S-4988               _______________________________________________

                                   SECOND SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL NO. 6492

                        _______________________________________________

State of Washington                               51st Legislature                              1990 Regular Session

By Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Smith, Conner, Stratton and Bailey)

Read first time 2/6/90.

AN ACT Relating to adoption support reconsideration program; adding a new section to chapter 74.13 RCW; and creating new sections.

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:

          (1) The department of social and health services shall establish, within funds appropriated for the purpose, a reconsideration program to provide medical and counseling services through the adoption support program for children of families who apply for services after the adoption is final.  Families requesting services through the program shall provide any information requested by the department for the purpose of processing the family's application for services.

          (2) A child meeting the eligibility criteria for registration with the program is one who:

          (a) Was residing in foster care funded by the department immediately prior to the adoptive placement;

          (b) Had a physical or mental handicap or emotional disturbance that existed and was documented prior to the adoption; and

          (c) Resides in the state of Washington with an adoptive parent who lacks the necessary financial means to care for the child's special need.

          (3) If a family is accepted for registration and meets the criteria in subsection (2) of this section, the department may enter into an agreement for services.  Prior to entering into an agreement for services through the program, the medical needs of the child must be reviewed and approved by the department's office of personal health services.

          (4) Any services provided pursuant to an agreement between a family and the department shall be met from the department's medical program.  Such services shall be limited to:

          (a) Services provided after finalization of an agreement between a family and the department pursuant to this section;

          (b) Services not covered by the family's insurance or other available assistance; and

          (c) Services related to the eligible child's identified physical or mental handicap or emotional disturbance that existed prior to the adoption.

          (5) Any payment by the department for services provided pursuant to an agreement shall be made directly to the physician or provider of services according to the department's established procedures.

          (6) The total costs payable by the department for services provided pursuant to an agreement shall not exceed twenty thousand dollars per child.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2.     The department of social and health services shall report to the 1991 legislature regarding the applications for the program established under section 1 of this act.  The report shall contain information regarding the requests for financial assistance, both those that qualify and those that do not, and shall include the estimated cost for providing the services requested.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3.     If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill number, is not provided by June 30, 1990, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act shall be null and void.