BILL REQ. #:  S-1405.2 

READ FIRST TIME 02/12/09.   

     AN ACT Relating to a pilot program to increase family participation in juvenile offender programs; adding a new section to chapter 13.40 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The state has invested significantly in juvenile offender programs identified by the Washington state institute for public policy as having a positive cost-benefit ratio for taxpayers as the result of reductions in recidivism. Some of these programs demonstrate increased rates of success for juvenile offenders when his or her family appropriately participates in the needed programming. Parents may be more likely to participate if participation does not result in a financial burden. Therefore, it is the intent of the legislature to increase incentives for appropriate and successful participation in evidence-based juvenile offender programs in order to further reduce juvenile offender recidivism, reduce crime, and increase fiscal benefits to the state.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 13.40 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) To the extent that funds are specifically appropriated for this purpose, the department of social and health services juvenile rehabilitation services administration shall establish a pilot program to promote increased participation and success in juvenile offender evidence-based programs for juveniles under the jurisdiction of a county or the department, and their families.
     (2) The pilot program shall provide that a person who is a parent of a juvenile, legal guardian, or other person acting in that role for the purposes of the treatment program shall receive an incentive for consenting to and participating in good faith in a program recommended by the department as appropriate for participation by the child and the person, such as transportation support, child care costs, or a small monetary incentive in order to defray costs of participation in treatment. The incentive is intended to motivate program participation and performance, reinforce successful program completion, and mitigate the costs of participation. The structure, amount, and disbursement of incentives shall be determined by the department in consultation with the University of Washington school of medicine's department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences division of public behavioral health and justice and the evidence-based program model developers.
     (3) The department, after consulting with the University of Washington, shall select and contract with one or more counties to serve as pilot sites. To be eligible, a county must have imposed the sales and use tax authorized by RCW 82.14.460. In selecting the two pilot sites, the department shall endeavor to site one in an urban and one in a rural county. The participating juvenile offenders may include juvenile offenders residing in a county that has a pilot site, who are under the jurisdiction of either the county or state.
     (4) The department shall determine financial guidelines for participation in the pilot program and guidelines for administration of the pilot program in consultation with the University of Washington school of medicine's department of psychiatry and behavioral sciences division of public behavioral health and justice in development of the guidelines and policies.
     (5) The pilot program shall be limited to evidence-based programs identified by the Washington state institute for public policy in its October 2006 report: "Evidence-Based Public Policy Options to Reduce Future Prison Construction, Criminal Justice Costs and Crime Rates" which have been identified as having a positive benefit-cost ratio, such as functional family therapy, multisystemic therapy, family integrated transitions, and trauma-focused cognitive behavior therapy.
     (6) The pilot program shall be operational by March 1, 2010.
     (7) The department shall contract with the University of Washington to provide support and assistance in all phases of the pilot program, including initiating, implementing, training providers, providing quality assurance, and monitoring implementation.
     (8) The department, in cooperation with the University of Washington, shall evaluate the results of the pilot program, including whether there is any increase in juvenile or family participation in the programs identified in subsection (5) of this section, any increase in successful completion of services by the juvenile and his or her family or legal guardian or custodian, and any reduction in recidivism for a juvenile participating in the pilot program. The department and the University of Washington shall provide a preliminary report to the governor and the legislature on the results of the pilot program by December 1, 2011, and a final report by December 1, 2013.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   If any provision of this act or its application to any person or circumstance is held invalid, the remainder of the act or the application of the provision to other persons or circumstances is not affected.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2009, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   This act expires June 30, 2014.