AN ACT Relating to child abuse and neglect; adding a new chapter to Title 26 RCW; making appropriations; providing an effective date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature is concerned with the increasing number of reported cases of child abuse and neglect. Recent fatalities caused directly by severe child abuse have given rise to a concern that child protective services as currently functioning may not be able to ensure the maintenance of conditions of minimal nurturance, health, and safety of the children of the state of Washington. The legislature feels that the protection and positive development of our children is paramount to the successful functioning and future of a civilized society. It is the intent of the legislature that this goal be supported by a comprehensive state-wide child protective services continuum of care.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. The department shall strive to attain caseload standards of twenty-five ongoing cases and eight new cases assigned per month. In order to meet this goal, the department shall hire adequate caseworker and support staff. A period of four years is allowed to implement this goal. The department may utilize clerical and electronic/computer support to the maximum extent feasible. To assist in this process, a study shall be made of child protective services procedures and required paperwork to minimize the time expended away from provision of direct services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The department shall implement the risk assessment tool developed internally on a state-wide basis on the effective date of this section. The risk assessment tool shall be monitored, evaluated, and updated annually in order to reflect the most current research in the field and the results of utilization. This process shall continue for a period of four years from the effective date of this section. The staff who perform the function of screening cases shall have been working as a caseworker for more than one year, and have completed successfully all required training. The department shall develop minimum standards of training and report upon those standards to the appropriate committees. Those cases that are screened out as not being appropriate for departmental services shall have priority in referral to community services. Use of the risk assessment tool is integrally linked to sufficient community services, including, but not limited to, early childhood education, visiting public health nurses, parenting education, prenatal care, respite day care, cooperative day care, homemaker's services, parent aid, family reconciliation services, and peer support groups. A minimum of one slot per day care center may be reserved for low risk children screened out by the department. The department shall encourage community involvement in serving those persons screened out by use of the risk assessment tool, as well as the utilization of existing community resources.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Caseworkers shall meet minimum standards to be hired or transferred in. Comprehensive training for caseworkers shall be completed before such caseworkers may perform their tasks without supervision. Training shall be completed within one year of hiring or transfer in. Competency tests on the training material shall be required. A caseworker who does not pass the competency tests and display continuing competence shall be transferred out of child protective services. The department shall develop minimum standards and training levels and report their results to the appropriate committees. The department shall be exempt from hiring freezes in the hiring of child protective services staff. This section shall be implemented within one year of the effective date of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Training in basic family life, recognizing and treating child abuse and neglect, and the child abuser profile, is mandated for judges serving on the juvenile court bench, prosecutorial staff, and public defenders assigned to handle cases in juvenile court, and law enforcement agencies and personnel involved in handling child abuse and neglect cases. This training shall be accomplished whenever possible before serving in a position involving cases of child abuse and neglect, and consist, at a minimum, of sixteen hours. Within one year of the effective date of this section, training shall have been completed for the above named groups. Training shall be provided on an ongoing basis after that time.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Therapeutic day care is mandated in each state region of the division of children and family services. The department shall develop minimal standards for quality of care before additional contracts are let. Provisions for exceptions to the rule of twenty-four months of care maximum are to be established to allow extended care for certain children based upon recommendations of the caseworker and day care provider.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The department shall provide and fund foster parent training as an ongoing part of the foster care program. The department shall contract for a variety of support services to foster parents to reduce isolation and stress, and to increase skills and confidence. This shall include, but not be limited to, respite care to enable foster parents to attend training and conferences, a twenty-four hour toll free telephone hot-line for problem solving, foster parent support groups led by paid peer trainees as a follow-up to the training, and technical assistance for the foster parent association of Washington state for such matters as grant writing, budget management, organizational efforts, bookkeeping, networking, planning, and child care.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Counseling services shall be made available to children who have suffered from child abuse and neglect, including sexual abuse. This service shall be made available regardless of whether the child is in the home or placed in out-of-home care.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The department shall establish and maintain one or more multidisciplinary teams in each state region of the division of children and family services. The team shall consist of at least four persons, selected by the department, from professions which provide services to abused and neglected children and/or the parents of such children. The community multidisciplinary team must meet for the purpose of assisting agencies responsible for the provision of child protective services in the identification, treatment, and prevention of child abuse and neglect. The teams shall be available for consultation on all cases where a risk exists of serious harm to the child, cases where there is dispute over whether out-of-home placement is appropriate, and for any cases that the caseworker feels consultation with the team would be of assistance.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. Sections 1 through 9 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 26 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. The sum of fifty thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the purpose of the study in section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. There is appropriated from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, the sum of fifteen million dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, to carry out the purposes of implementing the staff ratio specified in section 2 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. The sum of two million dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the purposes of section 3 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. The sum of two million one hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the purposes of section 6 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. The sum of one million one hundred sixteen thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the purposes of section 7 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. The sum of three million dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the purposes of section 8 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. 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. 18. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, and safety, the support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect July 1, 1987.