2798-S2.E AMS HHS S5493.2

2798-S2.E AMS HHS S5493.2

E2SHB 2798 - S COMM AMD

By Committee on Health & Human Services

NOT ADOPTED 3/9/94

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that lengthy stays on welfare, lack of access to vocational education and training, the inadequate emphasis on employment by the social welfare system, and teen pregnancy are obstacles to achieving economic independence. Therefore, the legislature intends that:

(1) Income and employment assistance programs emphasize the temporary nature of welfare and set goals of responsibility, work, and independence;

(2) State institutions take an active role in preventing pregnancy in young teens;

(3) Family planning assistance be readily available to welfare recipients; and

(4) Support enforcement be more effective and the level of responsibility of noncustodial parents be significantly increased.

PART I. EMPHASIZING WORK AND FAMILY PLANNING IN PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter 74.12 RCW to read as follows:

The department shall train financial services and social work staff who provide direct service to recipients of aid to families with dependent children to:

(1) Effectively communicate the transitional nature of aid to families with dependent children and the expectation that recipients will enter employment;

(2) Actively refer clients to the job opportunities and basic skills program;

(3) Provide social services needed to overcome obstacles to employability; and

(4) Provide family planning information and assistance, including alternatives to abortion, which shall be conducted in consultation with the department of health.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. A new section is added to chapter 74.12 RCW to read as follows:

At time of application or reassessment under this chapter the department shall offer or contract for family planning information and assistance, including alternatives to abortion, and any other local teen pregnancy prevention programs available through the mechanism of Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill No. 2319 as part of locally chosen antiviolence measures, to prospective and current recipients of aid to families with dependent children.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 74.12 RCW to read as follows:

(1) The job opportunities and basic skills program advisory board is established to advise the department about the direction and administration of the job opportunities and basic skills program, including the employment partnership program created in chapter . . ., Laws of 1994 (this act). The board shall have seven members: Five representatives of the business community; one employed former recipient of the aid to families with dependent children program; and one representative of labor. The governor shall appoint the members and select the chair. The chair shall work with and coordinate the local employment partnership councils created in section 22 of this act.

(2) The initial members of the board shall serve staggered terms. Two representatives of the business community and one employed former recipient of the aid to families with dependent children program shall serve one-year terms; two representatives of the business community shall serve two-year terms; and one representative of the business community and one representative of labor shall serve three-year terms. Except for initial members, each member of the board shall serve a three-year term.

(3) It is the intent of the legislature that the board shall meet monthly with the assistant secretary for economic services administration within the department.

(4) The board shall report at least once each year to the governor and the legislature on the status and progress of the job opportunities and basic skills program and the employment partnership program in meeting legislative intent.

PART II. TEEN PREGNANCY PREVENTION

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. For the 1994-95 school year, the office of the superintendent of public instruction shall administer a program that provides grants to school districts for media campaigns promoting sexual abstinence and addressing the importance of delaying sexual activity, pregnancy, and childbearing until individuals are ready to nurture and support their children. The messages shall be distributed in the school and community where produced. Grants to the school districts shall be for projects that are substantially designed and produced by students. The grants shall require a local private sector match equal to the state grant, which may include in-kind contribution of technical or other assistance from consultants or firms involved in public relations, advertising, broadcasting, and graphics or video production or other related fields. For purposes of evaluating the impact of the campaigns, applicants shall estimate student pregnancy and birth rates over the prior three to five years and shall, to the extent feasible, utilize the performance standards set forth in Engrossed Second Substitute House Bill No. 2319, in order to evaluate outcome and effectiveness.

