S-3326               _______________________________________________

                                   SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION NO. 8422

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State of Washington                               51st Legislature                        1989 First Special Session

By Senators Smith and Stratton

Read first time 5/5/89 and referred to Committee on Children & Family Services.

WHEREAS, Numerous questions regarding adoption policies and practices in Washington state were raised during the 1989 session of the legislature; and

          WHEREAS, The legislature has received information regarding some adoption practices which may not be in the best interest of the adoptive children of the state; and

          WHEREAS, Licensing of adoption agencies in Washington state is extremely unrestricted and provides few safeguards for persons involved in adoption; and

          WHEREAS, There is a growing number of minority children available for adoption but a lack of minority adoption workers and minority adoptive homes for these children; and

          WHEREAS, There is growing concern about the number of children who are adopted by persons living outside the state of Washington; and

          WHEREAS, Adoption services currently provided by agencies and the Department of Social and Health Services are not provided uniformly throughout the state; and

          WHEREAS, Some of the major delays in adoption proceedings are said to be caused by the slow legal processing of terminations and dependencies in the courts of Washington state;

          NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED, By the Senate of the State of Washington, the House of Representatives concurring, That a select committee on adoption is hereby created and is authorized and directed to:

          (1)  Conduct a study of adoption practices in Washington state, and attempt to determine appropriate legislative and administrative strategies which would ameliorate any problems found;

          (2)  Work with the Department of Social and Health Services, the Office of Administrator for the Courts, the Washington State Adoption Council and adoption experts interested in developing adoption policy changes for Washington state; and

          (3) Prepare a report by December 1989, which includes recommendations for statutory or administrative changes to better provide for the needs of the adopted children of Washington state; and

          BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, That the committee shall be comprised of four members of the Senate, two from each caucus, to be appointed by the President of the Senate, and four members of the House of Representatives, two from each caucus, to be appointed by the Speaker of the House of Representatives.  The committee shall cease to exist on December 31, 1989.