AN ACT Relating to dependent children; adding new sections to chapter 74.13 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 13.32A RCW; adding a new section to chapter 13.34 RCW; making appropriations; creating new sections; and providing an effective date.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that the foster care system plays an important role in preserving families and giving consistent and nurturing care to children placed in its care. The legislature further finds that foster parents play an integral and important role in the system and particularly in the child's chances for the earliest possible reunification with his or her family.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) Preservice training is recognized as a valuable tool to reduce placement disruptions, the length of time children are in care, and foster parent turnover rates. Preservice training also assists potential foster parents in making their final decisions about foster parenting and assists social service agencies in obtaining information about whether to approve potential foster parents.

(2) Foster parent preservice training shall include information about the potential impact of placement on foster children; social service agency administrative processes; the requirements, responsibilities, expectations, and skills needed to be a foster parent; attachment, separation, and loss issues faced by birth parents, foster children, and foster parents; child management and discipline; birth family relationships; and helping children leave foster care. Preservice training shall assist applicants in making informed decisions about whether they want to be foster parents. Preservice training shall be designed to enable the agency to assess the ability, readiness, and appropriateness of families to be foster parents. As a decision tool, effective preservice training provides potential foster parents with enough information to make an appropriate decision, affords potential foster parents an opportunity to discuss their decision with others and consider its implications for their family, clarifies foster family expectations, presents a realistic picture of what foster parenting involves, and allows potential foster parents to consider and explore the different types of children they might serve.

(3) Preservice training shall be completed prior to the issuance of a foster care license, except that the department may, on a case by case basis, issue a written waiver that allows the foster parent to complete the training after licensure, so long as the training is completed within ninety days following licensure.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. The sum of two hundred thirty-two thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, solely for mandatory preservice training for all foster parent applicants.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. Regular on-site monitoring of foster homes to assure quality care improves care provided to children in family foster care. An on-site monitoring program shall be established by the department to assure quality care and regularly identify problem areas. The department shall report to the legislature by June 1 of every odd-numbered year, beginning with June 1, 1991, the results of the monitoring, including identified problem areas, and make policy recommendations to improve the quality of foster care based on the results of the monitoring. Monitoring shall be done by the department on a random sample basis of no less than ten percent of the total licensed family foster homes licensed by the department on July 1 of every even-numbered year.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. The sum of three hundred sixty-nine thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, solely for the purposes of section 4 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. The legislature finds that regular and ongoing program review of child protective services, child welfare services, and foster care is essential to agencies and the legislature in making informed recommendations and decisions regarding policy in the delivery of services to children and their families. The department of social and health services shall contract, through the request for proposal process, with an independent qualified organization for a comprehensive evaluation of these programs. The evaluation shall be based on findings secured through a generally accepted audit procedure based on a statistically significant state-wide sampling of data. The department shall cooperate with the contractor to meet the requirements of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. The sum of two hundred ninety-one thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, solely for the purposes of section 6 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. The legislature recognizes the need for temporary short-term relief for foster parents who care for children with emotional, mental, and physical handicaps. For purposes of this section, respite care means appropriate, temporary, short-term care for these foster children placed with licensed foster parents. The purpose of this care is to give the foster parents temporary relief from the stresses associated with the care of these foster children. The department shall design a program of respite care that will minimize disruptions to the child and will serve foster parents within these priorities, based on input from foster parents, foster parent associations, and reliable research if available.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. The sum of seven hundred fifty thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, to carry out the purposes of section 8 of this act. Of the total appropriation, no more than twenty-five thousand dollars shall be expended on development of the respite program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. (1) Except as provided in RCW 70.24.105, whenever a child is placed in out-of-home care by the department or a child-placing agency, the department or agency may share information about the child and the child's family with the care provider and may consult with the care provider regarding the child's case plan.

(2) Any person who receives information about a child or a child's family pursuant to this section shall keep the information confidential and shall not further disclose or disseminate the information except as authorized by law.

(3) Nothing in this section shall be construed to limit the authority of the department or child-placing agencies to disclose client information or to maintain client confidentiality as provided by law.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. To provide stability to children in out-of-home care, placement selection shall be made with a view toward the fewest possible placements for each child. If possible, the initial placement shall be viewed as the only placement for the child. The use of short-term interim placements of thirty days or less to protect the child's health or safety while the placement of choice is being arranged is not a violation of this principle.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. (1) Whenever a child has been placed in a foster family home by the department or a child-placing agency and the child has thereafter resided in the home for at least ninety consecutive days, the department or child-placing agency shall notify the foster family at least five days prior to moving the child to another placement, unless:

(a) A court order has been entered requiring an immediate change in placement;

(b) The child is being returned home;

(d) The child is residing in a receiving home or a group home.

(2) If the child has resided in a foster family for less than ninety days or if, due to one or more of the circumstances in subsection (1) of this section, it is not possible to give five days' notification, the department or child-placing agency shall notify the foster family of proposed placement changes as soon as reasonably possible.