PART III. REFOCUSING JOBS

Sec. 6. RCW 74.25.010 and 1991 c 126 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislature establishes as state policy the goal of economic self-sufficiency for employable recipients of public assistance, through employment, training, and education. In furtherance of this policy, the legislature intends to comply with the requirements of the federal social security act, as amended, by creating a job opportunities and basic skills training program for applicants and recipients of aid to families with dependent children. The purpose of this program is to provide recipients of aid to families with dependent children the opportunity to obtain a full range of necessary education, training, skills, and supportive services, including child care, consistent with their needs, that will help them enter or reenter gainful employment, thereby avoiding long-term welfare dependence and achieving economic self-sufficiency. The program shall be operated by the department of social and health services in conformance with federal law and consistent with the following legislative findings:

(1) The legislature finds that the well-being of children depends not only on meeting their material needs, but also on the ability of parents to become economically self-sufficient. The job opportunities and basic skills training program is specifically directed at increasing the labor force participation and household earnings of aid to families with dependent children recipients, through the removal of barriers preventing them from achieving self-sufficiency. These barriers include, but are not limited to, the lack of recent work experience, supportive services such as affordable and reliable child care, adequate transportation, appropriate counseling, and necessary job-related tools, equipment, books, clothing, and supplies, the absence of basic literacy skills, the lack of educational attainment sufficient to meet labor market demands for career employees, and the nonavailability of useful labor market assessments.

(2) The legislature also recognizes that aid to families with dependent children recipients must be acknowledged as active participants in self-sufficiency planning under the program. The legislature finds that the department of social and health services should communicate concepts of the importance of work and how performance and effort directly affect future career and educational opportunities and economic well-being, as well as personal empowerment, self-motivation, and self-esteem to program participants. The legislature further recognizes that informed choice is consistent with individual responsibility, and that parents should be given a range of options for available child care while participating in the program.

(3) The legislature finds that current work experience is one of the most important factors influencing an individual's ability to work toward financial stability and an adequate standard of living in the long term, and that work experience should be the most important component of the program.

(4) The legislature finds that education, including, but not limited to, literacy, high school equivalency, vocational, secondary, and postsecondary, is one of the most important tools an individual needs to achieve full independence, and that this should be an important component of the program.

((~~(4)~~)) (5) The legislature further finds that the objectives of this program are to assure that aid to families with dependent children recipients gain experience in the labor force and thereby enhance their long-term ability to achieve financial stability and an adequate standard of living at wages that will meet family needs.

Sec. 7. RCW 74.25.020 and 1993 c 312 s 7 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The department of social and health services is authorized to contract with public and private employment and training agencies and other public service entities to provide services prescribed or allowed under the federal social security act, as amended, to carry out the purposes of the jobs training program. In contracting for job placement services, the department is encouraged to structure payments to the contractor on a performance basis. The department of social and health services has sole authority and responsibility to carry out the job opportunities and basic skills training program. No contracting entity shall have the authority to review, change, or disapprove any administrative decision, or otherwise substitute its judgment for that of the department of social and health services as to the application of policies and rules adopted by the department of social and health services. The department shall maximize the federal matching funds available for the job opportunities and basic skills program by aggressively seeking private and public funds as match for federal funds. Community-based organizations under contract to the department shall have access to such federal funds in order to deliver job opportunities and basic skills program services.

(2) To the extent feasible under federal law, the department of social and health services and all entities contracting with it shall ((~~give first priority of service to individuals volunteering for program participation~~)) require nonexempt recipients who are parents under age twenty and nonexempt recipients who have received aid to families with dependent children for thirty-six of the preceding sixty months to actively participate in the job opportunities and basic skills training program. Social services shall be offered to participants in accordance with federal law. The department shall adopt appropriate sanctions to ensure compliance with the requirements and policies of this chapter.

(3) The department of social and health services shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW establishing criteria constituting circumstances of good cause for an individual failing or refusing to participate in an assigned program component, or failing or refusing to accept or retain employment. These criteria shall include, but not be limited to, the following circumstances: (a) If the individual is a parent or other relative personally providing care for a child under age ((~~six years, and the employment would require the individual to work more than twenty hours per week~~)) three; (b) if child care, or day care for an incapacitated individual living in the same home as a dependent child, is necessary for an individual to participate or continue participation in the program or accept employment, and such care is not available, and the department of social and health services fails to provide such care; (c) the employment would result in the family of the participant experiencing a net loss of cash income; or (d) circumstances that are beyond the control of the individual's household, either on a short-term or on an ongoing basis.

