BILL REQ. #:  S-2038.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/25/09.   

     AN ACT Relating to notification of the duties and responsibilities of the department of social and health services to dependent children; amending RCW 74.13.031; adding a new section to chapter 74.13 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 13.34 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 74.13.031 and 2008 c 267 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:
     The department shall have the duty to provide child welfare services and shall:
     (1) Develop, administer, supervise, and monitor a coordinated and comprehensive plan that establishes, aids, and strengthens services for the protection and care of runaway, dependent, or neglected children.
     (2) Within available resources, recruit an adequate number of prospective adoptive and foster homes, both regular and specialized, i.e. homes for children of ethnic minority, including Indian homes for Indian children, sibling groups, handicapped and emotionally disturbed, teens, pregnant and parenting teens, and annually report to the governor and the legislature concerning the department's success in: (a) Meeting the need for adoptive and foster home placements; (b) reducing the foster parent turnover rate; (c) completing home studies for legally free children; and (d) implementing and operating the passport program required by RCW 74.13.285. The report shall include a section entitled "Foster Home Turn-Over, Causes and Recommendations."
     (3) Investigate complaints of any recent act or failure to act on the part of a parent or caretaker that results in death, serious physical or emotional harm, or sexual abuse or exploitation, or that presents an imminent risk of serious harm, and on the basis of the findings of such investigation, offer child welfare services in relation to the problem to such parents, legal custodians, or persons serving in loco parentis, and/or bring the situation to the attention of an appropriate court, or another community agency. An investigation is not required of nonaccidental injuries which are clearly not the result of a lack of care or supervision by the child's parents, legal custodians, or persons serving in loco parentis. If the investigation reveals that a crime against a child may have been committed, the department shall notify the appropriate law enforcement agency.
     (4) Offer, on a voluntary basis, family reconciliation services to families who are in conflict.
     (5) Monitor placements of children in out-of-home care and in-home dependencies to assure the safety, well-being, and quality of care being provided is within the scope of the intent of the legislature as defined in RCW 74.13.010 and 74.15.010. The policy for monitoring placements under this section shall require that children in out-of-home care and in-home dependencies and their caregivers receive a private and individual face-to-face visit each month.
     (a) The department shall conduct the monthly visits with children and caregivers required under this section unless the child's placement is being supervised under a contract between the department and a private agency accredited by a national child welfare accrediting entity, in which case the private agency shall, within existing resources, conduct the monthly visits with the child and with the child's caregiver according to the standards described in this subsection and shall provide the department with a written report of the visits within fifteen days of completing the visits.
     (b) In cases where the monthly visits required under this subsection are being conducted by a private agency, the department shall conduct a face-to-face health and safety visit with the child at least once every ninety days.
     (6) Have authority to accept custody of children from parents and to accept custody of children from juvenile courts, where authorized to do so under law, to provide child welfare services including placement for adoption, to provide for the routine and necessary medical, dental, and mental health care, or necessary emergency care of the children, and to provide for the physical care of such children and make payment of maintenance costs if needed. Except where required by Public Law 95-608 (25 U.S.C. Sec. 1915), no private adoption agency which receives children for adoption from the department shall discriminate on the basis of race, creed, or color when considering applications in their placement for adoption.
     (7) Have authority to provide temporary shelter to children who have run away from home and who are admitted to crisis residential centers.
     (8) Have authority to purchase care for children; and shall follow in general the policy of using properly approved private agency services for the actual care and supervision of such children insofar as they are available, paying for care of such children as are accepted by the department as eligible for support at reasonable rates established by the department.
     (9) Establish a children's services advisory committee which shall assist the secretary in the development of a partnership plan for utilizing resources of the public and private sectors, and advise on all matters pertaining to child welfare, licensing of child care agencies, adoption, and services related thereto. At least one member shall represent the adoption community.
     (10)(a) Have authority to provide continued foster care or group care as needed to participate in or complete a high school or vocational school program.
     (b)(i) Beginning in 2006, the department has the authority to allow up to fifty youth reaching age eighteen to continue in foster care or group care as needed to participate in or complete a posthigh school academic or vocational program, and to receive necessary support and transition services.
