BILL REQ. #:  H-4254.1 

Read first time 01/17/2006.   Referred to Committee on Juvenile Justice & Family Law.

     AN ACT Relating to at-risk youth proceedings; amending RCW 13.32A.030 and 13.32A.250; adding a new section to chapter 13.32A RCW; and prescribing penalties.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 13.32A.030 and 2000 c 123 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     As used in this chapter the following terms have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
     (1) "Abuse or neglect" means the injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, negligent treatment, or maltreatment of a child by any person under circumstances which indicate that the child's health, welfare, and safety is harmed, excluding conduct permitted under RCW 9A.16.100. An abused child is a child who has been subjected to child abuse or neglect as defined in this section.
     (2) "Administrator" means the individual who has the daily administrative responsibility of a crisis residential center, or his or her designee.
     (3) "At-risk youth" means a juvenile:
     (a) Who is absent from home for at least seventy-two consecutive hours without consent of his or her parent;
     (b) Who is beyond the control of his or her parent such that the child's behavior endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the child or any other person; or
     (c) Who has a possible substance abuse or mental health problem ((for which)) and there are no pending criminal charges related to the possible substance abuse or mental health problem.
     (4) "Child," "juvenile," and "youth" mean any unemancipated individual who is under the chronological age of eighteen years.
     (5) "Child in need of services" means a juvenile:
     (a) Who is beyond the control of his or her parent such that the child's behavior endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the child or other person;
     (b) Who has been reported to law enforcement as absent without consent for at least twenty-four consecutive hours on two or more separate occasions from the home of either parent, a crisis residential center, an out-of-home placement, or a court-ordered placement; and
     (i) Has exhibited a serious substance abuse problem; or
     (ii) Has exhibited behaviors that create a serious risk of harm to the health, safety, or welfare of the child or any other person; or
     (c)(i) Who is in need of: (A) Necessary services, including food, shelter, health care, clothing, or education; or (B) services designed to maintain or reunite the family;
     (ii) Who lacks access to, or has declined to utilize, these services; and
     (iii) Whose parents have evidenced continuing but unsuccessful efforts to maintain the family structure or are unable or unwilling to continue efforts to maintain the family structure.
     (6) "Child in need of services petition" means a petition filed in juvenile court by a parent, child, or the department seeking adjudication of placement of the child.
     (7) "Crisis residential center" means a secure or semi-secure facility established pursuant to chapter 74.13 RCW.
     (8) "Custodian" means the person or entity who has the legal right to the custody of the child.
     (9) "Department" means the department of social and health services.
     (10) "Extended family member" means an adult who is a grandparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, or first cousin with whom the child has a relationship and is comfortable, and who is willing and available to care for the child.
     (11) "Guardian" means that person or agency that (a) has been appointed as the guardian of a child in a legal proceeding other than a proceeding under chapter 13.34 RCW, and (b) has the right to legal custody of the child pursuant to such appointment. The term "guardian" does not include a "dependency guardian" appointed pursuant to a proceeding under chapter 13.34 RCW.
     (12) "Multidisciplinary team" means a group formed to provide assistance and support to a child who is an at-risk youth or a child in need of services and his or her parent. The team shall include the parent, a department case worker, a local government representative when authorized by the local government, and when appropriate, members from the mental health and substance abuse disciplines. The team may also include, but is not limited to, the following persons: Educators, law enforcement personnel, probation officers, employers, church persons, tribal members, therapists, medical personnel, social service providers, placement providers, and extended family members. The team members shall be volunteers who do not receive compensation while acting in a capacity as a team member, unless the member's employer chooses to provide compensation or the member is a state employee.
     (13) "Out-of-home placement" means a placement in a foster family home or group care facility licensed pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW or placement in a home, other than that of the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian, not required to be licensed pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW.
     (14) "Parent" means the parent or parents who have the legal right to custody of the child. "Parent" includes custodian or guardian.
     (15) "Secure facility" means a crisis residential center, or portion thereof, that has locking doors, locking windows, or a secured perimeter, designed and operated to prevent a child from leaving without permission of the facility staff.
     (16) "Semi-secure facility" means any facility, including but not limited to crisis residential centers or specialized foster family homes, operated in a manner to reasonably assure that youth placed there will not run away. Pursuant to rules established by the department, the facility administrator shall establish reasonable hours for residents to come and go from the facility such that no residents are free to come and go at all hours of the day and night. To prevent residents from taking unreasonable actions, the facility administrator, where appropriate, may condition a resident's leaving the facility upon the resident being accompanied by the administrator or the administrator's designee and the resident may be required to notify the administrator or the administrator's designee of any intent to leave, his or her intended destination, and the probable time of his or her return to the center.
     (17) "Staff secure facility" means a structured group care facility licensed under rules adopted by the department with a ratio of at least one adult staff member to every two children.
     (18) "Temporary out-of-home placement" means an out-of-home placement of not more than fourteen days ordered by the court at a fact-finding hearing on a child in need of services petition.

Sec. 2   RCW 13.32A.250 and 2000 c 162 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) In all child in need of services proceedings and at-risk youth proceedings, the court shall verbally notify the parents and the child of the possibility of a finding of contempt for failure to comply with the terms of a court order entered pursuant to this chapter. Except as otherwise provided in this section, the court shall treat the parents and the child equally for the purposes of applying contempt of court processes and penalties under this section.
     (2) Failure by a party to comply with an order entered under this chapter is a civil contempt of court as provided in RCW 7.21.030(2)(e), subject to the limitations of subsection (3) of this section.
     (3) The court may impose remedial sanctions including a fine of up to one hundred dollars and confinement for up to seven days, or both for contempt of court under this section. However, if the basis of the at-risk youth order is a finding that the child is at risk due to a possible substance abuse or mental health problem, the court may only impose confinement for up to two days as a sanction for the first contempt of court violation. If the child commits a further violation after having been confined for up to two days, the court may impose up to an additional seven days of confinement if the basis of the new contempt of court finding is that the youth committed the same violation as found by the court in the first contempt of court order. The court may not find a youth in contempt of court for failing to obtain an evaluation or services, if the evaluation or services were not available to the youth.
     (4) A child placed in confinement for contempt under this section shall be placed in confinement only in a secure juvenile detention facility operated by or pursuant to a contract with a county.
     (5) A motion for contempt may be made by a parent, a child, juvenile court personnel, or by any public agency, organization, or person having custody of the child under a court order adopted pursuant to this chapter.
     (6) Whenever the court finds probable cause to believe, based upon consideration of a motion for contempt and the information set forth in a supporting declaration, that a child has violated a placement order entered under this chapter, the court may issue an order directing law enforcement to pick up and take the child to detention. The order may be entered ex parte without prior notice to the child or other parties. Following the child's admission to detention, a detention review hearing must be held in accordance with RCW 13.32A.065.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 13.32A RCW to read as follows:
     The Washington state institute for public policy shall conduct a study of the juvenile court system to evaluate the use of confinement for youth who are found in contempt of court in nonoffender proceedings under RCW 13.32A.250 or 28A.225.090. The evaluation shall include information on:
     (1) How often youth are found in contempt;
     (2) What the violations are for when a youth is found in contempt;
     (3) What the underlying basis was for the petition;
     (4) How often confinement is ordered; and
     (5) What the rate is of subsequent compliance with the orders following a finding of contempt.