(4) The department of social and health services shall develop a realistic schedule for the phase-in of recipient participation in the jobs opportunities and basic skills program based on the availability of state and federal funding.

(5) The department of social and health services shall offer services to both parents of a child qualifying for aid to families with dependent children to prepare them for economic independence and financial support of their child through appropriate education, training, job development, and related skills. The services shall be culturally and ethnically appropriate and shall be provided in a cost-effective manner, within available resources. The provisions of this subsection are subject to available federal funding. The department of social and health services shall pursue available federal funding and report its success in securing funding to the appropriate fiscal committees of the house of representatives and the senate by October 15, 1994.

(6) The department of social and health services shall adopt rules under chapter 34.05 RCW as necessary to effectuate the intent and purpose of this chapter.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. A new section is added to chapter 74.25 RCW to read as follows:

The assessments and employability plan shall identify and primarily respond to a participant's job readiness. The assessments shall specifically evaluate the presence within the assistance population of individuals who, due to disability, are unlikely to benefit from job development or educational training, and shall make every effort to obtain federal supplemental security income for such individuals, in place of aid to families with dependent children. The job opportunities and basic skills training program components specified by the employability plan shall place a high priority on participants gaining work experience and participants under RCW 74.25.020(2) will normally be expected to take any job offered unless there is good cause to refuse to accept a job. Good cause shall be found if any of the conditions described in RCW 74.25.020(3) are met, or if accepting a job would result in a participant having to discontinue an education or job training program that is part of the participant's employability plan prior to completion of such education or job training program.

The department of social and health services shall track the experience of those recipients who accept any job offered as part of their job opportunities and basic skills program participation. In tracking such recipients, the department shall determine the wages and hours of the job taken, whether earnings resulted in ineligibility for aid to families with dependent children, whether the recipient returns to the aid to families with dependent children program, and, for recipients who do return to the aid to families with dependent children, the wages and hours of subsequent jobs taken.

Hours of unsubsidized employment shall count towards participation requirements independent of date of hire or concurrent participation in other components of the job opportunities and basic skills program. The services specified in the employability plan will be targeted as follows:

(1) The department shall place adult recipients of aid to families with dependent children (AFDC) into one of the following four target categories:

(a) Recipients with high education and low work experience;

(b) Recipients with high education and high work experience;

(d) Recipients with low education and low work experience.

(2) The four target categories shall not include individuals determined to be disabled, caretakers of disabled persons, or mothers of children under three years of age.

(3) As used in this subsection, "low education" means having only a general equivalency diploma or lacking a high school diploma. "Low work experience" means working five hundred or fewer hours annually.

(4) To the maximum extent permitted under state and federal law, the department and all entities contracting with the department shall prioritize existing job search, job training, and education resources in accordance with the following guidelines. These guidelines shall not preclude an employability plan from containing any program components appropriate under the individualized assessment. Recipients in target category (a) shall receive mandatory intensive job search assistance. Recipients in target category (b) shall receive mandatory modest job search assistance. Recipients in target category (c) shall receive mandatory intensive education and skills training oriented toward local labor force needs. Recipients in target category (d) shall receive intensive education, skills training, and job search assistance to the extent that resources are available.

(5) All job search, skills training, and post-secondary education shall be oriented towards local labor force needs as determined by the department in consultation with the employment security department. Education and skills training shall be limited to basic, secondary, and vocational education; liberal arts or four-year college education shall not be provided to clients.

(6) Job search assistance, whether provided by the department or an entity contracting with the department, shall include job development services. The services shall be provided by persons responsible for identifying existing and potential job openings and for developing relationships with existing and potential area employers.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 9. A new section is added to chapter 74.25 RCW to read as follows:

Recipients of aid to families with dependent children who are not participating in an education or work training program may volunteer to work in a licensed child care facility, or other willing volunteer work site. Licensed child care facilities participating in this effort shall provide care for the recipient's children and provide for the development of positive child care skills.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 10. A new section is added to chapter 74.25 RCW to read as follows:

The department of social and health services shall actively incorporate job development services into the job opportunities and basic skills program as follows:

(1) Job development services shall be based in the department's community services offices.

