BILL REQ. #:  S-3916.1 

Read first time 01/28/14.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to child abuse investigations; amending RCW 26.44.020, 26.44.050, and 26.44.185; and adding a new section to chapter 7.68 RCW.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 26.44.020 and 2012 c 259 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Abuse or neglect" means sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or injury of a child by any person under circumstances which cause harm to the child's health, welfare, or safety, excluding conduct permitted under RCW 9A.16.100; or the negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child by a person responsible for or providing care to the child. An abused child is a child who has been subjected to child abuse or neglect as defined in this section.
     (2) "Child" or "children" means any person under the age of eighteen years of age.
     (3) "Child abuse medical assessment" means an assessment by or under the direction of a licensed physician or other licensed health care professional trained in the evaluation, diagnosis, and treatment of child abuse. "Child abuse medical assessment" includes the taking of a thorough medical history, a complete physical examination, and an interview for the purpose of making a medical diagnosis, determining whether or not the child has been abused, and identifying the appropriate treatment or referral for follow-up for the child.
     (4) "Child protective services" means those services provided by the department designed to protect children from child abuse and neglect and safeguard such children from future abuse and neglect, and conduct investigations of child abuse and neglect reports. Investigations may be conducted regardless of the location of the alleged abuse or neglect. Child protective services includes referral to services to ameliorate conditions that endanger the welfare of children, the coordination of necessary programs and services relevant to the prevention, intervention, and treatment of child abuse and neglect, and services to children to ensure that each child has a permanent home. In determining whether protective services should be provided, the department shall not decline to provide such services solely because of the child's unwillingness or developmental inability to describe the nature and severity of the abuse or neglect.
     (((4))) (5) "Child protective services section" means the child protective services section of the department.
     (((5))) (6) "Children's advocacy center" means a child-focused facility in good standing with the state chapter for children's advocacy centers and that coordinates a multidisciplinary process for the investigation, prosecution, and treatment of sexual and other types of child abuse. Children's advocacy centers provide a location for forensic interviews and coordinate access to services such as, but not limited to, medical evaluations, advocacy, therapy, and case review by multidisciplinary teams within the context of county protocols as defined in RCW 26.44.180 and 26.44.185.
     (((6))) (7) "Clergy" means any regularly licensed or ordained minister, priest, or rabbi of any church or religious denomination, whether acting in an individual capacity or as an employee or agent of any public or private organization or institution.
     (((7))) (8) "Court" means the superior court of the state of Washington, juvenile department.
     (((8))) (9) "Department" means the state department of social and health services.
     (((9))) (10) "Designated medical professional" means a physician, physician assistant, or nurse practitioner who has been trained to conduct child abuse medical assessments and who is regularly available to conduct child abuse medical assessments.
     (11) "Family assessment" means a comprehensive assessment of child safety, risk of subsequent child abuse or neglect, and family strengths and needs that is applied to a child abuse or neglect report. Family assessment does not include a determination as to whether child abuse or neglect occurred, but does determine the need for services to address the safety of the child and the risk of subsequent maltreatment.
     (((10))) (12) "Family assessment response" means a way of responding to certain reports of child abuse or neglect made under this chapter using a differential response approach to child protective services. The family assessment response shall focus on the safety of the child, the integrity and preservation of the family, and shall assess the status of the child and the family in terms of risk of abuse and neglect including the parent's or guardian's or other caretaker's capacity and willingness to protect the child and, if necessary, plan and arrange the provision of services to reduce the risk and otherwise support the family. No one is named as a perpetrator, and no investigative finding is entered in the record as a result of a family assessment.
     (((11))) (13) "Founded" means the determination following an investigation by the department that, based on available information, it is more likely than not that child abuse or neglect did occur.
     (((12))) (14) "Inconclusive" means the determination following an investigation by the department, prior to October 1, 2008, that based on available information a decision cannot be made that more likely than not, child abuse or neglect did or did not occur.
