AN ACT Relating to a governor's commission on children; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; making an appropriation; providing an effective date; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that while children are the most valuable resources our state has to offer, we are not adequately protecting, nurturing, or developing that resource to its fullest potential as healthy, educated, and productive citizens.

The legislature recognizes that increasing numbers of children in Washington state are "at risk" and unlikely to become productive adults because they are disconnected from society as a result of drug abuse, delinquency, pregnancy, unemployment, and dropping out of school.

More and more children are living in poverty, experiencing sexual abuse, physical abuse, and neglect, experiencing grief and a sense of loss or abandonment from the divorce of their parents, are getting involved with drugs, and becoming pregnant at earlier ages, and juvenile delinquency is at an all-time high.

In order to give our children every opportunity to develop into healthy, mature, and responsible citizens, it is necessary to remove the obstacles children face in this ever-changing and complex world and to provide treatment and services to enable them to overcome the damage inflicted by these adverse social problems.

Washington does not have a long-range prevention and early intervention strategy or a coordinated continuum of care system of programs to meet the needs of at-risk children and their families. An inadequate and unstable revenue base has prevented the resolution of these problems as children go without mental health care, sexual assault treatment, health care, and adequate protection services.

Our current service delivery system has not matched the scope of the problem. An essential first step is to establish a public and private consensus on a long-term early intervention and prevention strategy which demonstrates the support and commitment of both the public and private sectors to develop the service delivery system and provide the services.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) There is hereby established the governor's commission on children, referred to in this chapter as the commission. The commission is charged with the responsibility for creating a long-term strategy/plan for the development of an effective, coordinated children's services delivery system that meets the needs of the children in the state.

(2) The commission shall include the following:

(a) Eight members of the legislature, including two members from each of the four largest caucuses in the legislature.

(b) One representative of an industry employing more than one thousand persons.

(d) Members equally representing children and family service providers from the public sector, the private nonprofit sector, and the private for profit sector, actively engaged in the provision of services in Washington state. In appointing these members, the governor shall ensure representation by citizens with expertise in children's mental health, health care including prenatal care, adolescent drug and alcohol treatment, education including early childhood education, nonprofit funding sources including United Way, child abuse and neglect, child care, dependency, delinquency and the juvenile justice system, family support services, and representatives from minority communities including the migrant worker community, the black community, the native American community, and the Asian community.

(e) Five citizens at large including a recipient of services.

(f) One representative from a state-wide organization concerned about children of all ages and their families.

(g) One representative from the department of social and health services management information system responsible for data on children and family services.

In addition, the governor, the director of revenue, the director of financial management, the director of community development, the superintendent of public instruction, and the assistant secretary of the department of social and health services shall serve as ex officio members of the commission.

(3) Within fourteen days of July 1, 1987, the governor shall appoint all members of the commission, except those in subsection (2)(a) of this section who shall be appointed by the chair of their respective caucuses. The first meeting of the commission shall occur within thirty days of July 1, 1987.

(4) The governor shall serve as the chair and shall designate a citizen member to serve as vice-chair of the commission. Members shall serve four-year terms. Members are subject to dismissal by the governor due to the lack of attendance or contribution. The position of a legislative member shall become vacant if the member ceases to be a member of the legislature. Vacancies shall be filled in the same manner as the original appointment.

(5) The commission shall include at least two representatives from each of the state's congressional districts.

(6) The commission shall meet regularly and shall create subcommittees as needed to deal with specific issues and concerns.

(7) Members shall receive no compensation but shall be reimbursed for travel expenses under RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060 except legislative members shall be reimbursed under RCW 44.04.120.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The commission shall develop a long-term plan for the development of an effective, coordinated children's services delivery system that will meet the needs of children in the state. The objective of the plan shall be to (a) define existing needs of children in Washington state, (b) identify the kinds of services needed by children and families to meet a minimum standard and level of physical and mental health and safety, (c) identify the current level of services available and gaps or overlapping services, and (d) recommend methods to implement an effective service delivery system. The commission shall submit an initial plan to the legislature by January 10, 1989, and shall submit revisions to the plan based on continuing analysis and oversight on implementation on January 10 of each year through 1991.

(2) The commission shall prepare a report which addresses the following issues:

(a) The development of a management system for providing necessary services which includes maximizing the use of effective existing services and programs through management and operational coordination among service providers;

(b) The identification of ways to reduce overlapping services and to fill in service gaps through shared service provisions;

(c) Methods to increase the effectiveness, participation, and communication among city, county, state, private nonprofit, and private for profit funding sources in defining and funding the service delivery system; and

(d) The identification and establishment of a state funding source to expand current programs and to develop new programs meeting the needs of programs for children.

The report shall be submitted to the legislature by January 10, 1988.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The commission has the following responsibilities and powers:

(1) To secure and encourage substantial private sector, community, and citizen support in the analysis of children's needs and existing service system, and in the development of specific recommendations for the improvement of that system;

(2) To identify and analyze key service program areas to determine the need for expansion of services;

(3) To propose an appropriate state role in the provision of services to children and families;

(4) To evaluate the performance of existing state programs and services for consistency and coordination in the protection and treatment of children, as well as their effect in prevention of children's problems, and to evaluate the long-term benefits to children of these efforts;

(5) To propose, along with other state, local, and private groups, new methods to increase public and private partnerships in service provision;

(6) To develop a long-term children's services strategy based on consensus of goals and principles, and in-depth analysis of the needs of children and the services available, existing public and private funding sources, and the development of new funding sources;

(7) To study the key components of the children's services delivery system as they relate to the long-term development strategy including, but not limited to, prevention, education and training, physical health care, mental health care and counseling for abuse and neglect, child care, substance abuse intervention and treatment, out-of-home placement services, juvenile justice intervention and placement programs, and family intervention programs including parent education and family counseling;

(8) To review the various service delivery systems and policy change recommendations made by other agencies or organizations and recommend to the legislature those strategies, policies, and programs it considers to be in the best interest of the children of the state;

(9) To make specific recommendations for the establishment of public-private cooperative efforts in children's services delivery and state-local cooperative efforts, including but not limited to the need for establishing formal working relationships, whether by contract or otherwise, for the purposes of engaging in joint, cooperative delivery of children's services;

(10) To cooperate with and secure the cooperation of any department, agency, or instrumentality in state, county, and city government, and other associations affected by or concerned with the business of the commission; and

(11) To accept gifts and grants upon such terms as the commission may consider proper.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The commission may employ such staff as it requires and may contract for services as it considers necessary to carry out its duties and responsibilities. The governor and the legislature may provide additional staff and facilities as may be reasonably required to assist the commission in carrying out its duties and responsibilities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The commission shall implement this chapter only to the extent that funds are available.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The commission shall be dissolved and this chapter shall expire on January 15, 1991, after presentation of the final report evaluating the implementation of the children's service delivery system to the legislature unless significant need for its continuation is demonstrated and the legislature acts to extend its operation.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The sum of two hundred thousand dollars, or so much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated to the governor's commission on children from the general fund for the biennium ending June 30, 1989, to carry out the purposes of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. Sections 1 through 7 of this act shall constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. 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.