(2) Job developers shall be responsible for identifying existing and potential job openings, by developing relationships with existing and potential area employers.

(3) The department shall, in a clear and timely manner, make available information about employment openings and the jobs opportunities basic skills program to all applicants for assistance.

PART IV. ELIGIBILITY AND BENEFIT PAYMENT REVISIONS

NEW SECTION. Sec. 11. A new section is added to chapter 74.12 RCW to read as follows:

The department shall pay to recipients of aid to families with dependent children who are participating in the job opportunities and basic skills training program a cash grant equal to the combined monthly aid to families with dependent children benefit and monthly food stamp benefit.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 12. A new section is added to chapter 74.12 RCW to read as follows:

The department shall amend the state plan to eliminate the one hundred hour work rule for recipients of aid to families with dependent children-employable.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 13. A new section is added to chapter 74.12 RCW to read as follows:

The revisions to the aid to families with dependent children program and job opportunities and basic skills training program shall be implemented by the department of social and health services on a state-wide basis.

PART V. CHILD SUPPORT

NEW SECTION. Sec. 14. The department of social and health services shall make a substantial effort to determine the identity of the noncustodial parent through consistent implementation of RCW 70.58.080. By December 1, 1994, the department of social and health services shall report to the fiscal committees of the legislature on the method for validating claims of good cause for refusing to establish paternity, the methods used in other states, and the national average rate of claims of good cause for refusing to establish paternity compared to the Washington state rate of claims of good cause for refusing to establish paternity, the reasons for differences in the rates, and steps that may be taken to reduce these differences.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 15. A new section is added to chapter 74.20A RCW to read as follows:

(1) In each case within the jurisdiction of the office of support enforcement in which a child support obligation has been established, the secretary shall issue a letter, by mail, to the parent responsible for payment of the support obligation. The letter shall notify the parent that the fact and amount of the child support obligation will be reported to consumer reporting agencies, as defined in RCW 19.182.010, operating in the state of Washington.

(2) Within thirty days following the date that a notice described in subsection (1) of this section is mailed, the secretary shall report the fact and amount of the child support obligation to consumer reporting agencies, as defined in RCW 19.182.010, operating in the state of Washington. Any modification in the amount of a child support obligation for which a report has been made under this section, shall be reported to consumer reporting agencies, as defined in RCW 19.182.010, operating in the state of Washington.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 16. A new section is added to chapter 43.20B RCW to read as follows:

(1) The office of support enforcement shall establish a pilot project to enter into contracts with collection agencies requiring such agencies to establish the location, identification, employment status, and assets of any person who is an obligor under a court order of child support and owes fifteen hundred dollars or more, who has not paid in the last six months towards any debt owed to the department, or whose last known address was outside of the state of Washington.

(2) The department shall solicit proposals and shall select collection agencies that have computerized location and asset information service capabilities.

(3) The department shall monitor each case that it refers to a collection agency.

(4) The department shall evaluate the effectiveness of entering into contracts for services under this section.

(5) The pilot project shall begin on July 1, 1994, and end on July 1, 1996.

(6) The department shall report to the legislature on the results of its analysis under subsections (3) and (4) of this section.

PART VI. LEGISLATIVE WELFARE REFORM TASK FORCE

NEW SECTION. Sec. 17. The president of the senate and speaker of the house of representatives shall appoint a legislative welfare reform task force. In addition to representatives of the four caucuses, the president and speaker may appoint additional members representing individuals, organizations, and business and labor entities with an expressed interest in welfare reform issues. The legislative task force on welfare reform shall develop legislation for consideration during the 1995 legislative session.