     (((13))) (15) "Institution" means a private or public hospital or any other facility providing medical diagnosis, treatment, or care.
     (((14))) (16) "Law enforcement agency" means the police department, the prosecuting attorney, the state patrol, the director of public safety, or the office of the sheriff.
     (((15))) (17) "Malice" or "maliciously" means an intent, wish, or design to intimidate, annoy, or injure another person. Such malice may be inferred from an act done in willful disregard of the rights of another, or an act wrongfully done without just cause or excuse, or an act or omission of duty betraying a willful disregard of social duty.
     (((16))) (18) "Negligent treatment or maltreatment" means an act or a failure to act, or the cumulative effects of a pattern of conduct, behavior, or inaction, that evidences a serious disregard of consequences of such magnitude as to constitute a clear and present danger to a child's health, welfare, or safety, including but not limited to conduct prohibited under RCW 9A.42.100. When considering whether a clear and present danger exists, evidence of a parent's substance abuse as a contributing factor to negligent treatment or maltreatment shall be given great weight. The fact that siblings share a bedroom is not, in and of itself, negligent treatment or maltreatment. Poverty, homelessness, or exposure to domestic violence as defined in RCW 26.50.010 that is perpetrated against someone other than the child does not constitute negligent treatment or maltreatment in and of itself.
     (((17))) (19) "Pharmacist" means any registered pharmacist under chapter 18.64 RCW, whether acting in an individual capacity or as an employee or agent of any public or private organization or institution.
     (((18))) (20) "Practitioner of the healing arts" or "practitioner" means a person licensed by this state to practice podiatric medicine and surgery, optometry, chiropractic, nursing, dentistry, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or medicine and surgery or to provide other health services. The term "practitioner" includes a duly accredited Christian Science practitioner. A person who is being furnished Christian Science treatment by a duly accredited Christian Science practitioner will not be considered, for that reason alone, a neglected person for the purposes of this chapter.
     (((19))) (21) "Professional school personnel" include, but are not limited to, teachers, counselors, administrators, child care facility personnel, and school nurses.
     (((20))) (22) "Psychologist" means any person licensed to practice psychology under chapter 18.83 RCW, whether acting in an individual capacity or as an employee or agent of any public or private organization or institution.
     (((21))) (23) "Screened-out report" means a report of alleged child abuse or neglect that the department has determined does not rise to the level of a credible report of abuse or neglect and is not referred for investigation.
     (((22))) (24) "Sexual exploitation" includes: (a) Allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution by any person; or (b) allowing, permitting, encouraging, or engaging in the obscene or pornographic photographing, filming, or depicting of a child by any person.
     (((23))) (25) "Sexually aggressive youth" means a child who is defined in RCW 74.13.075(1)(b) as being a sexually aggressive youth.
     (((24))) (26) "Social service counselor" means anyone engaged in a professional capacity during the regular course of employment in encouraging or promoting the health, welfare, support, or education of children, or providing social services to adults or families, including mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, and domestic violence programs, whether in an individual capacity, or as an employee or agent of any public or private organization or institution.
     (((25))) (27) "Supervising agency" means an agency licensed by the state under RCW 74.15.090 or an Indian tribe under RCW 74.15.190 that has entered into a performance-based contract with the department to provide child welfare services.
     (((26))) (28) "Suspicious physical injury" includes, but is not limited to, burns or scalds; extensive bruising or swelling on any part of the body; bruising, swelling, or abrasions on the head, neck, or face; fractures of any bone in a child under the age of three; multiple fractures in a child of any age; dislocations, soft tissue swelling, or moderate to severe cuts; loss of the ability to walk or move normally according to the child's developmental ability; unconsciousness or difficulty maintaining consciousness; multiple injuries of different types or different age of injuries; injuries causing serious or protracted disfigurement or loss of impairment of the function of any bodily organ; or any other injury that threatens the well-being of the child.