(3) This section is intended solely to assist in minimizing disruption to the child in changing foster care placements. Nothing in this section shall be construed to require that a court hearing be held prior to changing a child's foster care placement nor to create any substantive custody rights in the foster parents.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. Adequate foster parent training has been identified as directly associated with increasing the length of time foster parents are willing to provide foster care and reducing the number of placement disruptions for children. Placement disruptions can be harmful to children by denying them consistent and nurturing support. Foster parents have expressed the desire to receive training in addition to the foster parent SCOPE training currently offered. Foster parents who care for more demanding children, such as children with severe emotional, mental, or physical handicaps, would especially benefit from additional training. The department shall develop additional training for foster parents that focuses on skills to assist foster parents in caring for emotionally, mentally, or physically handicapped children.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. The sum of forty-two thousand five hundred dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, for post foster parent SCOPE training for a minimum of one hundred foster parents who are willing to care for children with severe emotional, mental, or physical handicaps.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. The legislature finds that during the fiscal years 1987 to 1989 the number of children in foster care has risen by 14.3 percent. At the same time there has been a 31 percent turnover rate in foster homes because many foster parents have declined to continue to care for foster children. This situation has caused a dangerously critical shortage of foster homes.

The department of social and health services shall develop and implement a project to recruit more foster homes and adoptive homes for special needs children by developing a request for proposal to licensed private foster care, licensed adoption agencies, and other organizations qualified to provide this service.

The project shall consist of one state-wide administrator of recruitment programs, and one or more licensed foster care or adoption agency contracts in each of the six departmental regions. These contracts shall enhance currently provided services and may not replace services currently funded by the agencies. No more than sixty thousand dollars may be spent annually to fund the administrator position.

The agencies shall recruit foster care homes and adoptive homes for children classified as special needs children under chapter 74.08 RCW. The agencies shall utilize their own network of contacts and shall also develop methods similar to the nationally recognized "One Church, One Child" program currently contracted in regions 4 and 5. The department shall expand the foster-adopt program state-wide to encourage stable placements for foster children for whom permanent out-of-home placement is a likelihood. The department shall carefully consider existing programs to eliminate duplication of services.

The department shall assist the private contractors by providing printing services for informational brochures and other necessary recruitment materials. No more than fifty thousand dollars may be expended annually for recruitment materials.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. The department of social and health services shall develop and implement a survey tool to provide information to the legislature regarding the specific reasons foster parents voluntarily or involuntarily terminate their service to the foster parent system. The tool shall be implemented by July 1, 1990. The survey shall cover a period of one year and a final report shall be made to the legislature by December 1991.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. (1) The sum of six hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, for the purposes of sections 15 and 16 of this act.

(2) The department shall use no more than fifty thousand dollars of this appropriation for reimbursement to newly licensed foster homes for the costs incurred in preparing the home for licensing. The reimbursement shall be for equipment and minor home modifications necessary for licensing. Reimbursement to a single home shall not exceed one hundred dollars.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 18. The average basic rate of reimbursement to foster parents for children placed in their care often does not cover the total cost of care. Studies have identified that increasing rates is directly related to increasing the number of available foster homes and positively influences the decision of foster parents to provide care.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 19. The sum of three million one hundred eighty-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund to the department of social and health services for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, for an average basic rate increase of fifteen percent for licensed family foster care and receiving home care.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 20. Private child placement agencies offer a valuable service to the state. Caseloads are limited to no more than twenty-five per caseworker allowing the agencies to provide quality services. Child placement agencies are funded by a variety of public and private sources. Over the last several years, administration costs have risen in both public and private agencies.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 21. The sum of five hundred twenty-four thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated from the general fund to the department of social and health services, for the biennium ending June 30, 1991, for an average administrative rate increase of fifty percent for private child placement agencies.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. Foster parents are responsible for the protection, care, supervision, and nurturing of the child in placement. As an integral part of the foster care team, foster parents shall, if they desire to: Participate in the development of the service plan for the child and the child's family; assist in family visitation, including monitoring; and model effective parenting behavior for the natural family.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 23. A new section is added to chapter 13.32A RCW to read as follows:

In an attempt to minimize the inherent intrusion in the lives of families involved in the foster care system and to maintain parental authority where appropriate, the department, absent good cause, shall follow the wishes of the natural parent regarding the placement of the child. Preferences such as family constellation, ethnicity, and religion shall be given consideration when matching children to foster homes.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 24. A new section is added to chapter 13.34 RCW to read as follows:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 25. Sections 1, 2, 4, 6, 8, 10 through 13, and 15 of this act are each added to chapter 74.13 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 26. This act shall take effect July 1, 1990, however the secretary may immediately take any steps necessary to ensure implementation of section 16 of this act on July 1, 1990.