PART VII. EMPLOYMENT PARTNERSHIP PROGRAM

Sec. 18. RCW 50.63.010 and 1986 c 172 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

The legislature finds that the restructuring in the Washington economy has created rising public assistance caseloads and declining real wages for Washington workers. There is a profound need to develop partnership programs between the private and public sectors to create new jobs with adequate salaries and promotional opportunities for chronically unemployed and underemployed citizens of the state. Most public assistance recipients want to become financially independent through paid employment. A voluntary program which utilizes public wage subsidies and employer matching salaries has provided a beneficial financial incentive allowing public assistance recipients transition to permanent full-time employment.

Sec. 19. RCW 50.63.020 and 1986 c 172 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:

The employment partnership program is created to develop a series of geographically distributed model projects to provide permanent full-time employment for low-income and unemployed persons. The program shall be ((~~a cooperative effort between the employment security department and~~)) administered by the department of social and health services. The department shall contract for the program through local public or private nonprofit organizations. The goals of the program are as follows:

(1) To reduce inefficiencies in administration and provide model coordination of agencies with responsibilities for employment and human service delivery to unemployed persons;

(2) To create voluntary financial incentives to simultaneously reduce unemployment and welfare caseloads; ((~~and~~))

(3) To provide other state and federal support services to the client population to enable economic independence;

(4) To improve partnerships between the public and private sectors designed to move recipients of public assistance into productive employment; and

(5) To provide employers with information on federal targeted jobs tax credit and other state and federal tax incentives for participation in the program.

Sec. 20. RCW 50.63.030 and 1986 c 172 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:

The ((~~commissioner of employment security and the~~)) secretary of the department of social and health services shall establish pilot projects that enable grants to be used as a wage subsidy. The department of social and health services ((~~is designated as the lead agency for the purpose of complying~~)) shall comply with applicable federal statutes and regulations((~~. The department~~)), and shall seek any waivers from the federal government necessary to operate the employment partnership program. The projects shall be available on an individual case-by-case basis or subject to the limitations outlined in RCW 50.63.050 (as recodified by this act) for the start-up or reopening of a plant under worker ownership. The projects shall be subject to the following criteria:

(1) It shall be a voluntary program and no person may have any sanction applied for failure to participate.

(2) Employment positions established by this chapter shall not be created as the result of, nor result in, any of the following:

(a) Displacement of current employees, including overtime currently worked by these employees;

(b) The filling of positions that would otherwise be promotional opportunities for current employees;

(c) The filling of a position, before compliance with applicable personnel procedures or provisions of collective bargaining agreements;

(d) The filling of a position created by termination, layoff, or reduction in workforce;

(e) The filling of a work assignment customarily performed by a worker in a job classification within a recognized collective bargaining unit in that specific work site, or the filling of a work assignment in any bargaining unit in which funded positions are vacant or in which regular employees are on layoff;

(f) A strike, lockout, or other bona fide labor dispute, or violation of any existing collective bargaining agreement between employees and employers;

(g) Decertification of any collective bargaining unit.

(3) Wages shall be paid at the usual and customary rate of comparable jobs and may include a training wage if permitted by applicable federal statutes and regulations;

(4) A recoupment process ((~~shall~~)) to recover state supplemented wages from an employer when a job does not last six months following the subsidization period for reasons other than the employee voluntarily quitting or being fired for good cause as determined by the ((~~commissioner of employment security~~)) local employment partnership council under rules prescribed by the ((~~commissioner pursuant to chapter 50.20 RCW~~)) secretary;

(5) Business and occupation tax incentives for employers to retain recipients of public assistance beyond six months, or assist the recipient to secure permanent employment in another setting or subsidize the recipient's tuition and fees if the recipient chooses to pursue vocational education while employed by the employer;

(6) Job placements shall have promotional opportunities or reasonable opportunities for wage increases;

((~~(6)~~)) (7) Other necessary support services such as training, day care, medical insurance, and transportation shall be provided to the extent possible;

((~~(7)~~)) (8) Employers shall provide monetary matching funds of at least fifty percent of total wages;

((~~(8)~~)) (9) Wages paid to participants shall be a minimum of five dollars an hour; ((~~and~~

~~(9)~~)) (10) The projects shall target the ((~~hardest-to-employ~~)) populations in the priority and for the purposes set forth in section 8 of this act, to the extent that necessary support services are available; and

(11) The department shall immediately develop mechanisms for the income assistance program, the medical assistance program, and the community services administration to facilitate the enrollment in the federal supplemental security income program for disabled persons currently receiving aid to families with dependent children.

