H-913                _______________________________________________

                                                   HOUSE BILL NO. 1846

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Representatives McLean, Dorn, Chandler, Moyer, Brough, Bowman, D. Sommers and Wood

Read first time 2/8/89 and referred to Committee on Human Services.

AN ACT Relating to crisis residential centers; and amending RCW 74.13.032.

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

        Sec. 1.  Section 78, chapter 155, Laws of 1979  and RCW 74.13.032 are each amended to read as follows:

          (1) The department shall establish, by contracts with private vendors, not less than eight regional crisis residential centers, which shall be structured group care facilities licensed under rules adopted by the department.  Each regional center shall have an average of at least four adult staff members and in no event less than three adult staff members to every eight children.  The staff shall be trained so that they may effectively counsel juveniles admitted to the centers, provide treatment, supervision, and structure to the juveniles, and carry out the responsibilities outlined in RCW 13.32A.090.

          (2) The department shall, in addition to the regional facilities established under subsection (1) of this section, establish not less than thirty additional crisis residential centers pursuant to contract with licensed private group care or specialized foster home facilities.  In addition to these thirty crisis residential centers, the department may contract for one dollar a year with service clubs or private charitable organizations that will provide the licensed facility and the staffing on the condition that no single youth remains in the facility more than seventy-two hours, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays, and that it meets the definition of a semi-secure facility.  The department may exempt these facilities from the staffing requirements under subsection (1) of this section but in no event may there be less than one adult staff member for every four children.

          The staff at the facilities shall be trained so that they may effectively counsel juveniles admitted to the centers, provide treatment, supervision, and structure to the juveniles, and carry out the responsibilities stated in RCW 13.32A.090.  The responsibilities stated in RCW 13.32A.090 may, in any of the centers, be carried out by the department.

          Crisis residential facilities shall be operated as semi-secure facilities.