     (29) "Unfounded" means the determination following an investigation by the department that available information indicates that, more likely than not, child abuse or neglect did not occur, or that there is insufficient evidence for the department to determine whether the alleged child abuse did or did not occur.

Sec. 2   RCW 26.44.050 and 2012 c 259 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Except as provided in RCW 26.44.030(11), upon the receipt of a report concerning the possible occurrence of abuse or neglect, the law enforcement agency or the department of social and health services must investigate and provide the protective services section with a report in accordance with chapter 74.13 RCW, and where necessary to refer such report to the court.
     (2) A law enforcement officer may take, or cause to be taken, a child into custody without a court order if there is probable cause to believe that the child is abused or neglected and that the child would be injured or could not be taken into custody if it were necessary to first obtain a court order pursuant to RCW 13.34.050. ((The law enforcement agency or the department of social and health services investigating such a report is hereby authorized to photograph such a child for the purpose of providing documentary evidence of the physical condition of the child.))
     (a) The law enforcement agency or the department of social and health services investigating such a report must:
     (i) Immediately photograph or cause to be photographed any suspicious physical injuries for the purposes of preserving evidence of the child's condition at the time of the investigation; and
     (ii) Ensure that a designated medical professional conducts a child abuse medical assessment within forty-eight hours or as soon as practically possible.
     (b) The law enforcement agency or department must make a reasonable effort to locate a designated medical professional. If one is not available to conduct a child abuse medical assessment within forty-eight hours, the child must be evaluated by an available physician or nurse practitioner.
     (c) If the child is evaluated by a medical provider other than a designated medical professional, the evaluating medical provider must make photographs, clinical notes, diagnostic and testing results, and any other relevant materials available to the designated medical professional within seventy-two hours following evaluation of the child.
     (d) The requirement in (a) of this subsection applies each time a suspicious physical injury is observed by law enforcement personnel or the department:
     (i) During a new allegation of abuse; or
     (ii) If the injury was not previously observed by a person conducting an investigation under RCW 26.44.030(12); and
     (iii) Regardless of whether the child has been previously photographed or assessed during an investigation of an allegation of abuse.
     (3) Photographs of the anal or genital region may be taken only by medical personnel.
     (4) Nothing in this section prevents a person conducting a child abuse investigation from seeking immediate medical treatment from a hospital emergency room or other medical provider for a child who is physically injured or otherwise in need of immediate medical care.

Sec. 3   RCW 26.44.185 and 2010 c 176 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Each county shall revise and expand its existing child sexual abuse investigation protocol to address investigations of child fatality, child physical abuse, and criminal child neglect cases and to incorporate the statewide guidelines for first responders to child fatalities developed by the criminal justice training commission. The protocols shall address the coordination of child fatality, child physical abuse, and criminal child neglect investigations between the county and city prosecutor's offices, law enforcement, children's protective services, children's advocacy centers, where available, local advocacy groups, emergency medical services, and any other local agency involved in the investigation of such cases. The protocol revision and expansion shall be developed by the prosecuting attorney in collaboration with the agencies referenced in this section.
     (2) The prosecuting attorney of each county, in collaboration with the agencies referenced in this section, must identify at least one designated medical professional as defined in RCW 26.44.020 to conduct child abuse medical assessments. If, after reasonable effort, a designated medical professional cannot be identified, a written plan must be developed that outlines the necessary steps, recruitment, and training needed to make a designated medical professional available to the children of the county.
     (3) Revised and expanded protocols under this section shall be adopted and in place by July 1, 2008. Thereafter, the protocols shall be reviewed every two years to determine whether modifications are needed.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 7.68 RCW to read as follows:
     Pursuant to this chapter, the state shall pay any costs incurred by a hospital, child abuse clinic, or other emergency medical facility for a child abuse medical assessment of a child with a suspicious physical injury, when the assessment is performed for the purpose of gathering evidence for a suspected criminal investigation.