Sec. 21. RCW 50.63.040 and 1986 c 172 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

An employer, before becoming eligible to fill a position under the employment partnership program, shall certify to the ((~~department of employment security~~)) local employment partnership council that the employment, offer of employment, or work activity complies with the following conditions:

(1) The conditions of work are reasonable and not in violation of applicable federal, state, or local safety and health standards;

(2) The assignments are not in any way related to political, electoral, or partisan activities;

(3) The employer shall provide industrial insurance coverage as required by Title 51 RCW;

(4) The employer shall provide unemployment compensation coverage as required by Title 50 RCW;

(5) The employment partnership program participants hired following the completion of the program shall be provided benefits equal to those provided to other employees including social security coverage, sick leave, the opportunity to join a collective bargaining unit, and medical benefits.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 22. A local employment partnership council shall be established in each pilot project area to assist the department of social and health services in the administration of this chapter and to allow local flexibility in dealing with the particular needs of each pilot project area. Each council shall be primarily responsible for recruiting and encouraging participation of employment providers in the project site. Each council shall be composed of nine members who shall be appointed by the county legislative authority of the county in which the pilot project operates. Councilmembers shall be residents of or employers in the pilot project area in which they are appointed and shall serve three-year terms. The council shall have two members who are current or former recipients of the aid to families with dependent children program or food stamp program, two members who represent labor, and five members who represent the local business community. In addition, one person representing the local community service office of the department of social and health services, one person representing a community action agency or other nonprofit service provider, and one person from a local city or county government shall serve as nonvoting members.

Sec. 23. RCW 50.63.060 and 1986 c 172 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

Participants shall be considered recipients of aid to families with dependent children and remain eligible for medicaid benefits even if the participant does not receive a residual grant. Work supplementation participants shall be eligible for (1) the thirty-dollar plus one-third of earned income exclusion from income, (2) the work related expense disregard, and (3) ((~~the~~)) any applicable child care expense disregard deemed available to recipient of aid in computing his or her grant under this chapter, unless prohibited by federal law.

Sec. 24. RCW 50.63.090 and 1986 c 172 s 9 are each amended to read as follows:

The department of social and health services shall seek any federal funds available for implementation of this chapter, including, but not limited to, funds available under Title IV of the federal social security act (42 U.S.C. Sec. 601 et seq.) for the ((~~work incentive demonstration program, and the employment search program~~)) job opportunities and basic skills program.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 25. RCW 50.63.010, 50.63.020, 50.63.030, 50.63.040, 50.63.050, 50.63.060, 50.63.070, 50.63.080, and 50.63.090 are each recodified as a new chapter in Title 74 RCW.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 26. The department of social and health services shall report to the appropriate committees of the house of representatives and senate on the implementation of this employment partnership program for recipients of aid to families with dependent children by October 1, 1995.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 27. Section 22 of this act shall be codified in the new chapter created by section 25 of this act.

PART VIII. IMMUNIZATION & WELL-BABY PROMOTION

NEW SECTION. Sec. 28. A new section is added to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:

INTENT‑-DECLARATION. The legislature finds that:

(1) There has been an increase in the number of children contracting vaccine preventable infectious diseases;

(2) This trend has occurred despite the availability of safe and effective immunizations which can prevent these disabling and life-threatening diseases;

(3) Parents and guardians of children are often unaware of the need for immunizations, the appropriate age to receive such immunizations, and the public health risks of the failure to be properly immunized;

(4) Adults may not be aware of their risk of contracting vaccine preventable infectious diseases and the availability of effective immunizations.

