READ FIRST TIME 02/21/11.   

     AN ACT Relating to the accountability of mental health professionals employed by an evaluation and treatment facility for communicating with a parent or guardian about the option of parent-initiated mental health treatment; amending RCW 71.34.375, 70.41.130, and 71.12.590; and adding new sections to chapter 71.34 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 71.34.375 and 2003 c 107 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) ((The)) If a parent or guardian, for the purpose of mental health treatment or evaluation, brings his or her minor child to an evaluation and treatment facility, a hospital emergency room, an inpatient facility licensed under chapter 72.23 RCW, or an inpatient facility licensed under chapter 70.41 or 71.12 RCW operating inpatient psychiatric beds for minors, the facility is required to promptly provide written and verbal notice of all statutorily available treatment options contained in this chapter ((to every parent or guardian of a minor child when the parent or guardian seeks to have his or her minor child treated at an evaluation and treatment facility)). The notice need not be given more than once if written and verbal notice has already been provided and documented by the facility.
     (2) The provision of notice must be documented by the facilities required to give notice under subsection (1) of this section and must be accompanied by a signed acknowledgment of receipt by the parent or guardian. The notice must contain the following information:
     (a) All current statutorily available treatment options including but not limited to those provided in this chapter; and
     (b) The procedures to be followed to utilize the treatment options described in this chapter.
     (3) The department shall produce, and make available, the written notification that must include, at a minimum, the information contained in subsection (2) of this section. The department must revise the written notification as necessary to reflect changes in the law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 71.34 RCW to read as follows:
     An evaluation and treatment facility that fails to comply with the requirement to provide verbal and written notice to a parent or guardian of a child under RCW 71.34.375 is subject to a civil penalty of one thousand dollars for each failure to provide adequate notice, unless the evaluation and treatment facility is a hospital licensed under chapter 70.41 RCW or a psychiatric hospital licensed under chapter 71.12 RCW in which case the department of health may enforce the notice requirements using its existing enforcement authority provided in chapters 70.41 and 71.12 RCW.

Sec. 3   RCW 70.41.130 and 1991 c 3 s 335 are each amended to read as follows:
     The department is authorized to deny, suspend, revoke, or modify a license or provisional license in any case in which it finds that there has been a failure or refusal to comply with the requirements of this chapter or the standards or rules adopted under this chapter or the requirements of RCW 71.34.375. RCW 43.70.115 governs notice of a license denial, revocation, suspension, or modification and provides the right to an adjudicative proceeding.

Sec. 4   RCW 71.12.590 and 1983 c 3 s 180 are each amended to read as follows:
     Failure to comply with any of the provisions of RCW 71.12.550 through 71.12.570 or the requirements of RCW 71.34.375 shall constitute grounds for revocation of license: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That nothing in this chapter or the rules and regulations adopted pursuant thereto shall be construed as authorizing the supervision, regulation, or control of the remedial care or treatment of residents or patients in any establishment, as defined in this chapter conducted in accordance with the practice and principles of the body known as Church of Christ, Scientist.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   A new section is added to chapter 71.34 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) By December 1, 2011, facilities licensed under chapter 70.41, 71.12, or 72.23 RCW are required to adopt policies and protocols regarding the notice requirements described in RCW 71.34.375; and
     (2) By December 1, 2012, the department, in collaboration with the department of health, shall provide a detailed report to the legislature regarding the facilities' compliance with RCW 71.34.375 and subsection (1) of this section.