BILL REQ. #:  H-4795.2 

READ FIRST TIME 01/29/08.   

     AN ACT Relating to creating a domestic violence pilot program to colocate a domestic violence advocate in a department of social and health services office; adding a new section to chapter 74.13 RCW; and providing an expiration date.

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:
     (1) By January 2009, the department of social and health services shall create a pilot program to place a full-time domestic violence advocate in a minimum of one office of the division of children and family services.
     (2) The purpose of the program is to provide domestic violence safety planning, advocacy, information, and support to adult victims of domestic violence who are receiving services from the division of children and family services offices, and to increase the capacity of division of children and family services workers to identify and respond effectively to domestic violence in their caseloads.
     (3) The goals of the program are to:
     (a) Increase the safety of children and adult victims of domestic violence who are involved with the department's child protective services division;
     (b) Increase the adult domestic violence victim's understanding of available domestic violence resources and supports;
     (c) Increase the adult domestic violence victim's and the domestic violence perpetrator's understanding of the effects of domestic violence on children;
     (d) Provide consultation and training to child protective services social workers so that they may increase their knowledge of domestic violence and practice skills for addressing domestic violence in their caseloads, and provide safe, effective responses for children and their families experiencing domestic violence;
     (e) Decrease the rate at which victims of domestic violence are referred back to the division of children and family services;
     (f) Decrease the number of children of domestic violence victims that are placed in protective custody;
     (g) Strengthen collaborations between department staff and community providers and resources; and
     (h) Conduct an evaluation of the program by comparing the outcomes of the program office to the outcomes of a comparison office that does not have the domestic violence advocate, and to develop a report of the findings and recommendations that may be used to replicate the program statewide.
     (4) The division of children and family services offices selected for the pilot program will convene a quarterly meeting of interested stakeholders to provide suggestions and technical assistance regarding implementation of the pilot program. Stakeholders may include, but are not limited to, a local domestic violence agency, public health, domestic violence perpetrator's treatment program, protection order programs, law enforcement, and others who are appropriate for the advisory group.
     (5) The department shall utilize a request for proposal process and shall select the pilot site by September 2008. The request for proposal shall require:
     (a) The community-based domestic violence agency to have experience providing domestic violence shelter or advocacy services under chapter 70.123 RCW, and experience working with families involved with child protective services or child welfare services.
     (b) The agency must be willing to commit to the following:
     (i) Involvement in the program for the duration of the program;
     (ii) Providing the employee who will be the domestic violence victim advocate located at the department office;
     (iii) Agree to supervise and support the advocate placed into the department office;
     (iv) Collaborate with the division of children and family services program supervisor at the program site; and
     (v) Participate in the evaluation of the pilot program.
     (c) The domestic violence advocate shall provide the following services while colocated at the department office:
     (i) Provide on-site education, consultation, and support to division of children and family services staff to meet the needs of the children and families involved in domestic violence situations on subjects including, but not limited to:
     (A) Identifying indicators of domestic violence;
     (B) Interviewing techniques that do not increase the risk of danger to the adult victim of domestic violence or the child;
     (C) Identifying protective behaviors that may reduce the risk of harm to the adult victim or the child;
     (D) Determining risks posed by an alleged domestic violence perpetrator to the adult victim or the child; and
     (E) How to refer victims to a domestic violence advocate;
     (ii) Provide advocacy services to facilitate linkage to appropriate community supports for families receiving services from division of children and family services offices;
     (iii) Participating in child protective services unit meetings, case reviews, or child protection team meetings, for families with identified domestic violence concerns; and
     (iv)(A) Provide general information to department workers regarding domestic violence issues such as battering tactics, resources, and safety planning development. It is not the role of the advocate to provide information or training to department workers on specialized areas of child welfare practice such as risk assessments.
     (B) Further, the domestic violence advocate shall not provide case consultation services to any family to whom they are providing direct advocacy. The domestic violence advocate may not provide direct advocacy services to any family on whose case they have provided consultation.
     (6)(a) The department shall select a pilot program site where one or more supervisors have:
     (i) Received formal training and experience working with families affected by domestic violence and child maltreatment; and
     (ii) Participated in best practices work groups for domestic violence issues; or
     (iii) Have served on one or more work groups to develop protocols or guidelines for coordinated responses by criminal justice and community-based nonprofit agencies to cases involving child maltreatment and domestic violence.
     (b) The supervisor's duties include the following:
     (i) Ensuring that the domestic violence advocate has the support necessary to implement advocate-specific portions of the program;
     (ii) Ensuring that children and family services social workers receive ongoing training regarding domestic violence;
     (iii) Convening case staffings which include the domestic violence advocate; and
     (iv) Providing consultation to the case workers regarding appropriate interventions for the adult victim, the child, and the alleged domestic violence perpetrator.
     (7) Provision of services by a domestic violence advocate under this section does not waive or diminish the confidential or privileged nature of communications between a victim of domestic violence and advocate pursuant to RCW 5.60.060, 70.123.075, or 70.123.076.
     (8) The Washington state institute for public policy shall evaluate the pilot program to determine the outcomes of the program.
     (a) Beginning in October 2008, the institute shall conduct a preprogram assessment. The preprogram assessment shall include a comparison of the program site to a division of children and family services office that does not contain a domestic violence advocate colocated at the site.
     (b) Following the preprogram assessment, the institute shall conduct an evaluation of the pilot program, which includes a comparison of the program and nonprogram sites to determine the following outcomes:
     (i) Changes to the rate of being referred back to child protective services intake for domestic violence related concerns; and
     (ii) Changes to the rate of children of adult domestic violence victims placed into protective custody in the program office compared to the comparison site at the end of the three-year pilot program period.
     (c) The evaluation shall include recommendations to the department for improving domestic violence responses in other division of children and family services community offices of Washington state.
     (d) The institute shall report the findings of the program to the appropriate committees of the legislature by December 1, 2011.
     (9) This section expires January 1, 2012.