The legislature declares that it is in the public health interest of the people of the state of Washington that all adults and children should be appropriately immunized.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 29. A new section is added to chapter 43.20A RCW to read as follows:

STATE SERVICE RECIPIENTS‑-DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES. (1) Upon federal approval of necessary waivers to implement sections 28 through 30 of this act, the parent or legal guardian of a child up to five years of age who is eligible to receive services from, through, or purchased by the department is responsible for providing to the department within ninety days of receiving such services:

(a) A certificate showing that the child has completed the state board of health recommended infectious disease immunization schedule, as set forth in WAC 246-100-166 and the minimum standards for the early and periodic screening, diagnosis, and treatment schedule for preschool children or is making satisfactory progress in complying with the schedule;

(b) A waiver signed by a physician licensed under chapter 18.71 or 18.57 RCW stating that a particular vaccine is not medically advisable for the child. If it is determined by the physician that a particular vaccine is not contraindicated, the child will be required to receive the immunization;

(c) A written certification signed by a parent or legal guardian of the child stating that the signer has objections to the required immunizations based upon religious beliefs; or

(d) A written certification signed by a parent or legal guardian of the child stating that the signer has either a philosophical or personal objection to immunizing the child.

(2) The secretary shall grant to parents or guardians of children who are receiving department services on or before the effective date of this section, ninety days to comply with the requirements of this section.

(3) The secretary shall decide the manner in which certificates and waivers required by this section shall be prepared and made available.

(4) The secretary may establish by rule a procedure to periodically check whether children are making satisfactory progress in complying with the appropriate immunization schedules. The monitoring shall, to the extent possible, be conducted during the course of routine contact with the parent or guardian of the child.

(5) The secretary shall coordinate with the secretary of health, in the preparation of certificates and waivers and required for the administration of this section to assure minimum paperwork and prevent duplicative compliance requirements for children receiving state services or benefits from more than one state agency.

(6) The secretary shall seek whatever federal waivers are necessary to implement the provisions of this section.

(7) The secretary shall establish a pilot program under this section, either in one departmental region or in a group of community service offices representational of the average demographics of public assistance recipients in the state of Washington. The department shall track and analyze data regarding immunization compliance in the pilot area.

(8) The secretary may provide support services to families, as needed, including translation and cultural services, in order that they understand and fulfill their responsibilities under this section. If parents cannot meet responsibilities under this section, the department shall work with them until they are able to comply with one of the options in subsection (1) (a) through (d) of this section.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 30. A new section is added to chapter 43.70 RCW to read as follows:

IMMUNIZATION ASSESSMENT AND ENHANCEMENT PROPOSALS. (1) The department shall require that each local health jurisdiction submit an immunization assessment and enhancement proposal to assist public agencies to obtain compliance with the terms of sections 28 and 29 of this act. The proposal shall meet the requirements of this section. It shall include a description of how the local health jurisdictions will consult and involve existing health care providers that have previously been involved in the administration of state-supplied immunizations or have shown an interest to become involved.

(2) A local health jurisdiction must include at least the following in the proposal:

(a) A description of the population groups in the jurisdiction that are in greatest need for immunizations;

(b) A description of providers in the jurisdiction that are capable and willing to administer immunizations and how the providers will be utilized in enhancing immunization compliance with established target rates;

(d) An analysis of financial and nonfinancial barriers that are preventing children from receiving immunizations and a description of how the jurisdiction will remove such barriers; and

(e) A description of strategies to use outreach, volunteer, and other local educational resources to enhance immunization rates.

(3) The secretary shall approve the immunization assessment and enhancement proposal if he or she finds it offers maximum feasible likelihood of providing ready access to affordable immunization for all state residents including recipients of publicly funded services.

(4) This section shall be implemented consistent with available funding.

(5) The funding authorized to support sections 28 through 30 of this act shall be used to supplement but not replace current fees used to support local immunization efforts that are charged to patients.

(6) The secretary shall report biennially to the health care and fiscal committees of the house of representatives and senate on the status of the program and progress made toward target immunization rates, which he or she may establish in rule.

