BILL REQ. #:  H-4088.1 

Read first time 01/19/2004.   Referred to Committee on Children & Family Services.

     AN ACT Relating to HIV status of children in foster care; 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 read as follows:
     The legislature finds that over three hundred sixty thousand individuals are living with AIDS in the United States, over four thousand six hundred of whom reside in Washington. Of those individuals, over forty-eight thousand are females from fifteen to forty-four years of age, three hundred seventeen of whom reside in Washington, and over two thousand five hundred are under thirteen years of age, nine of whom reside in Washington. Since 1985, the proportion of the cumulative total of AIDS cases reported among adult and adolescent women has more than tripled, totaling twenty-six percent, with an estimated ten thousand five hundred new cases diagnosed in women and adolescent girls each year. It is unknown how many individuals are living with HIV in Washington, since there is no requirement in the state for reporting of HIV infection. However, in the vast majority of areas of the United States in which reporting of HIV infection is required, the numbers of individuals living with HIV exceeds the numbers of individuals living with AIDS. Thus, the legislature recognizes that the total number of individuals in the state living with HIV or AIDS far outnumbers the known number of individuals in the state living with AIDS.
     The legislature finds that of those women who are living with HIV or AIDS, there is a one-in-four chance of transmitting that infection to a newborn child if the woman does not receive any preventive treatment. HIV infection can be definitively diagnosed in most infected infants by one month of age and in virtually all infected infants by six months of age. Diagnosis of HIV infection in newborn infants is particularly important since the youngest children infected with HIV are at greatest risk for rapid disease progression.
     The legislature further finds that the American academy of pediatrics has developed recommendations specifically relating to HIV exposure and infection of children in foster care in recognition of the fact that the biological parents of those children are more likely to have engaged in activities that would put them at an increased risk of HIV infection. The American academy of pediatrics recommends that all infants in foster care be tested for HIV antibody, if possible, when the HIV status of the biological mother is unknown. The American academy of pediatrics also recommends that all foster parents receive up-to-date education concerning HIV infection, and be informed of the HIV exposure or infection status of infants and children in their care.
     The legislature intends to establish a policy that corresponds to the recommendations of the American academy of pediatrics with the goal of ensuring that the health and well-being of both infants in foster care and the families providing for their care are protected.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW to read as follows:
     The department of social and health services shall ensure that the HIV status of each child under one year of age placed in out-of-home care is determined at the earliest practicable opportunity by the child's physician.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) Prior to any placement, the department of social and health services shall inform each out-of-home care provider of the HIV status, if known, of the child to be placed in that provider's care.
     (2) All out-of-home care providers licensed by the department shall receive training related to HIV, including prevention, transmission, infection control, treatment, testing, and confidentiality.
     (3) Any disclosure of information related to HIV must be in accordance with RCW 70.24.105.