SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 6407

This analysis was prepared by non-partisan legislative staff for the use of legislative members in their deliberations. This analysis is not a part of the legislation nor does it constitute a statement of legislative intent.

As Amended by House, March 1, 2018

Title: An act relating to private case management of child welfare services.

Brief Description: Concerning private case management of child welfare services.

Sponsors: Senator Darneille; by request of Department of Social and Health Services.

Committee Activity: Human Services & Corrections: 1/22/18, 1/24/18 [DP-WM].

Floor Activity:

Passed Senate: 2/12/18, 47-0.Passed House: 3/01/18, 97-0.

Brief Summary of Bill

Removes language and makes technical corrections related to the creation of private case management of child welfare services.

SENATE COMMITTEE ON HUMAN SERVICES & CORRECTIONS

Majority Report: Do pass and be referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

Signed by Senators Darneille, Chair; Dhingra, Vice Chair; O'Ban, Ranking Member; Carlyle, Frockt, Miloscia and Walsh.

Staff: Brandon Popovac (786-7465)

Background: In 2009, the Legislature enacted 2SHB 2106, which:

mandated the Children's Administration (CA) in the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to convert its current contracts for child welfare to performance-based contracts by January 1, 2011, and to decrease the total number of contracts used to purchase services;
required the establishment of two demonstration sites to compare the performance of new supervising agencies to the performance of CA; and
created the Child Welfare Transformation Design Committee (CWTDC).

One task given to the CWTDC was to select two demonstration sites, one each on the eastern and western sides of the state, in which to provide child welfare services by contract from supervising agencies with whom DSHS has entered into performance-based contracts. DSHS would be restricted as to what services it could directly provide within these demonstration site areas. The Washington State Institute for Public Policy (WSIPP) was instructed to evaluate the operation of the child welfare system within the demonstration sites to determine whether the measurable results achieved in the demonstration sites are different from the results achieved in areas of the state where child welfare services are offered by state workers.

The demonstration sites were originally designated to begin on July 1, 2012, with the WSIPP evaluation of their performance due on April 1, 2015. The commencement date for the demonstration sites has changed in law four times since 2009 to the current date of December 30, 2019. The current due date for the WSIPP demonstration site evaluation is April 1, 2023.

The activities of the CWTDC were suspended in law from July 28, 2013, to December 1, 2015, with the statute authorizing the CWTDC expiring on July 1, 2016.

Summary of Bill: Provisions relating to child welfare case management by private supervising agencies, the creation of the Child Welfare Transformation Design Committee, and the WSIPP evaluation study on the demonstration sites are eliminated.

Appropriation: None.

Fiscal Note: Available.

Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.

Effective Date: The bill contains several effective dates. Please refer to the bill.

Staff Summary of Public Testimony: PRO: The state implemented this goal of performance-based contracts for child welfare services in 2009, which has now undergone much delay. The current proposal is appropriate at this time to shift these services to the newly created Department of Children, Youth, and Families, and hope and plan for the process absent this radical approach. The elimination of the demonstration sites pilot project does not impact other legislation creating performance-based contracts, i.e. through network administrators. There is no need to keep delaying implementation of these demonstration sites any further. The policy behind 2SHB 2106 and some of its intended services are being implemented in other ways.

Persons Testifying: PRO: Senator Jeannie Darneille, Prime Sponsor; Laurie Lippold, Partners for Our Children; Connie Lambert-Eckel, Children's Administration, Department of Social and Health Services.

Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: No one.

EFFECT OF HOUSE AMENDMENT(S):

Declares a goal of the Legislature to expand the coverage area of network administrators to encompass the entire state.
Requires the Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) to issue a request for proposals for expanded network administrator coverage on the east side of the Cascade Mountains by September 30, 2018, and that expanded implementation in this region must begin by January 30, 2019, if a qualified organization responds.
Requires DCYF to submit a recommendation to the Oversight Board for Children, Youth, and Families (Oversight Board) and the appropriate legislative committees by September 1, 2020, regarding the time frame for expansion of network administrator coverage to additional regions of the state.
Removes the requirement that DCYF actively consult with department and child welfare system representatives, and other state agencies with relevant expertise and with philanthropic entities, in conducting the procurement of network administrators.
Removes the requirement that the director of the Office of Financial Management approve the network administrator request for proposal.
Requires each network administrator to manage the entire family support and related service array within the geographic boundaries of a given network.
Authorizes each network administrator to redistribute funding within the network based on provider performance and the need to address service gaps, if approved by DCYF.
Requires DCYF to share all relevant data with the network administrators and make all performance data available to the public.
Prohibits DCYF from requiring existing network administrators to reapply to provide network administrator services in the coverage area of the existing network administrator on the effective date of the act.
Requires DCYF to annually submit to the Oversight Board and the appropriate committees of the Legislature a report detailing the status of the network administrator procurement and implementation process.
Requires DCYF to consider the value of the existing data platform for child welfare services in determining the cost estimates for expanded network administrator implementation.