PART IX. CHILD'S RESOURCES

Sec. 31. RCW 74.12.350 and 1979 c 141 s 354 are each amended to read as follows:

The department of social and health services is hereby authorized to promulgate rules and regulations in conformity with the provisions of Public Law 87-543 to allow all or any portion of a dependent child's earned or other income to be set aside for the identifiable future needs of the dependent child which will make possible the realization of the child's maximum potential as an independent and useful citizen.

The transfer into, or accumulation of, a child's income or resources in an irrevocable trust account is hereby allowed. The amount allowable is four thousand dollars. The department will provide income assistance recipients with clear and simple information on how to set up educational accounts, including how to assure that the accounts comply with federal law by being adequately earmarked for future educational use, and are irrevocable.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 32. A new section is added to chapter 26.40 RCW to read as follows:

The office of support enforcement shall, as a matter of policy, use all available remedies for the enforcement of support obligations where the obligor is a self-employed individual. The legislature directs that the office of support enforcement shall not discriminate in favor of certain obligors based upon employment status.

Sec. 33. RCW 74.12.360 and 1993 c 312 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) ((~~As part of the orientation and assessment conducted pursuant to RCW 74.25.020,~~)) The department shall ((~~assist the family of the recipient in determining~~)) determine, in the following order of priority, the most appropriate living situation that will best ensure the safety and well-being for each recipient of aid to families with dependent children who is receiving those benefits as a head of household and is under age eighteen. Appropriate living situations may include, but are not limited to:

(a) The parent's home;

(b) The home of ((a)) an adult relative or legal guardian;

(d) ((~~Living independently; and~~

~~(e)~~)) Payment of the recipient's grant to another as provided in RCW 74.12.250.

(2) In conducting the assessment, the department shall consider all relevant factors, including but not limited to:

(a) Whether the recipient is enrolled in and attending school;

(b) Whether the recipient is employed;

(c) The situation in the home of the recipient's parents, including but not limited to, whether there is substance abuse or domestic violence in the home and the adequacy of the dwelling; and

(d) Whether there is a history of physical, emotional, or sexual abuse of the recipient by a person living in or frequenting the recipient's parents' home.

(3) If, as a result of the assessment, the department becomes aware of a recipient's need for other services that will help the recipient complete high school or achieve economic independence, and be an effective parent, the department shall make every effort to link the recipient with the services, including parenting classes.

PART X. MISCELLANEOUS

NEW SECTION. Sec. 34. A new section is added to chapter 74.12 RCW to read as follows:

By October 1, 1994, the department shall request the governor to seek congressional action on any federal legislation that may be necessary to implement any sections of chapter . . ., Laws of 1994 (this act). By October 1, 1994, the department shall request the governor to seek federal agency action on any federal regulation that may require a federal waiver.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 35. 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.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 36. If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this act is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict and with respect to the agencies directly affected, and this finding does not affect the operation of the remainder of this act in its application to the agencies concerned. The rules under this act shall meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 37. Sections 7, 8, and 11 of this act shall take effect July 1, 1995.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 38. Part headings and section captions as used in this act constitute no part of the law."

E2SHB 2798 - S COMM AMD

By Committee on Health & Human Services

On page 1, line 1 of the title, after "reform;" strike the remainder of the title and insert "amending RCW 74.25.010, 74.25.020, 50.63.010, 50.63.020, 50.63.030, 50.63.040, 50.63.060, 50.63.090, 74.12.350, and 74.12.360; adding new sections to chapter 74.12 RCW; adding new sections to chapter 74.25 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 74.20A RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.20B RCW; adding new sections to chapter 43.70 RCW; adding a new section to chapter 43.20A RCW; adding a new section to chapter 26.40 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 74 RCW; creating new sections; recodifying RCW 50.63.010, 50.63.020, 50.63.030, 50.63.040, 50.63.050, 50.63.060, 50.63.070, 50.63.080, and 50.63.090; and providing an effective date."