     (ii) In 2007 and 2008, the department has the authority to allow up to fifty additional youth per year reaching age eighteen to remain in foster care or group care as provided in (b)(i) of this subsection.
     (iii) A youth who remains eligible for such placement and services pursuant to department rules may continue in foster care or group care until the youth reaches his or her twenty-first birthday. Eligibility requirements shall include active enrollment in a posthigh school academic or vocational program and maintenance of a 2.0 grade point average.
     (11) Refer cases to the division of child support whenever state or federal funds are expended for the care and maintenance of a child, including a child with a developmental disability who is placed as a result of an action under chapter 13.34 RCW, unless the department finds that there is good cause not to pursue collection of child support against the parent or parents of the child. Cases involving individuals age eighteen through twenty shall not be referred to the division of child support unless required by federal law.
     (12) Have authority within funds appropriated for foster care services to purchase care for Indian children who are in the custody of a federally recognized Indian tribe or tribally licensed child-placing agency pursuant to parental consent, tribal court order, or state juvenile court order; and the purchase of such care shall be subject to the same eligibility standards and rates of support applicable to other children for whom the department purchases care.
     Notwithstanding any other provision of RCW 13.32A.170 through 13.32A.200 and 74.13.032 through 74.13.036, or of this section all services to be provided by the department of social and health services under subsections (4), (6), and (7) of this section, subject to the limitations of these subsections, may be provided by any program offering such services funded pursuant to Titles II and III of the federal juvenile justice and delinquency prevention act of 1974.
     (13) Within amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, provide preventive services to families with children that prevent or shorten the duration of an out-of-home placement.
     (14) Have authority to provide independent living services to youths, including individuals who have attained eighteen years of age, and have not attained twenty-one years of age who are or have been in foster care.
     (15) Consult at least quarterly with foster parents, including members of the foster parent association of Washington state, for the purpose of receiving information and comment regarding how the department is performing the duties and meeting the obligations specified in this section and RCW 74.13.250 and 74.13.320 regarding the recruitment of foster homes, reducing foster parent turnover rates, providing effective training for foster parents, and administering a coordinated and comprehensive plan that strengthens services for the protection of children. Consultation shall occur at the regional and statewide levels.
     (16)(a) Within current funding levels, place on the public web site maintained by the department a document listing the duties and responsibilities the department has to a child subject to a dependency petition including, but not limited to, the following:
     (i) Reasonable efforts, including the provision of services, toward reunification of the child with his or her family;
     (ii) Sibling visits subject to the restrictions in RCW 13.34.136(2)(b)(ii);
     (iii) Parent-child visits;
     (iv) Statutory preference for placement with a relative, if appropriate; and
     (v) Statutory preference that an out-of-home placement be found that would allow the child to remain in the same school district, if practical.
     (b) The document must be prepared in conjunction with a community-based organization and must be updated as needed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW to read as follows:
     Once a dependency is established under chapter 13.34 RCW, the social worker assigned to the case shall provide the dependent child with a document containing the information contained in RCW 74.13.031(16). The social worker shall also explain the content of the document to the child and direct the child to the department's web site for further information. The social worker shall document, in the electronic data system, that this requirement was met.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 13.34 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) At a disposition, review, or any other hearing that occurs after a dependency is established under this chapter, the court shall ensure that a dependent child over the age of twelve, who is otherwise present in the courtroom, is aware of and understands the duties and responsibilities the department has to a child subject to a dependency including, but not limited to, the following:
     (a) Reasonable efforts, including the provision of services, toward reunification of the child with his or her family;
     (b) Sibling visits subject to the restrictions in RCW 13.34.136(2)(b)(ii);
     (c) Parent-child visits;
     (d) Statutory preference for placement with a relative, if appropriate; and
     (e) Statutory preference that an out-of-home placement be found that would allow the child to remain in the same school district, if practical.
     (2) If the dependent child is already represented by counsel, the court need not comply with subsection (1) of this section.