S-1871               _______________________________________________

                                                   SENATE BILL NO. 5968

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1989 Regular Session

By Senators Vognild, Smith, Stratton and Niemi

Read first time 2/20/89 and referred to Committee on  Children & Family Services.

AN ACT Relating to foster care; amending RCW 74.15.040; adding new sections to chapter 74.13 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 74.15 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1.  A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW to read as follows:

          The legislature recognizes that the foster care system is currently overburdened because of increased children in placement and lack of resources with which to handle those placements.  In addition, the legislature also recognizes that placement decisions are a matter of individual caseworker judgment or local department office policy which is applied inconsistently from case to case throughout the state.  The legislature further recognizes that caseworker inexperience, an overwhelming feeling of responsibility attendant on the need to protect the child where there is a possibility of abuse, and the fear of public censure should the child be injured all influence placement decisions.

          It is the legislature's intent that a standardized tool for use in decision-making be developed to guide caseworker's decisions on the need for out-of-home placement and that this tool be used to help ensure uniformity in these decisions across the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.  A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW to read as follows:

          The department shall develop placement guidelines for use by caseworkers and other staff in assessing or reviewing the need for out-of-home placement.  The risk assessment model used to determine the level of intervention required for child protective services investigations may be used as a model upon which to base the out-of-home placement guidelines.  The guidelines should include components which deal with the initial decision of whether to place a child and to focus on the critical elements that indicate the need for out-of-home placement.  The guidelines should also include an evaluatory component for ongoing placement evaluation.

          The department shall report to the committee on children and family services on its progress in developing these out-of-home placement guidelines by December 1, 1989.

        Sec. 3.  Section 4, chapter 172, Laws of 1967 as last amended by section 7, chapter 118, Laws of 1982 and RCW 74.15.040 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An agency seeking to accept and serve children, developmentally disabled persons, or expectant mothers as a foster-family home shall make application for license in such form and substance as required by the department.  The department shall maintain a  list of applicants through which placement may be undertaken.  However, agencies and the department shall not place a child, developmentally disabled person, or expectant mother in a home until the home is licensed.   Foster-family homes shall be inspected prior to licensure, except that inspection by the department is not required if the foster-family home is  under the supervision of a licensed agency upon certification to the department by the licensed agency that such homes meet the requirements for foster homes as adopted pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW and RCW 74.13.031.

(2) Licenses provided for under this section shall be issued for a period of two years.  Licensed foster-family homes shall be subject to on-site quarterly monitoring by department licensing staff.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4.  A new section is added to chapter 74.15 RCW to read as follows:

          The secretary of the department of social and health services may, in his or her discretion, issue a probationary license to any foster-family home for a period not to exceed six months.  The probationary license shall not be granted until a criminal background check on the prospective foster parents is completed.  In addition, the department may adopt any rules necessary to ensure that foster parents are suitable for the six-month probationary period.  The six-month probationary license may be renewed for one additional six-month period.

          During the six-month probationary period, the department shall monitor the performance of the foster parents, the nature and extent of their training needs, and their specific strengths, weaknesses, and interests as foster parents.  The department shall also attempt to respond to areas in need of remediation before serious problems develop.