For the purposes of RCW
2.70.070 through
2.70.100, "child welfare parent mentor" means a parent who has successfully resolved the issues that led the parent's child into the care of the juvenile dependency court system, resulting in family reunification or another permanency outcome, and who has an interest in working collaboratively to improve the lives of children and families.
Intent—2015 c 117: "Early outreach and education helps shift the attitudes of parents involved in the dependency court system from anger and resentment to acknowledgment and acceptance, enhances parents' engagement in court-ordered plans in the dependency system, and increases the likelihood of family reunification. The parents for parents program has been shown to increase the number of family reunifications, where appropriate, while decreasing the length of time needed to establish permanence. The program currently exists in nine counties: Grays Harbor/Pacific, King, Kitsap, Pierce, Snohomish, Spokane, and Thurston/Mason. It is the legislature's goal to continue to support the program in these counties, standardize the parents for parents curriculum among counties in which it is currently utilized, and replicate the program statewide by the end of the 2019–2021 biennium." [2015 c 117 § 1.]