Indian child has been taken in custody pursuant to RCW 13.34.050 or 26.44.050, placed in shelter care pursuant to RCW 13.34.060, or placed in foster care pursuant to RCW 13.34.130, the Indian child shall be returned to the parent or Indian custodian upon withdrawal of consent to foster care placement of the child.
     (5) Upon termination of the voluntary foster care placement and return of the child to the parent or Indian custodian, the department or other child-placing agency which had assumed responsibility for the child's placement and care pursuant to the consent to foster care placement shall file with the court written notification of the child's return and shall also send such notification to the Indian tribe in which the child is enrolled or eligible for enrollment as a member and to any other party to the validation proceeding including any noncustodial parent.
     (6) If an Indian child as defined in 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1903(4) is the subject of a contested nonparental custody proceeding pursuant to chapter 26.10 RCW that has been transferred to juvenile court and the department has determined that there is no basis to file a dependency petition, the department shall, subject to available resources, offer or provide reasonably available child welfare services with the goal of reunifying the child with the child's parent or parents. Such services shall be offered or provided for a period not to exceed fifteen months, during which the court shall determine if reunification is likely to occur in the near future or if entry of a permanent custody order is in the best interest of the child.
     (7) Nothing in this section may be construed to either limit the court's authority to order reunification services as otherwise provided for under this chapter or to create an entitlement to services or to create judicial authority to order the provision of services to any person or family if the services are unavailable or unsuitable, the child or family is not eligible for such services, or for any purpose other than that specified in subsection (6) of this section.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 26.10 RCW to read as follows:
     Every petition filed in proceedings under this chapter shall contain a statement alleging whether the Indian child welfare act, 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1901 et seq., applies to the proceeding. Every order or decree entered in any proceeding under this chapter shall contain a finding that the Indian child welfare act does or does not apply.

Sec. 4   RCW 26.10.130 and 1993 c 289 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In contested custody proceedings, and in other custody proceedings if a parent or the child's custodian so requests, the court may order an investigation and report concerning custodian arrangements for the child, or may appoint a guardian ad litem pursuant to RCW 26.12.175, or both. The investigation and report may be made by the guardian ad litem, the staff of the juvenile court, or other professional social service organization experienced in counseling children and families.
     (2) In preparing the report concerning a child, the investigator may consult any person who may have information about the child and potential custodian arrangements. Upon order of the court, the investigator may refer the child to professional personnel for diagnosis. The investigator may consult with and obtain information from medical, psychiatric, or other expert persons who have served the child in the past without obtaining the consent of the parent or the child's custodian; but the child's consent must be obtained if the child has reached the age of twelve, unless the court finds that the child lacks mental capacity to consent. If the requirements of subsection (3) of this section are fulfilled, the investigator's report may be received in evidence at the hearing.
     (3) The investigator shall mail the investigator's report to counsel and to any party not represented by counsel at least ten days prior to the hearing unless a shorter time is ordered by the court for good cause shown. The investigator shall make available to counsel and to any party not represented by counsel the investigator's file of underlying data and reports, complete texts of diagnostic reports made to the investigator pursuant to the provisions of subsection (2) of this section, and the names and addresses of all persons whom the investigator has consulted. Any party to the proceeding may call the investigator and any person whom the investigator has consulted for cross-examination. A party may not waive the right of cross-examination prior to the hearing.
     (4) If the court knows or has reason to believe that a child who is the subject of a custody proceeding filed under this chapter is an Indian child as defined in 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1903(4), the court may order the department of social and health services to review the case to determine whether the case is appropriate for a dependency petition under chapter 13.34 RCW.