AN ACT Relating to the treatment for use of controlled substances and alcohol during pregnancy; amending RCW 26.44.020; and adding a new section to chapter 26.44 RCW.

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

Sec. 1. Section 1, chapter 142, Laws of 1988 and RCW 26.44.020 are each amended to read as follows:

For the purpose of and as used in this chapter:

(1) "Court" means the superior court of the state of Washington, juvenile department.

(2) "Law enforcement agency" means the police department, the prosecuting attorney, the state patrol, the director of public safety, or the office of the sheriff.

(3) "Practitioner of the healing arts" or "practitioner" means a person licensed by this state to practice podiatry, optometry, chiropractic, nursing, dentistry, osteopathy and surgery, or medicine and surgery or to provide other health services. The term "practitioner" shall include a duly accredited Christian Science practitioner: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That a person who is being furnished Christian Science treatment by a duly accredited Christian Science practitioner shall not be considered, for that reason alone, a neglected person for the purposes of this chapter.

(4) "Institution" means a private or public hospital or any other facility providing medical diagnosis, treatment or care.

(5) "Department" means the state department of social and health services.

(6) "Child" or "children" means any person under the age of eighteen years of age.

(7) "Professional school personnel" shall include, but not be limited to, teachers, counselors, administrators, child care facility personnel, and school nurses.

(8) "Social service counselor" shall mean anyone engaged in a professional capacity during the regular course of employment in encouraging or promoting the health, welfare, support or education of children, or providing social services to adults or families, including mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, and domestic violence programs, whether in an individual capacity, or as an employee or agent of any public or private organization or institution.

(9) "Psychologist" shall mean any person licensed to practice psychology under chapter 18.83 RCW, whether acting in an individual capacity or as an employee or agent of any public or private organization or institution.

(10) "Pharmacist" shall mean any registered pharmacist under the provisions of chapter 18.64 RCW, whether acting in an individual capacity or as an employee or agent of any public or private organization or institution.

(11) "Clergy" shall mean any regularly licensed or ordained minister, priest or rabbi of any church or religious denomination, whether acting in an individual capacity or as an employee or agent of any public or private organization or institution.

(12) "Child abuse or neglect" shall mean the injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, or negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child by any person under circumstances which indicate that the child's health, welfare, and safety is harmed thereby. An abused child is a child who has been subjected to child abuse or neglect as defined herein: PROVIDED, That this subsection shall not be construed to authorize interference with child-raising practices, including reasonable parental discipline, which are not proved to be injurious to the child's health, welfare, and safety: AND PROVIDED FURTHER, That nothing in this section shall be used to prohibit the reasonable use of corporal punishment as a means of discipline. No parent or guardian shall be deemed abusive or neglectful solely by reason of the parent's or child's blindness, deafness, developmental disability, or other handicap.

(13) "Child protective services section" shall mean the child protective services section of the department.

(14) "Adult dependent persons not able to provide for their own protection through the criminal justice system" shall be defined as those persons over the age of eighteen years who have been found legally incompetent pursuant to chapter 11.88 RCW or found disabled to such a degree pursuant to said chapter, that such protection is indicated: PROVIDED, That no persons reporting injury, abuse, or neglect to an adult dependent person as defined herein shall suffer negative consequences if such a judicial determination of incompetency or disability has not taken place and the person reporting believes in good faith that the adult dependent person has been found legally incompetent pursuant to chapter 11.88 RCW.

(15) "Sexual exploitation" includes: (a) Allowing, permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution by any person; or (b) allowing, permitting, encouraging, or engaging in the obscene or pornographic photographing, filming, or depicting of a child for commercial purposes as those acts are defined by state law by any person.

(16) "Negligent treatment or maltreatment" means an act or omission which evidences a serious disregard of consequences of such magnitude as to constitute a clear and present danger to the child's health, welfare, and safety.

(17) "Developmentally disabled person" means a person who has a disability defined in RCW ((~~71.20.016~~)) 71A.10.020.

(18) "Child protective services" means those services provided by the department designed to protect children from child abuse and neglect and safeguard the general welfare of such children and shall include investigations of child abuse and neglect reports, including reports regarding child care centers and family child care homes, and the development, management, and provision of or referral to services to ameliorate conditions which endanger the welfare of children, the coordination of necessary programs and services relevant to the prevention, intervention, and treatment of child abuse and neglect, and services to children to ensure that each child has a permanent home. In determining whether protective services should be provided, the department shall not decline to provide such services solely because of the child's unwillingness or developmental inability to describe the nature and severity of the abuse or neglect.

(19) "Malice" or "maliciously" means an evil intent, wish, or design to vex, annoy, or injure another person. Such malice may be inferred from an act done in willful disregard of the rights of another, or an act wrongfully done without just cause or excuse, or an act or omission of duty betraying a willful disregard of social duty.

(20) "Controlled substances" means a drug, substance, or immediate precursor in RCW 69.50.201 through 69.50.213 Article II, schedules I through III.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 26.44 RCW to read as follows:

(1) A physician shall administer a scientifically accepted screening test to each pregnant woman when she first comes under the physician's care for the pregnancy to determine whether she has ingested a controlled substance. The scientifically accepted screening test is not required if the pregnant woman has already had such a test during the pregnancy as confirmed by the physician who ordered the test, unless the first test was negative and further testing is medically indicated by history or examination. If the test results are positive, the physician shall provide or refer the woman to health education and treatment as appropriate to the condition as diagnosed.

(2) A physician shall administer a scientifically accepted screening test to each newborn infant born under the physician's care to determine whether there is evidence of prenatal exposure to a controlled substance, if the physician has reason to believe based on a medical assessment of the mother or the infant that the mother used a controlled substance for a nonmedical purpose prior to the birth. If the test results are positive, the physician shall initiate treatment as medically appropriate for the infant and recommend health education and treatment as appropriate for the mother.

(3) All physicians administering scientifically accepted screening tests pursuant to this section shall be exempt from reporting requirements under Washington law, including but not limited to the reporting requirements in RCW 26.44.030.

(4) A physician or other medical personnel administering a scientifically accepted screening test to determine the presence of a controlled substance in a pregnant woman or in a child at birth or during the first month of life is immune from civil or criminal liability arising from administration of the test, if the test is administered in accordance with an established protocol and reasonable medical practice.

(5) Results of any screening test performed pursuant to this section shall be used solely for the care and treatment of the pregnant woman or newborn child and shall not be admissible in any criminal, civil, or administrative proceeding. The physician shall not disclose the test results to any person without the express consent of the pregnant woman, unless disclosure is to medical personnel for the immediate care and treatment of the woman, of the child after birth, or both. In order to meet the testing requirements of this section the physician shall also share the test results with any physician who takes over the care of the pregnant woman or the newborn child. Those physicians and health care personnel who receive the test results are prohibited from disclosing those results except to other medical personnel who are subject to the same confidentiality requirement.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. 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.