H-5009.1 _______________________________________________
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 3002
_______________________________________________
State of Washington 55th Legislature 1998 Regular Session
By House Committee on Children & Family Services (originally sponsored by Representatives Cooke, Tokuda, Costa, Cody and Thompson; by request of Department of Social and Health Services)
Read first time 02/06/98. Referred to Committee on .
AN ACT Relating to background checks for persons being authorized to care for children; and amending RCW 74.15.030.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 74.15.030 and 1997 c 386 s 33 are each amended to read as follows:
The secretary shall have the power and it shall be the secretary's duty:
(1) In consultation with the children's services advisory committee, and with the advice and assistance of persons representative of the various type agencies to be licensed, to designate categories of facilities for which separate or different requirements shall be developed as may be appropriate whether because of variations in the ages, sex and other characteristics of persons served, variations in the purposes and services offered or size or structure of the agencies to be licensed hereunder, or because of any other factor relevant thereto;
(2) In consultation with the children's services advisory committee, and with the advice and assistance of persons representative of the various type agencies to be licensed, to adopt and publish minimum requirements for licensing applicable to each of the various categories of agencies to be licensed.
The minimum requirements shall be limited to:
(a) The size and suitability of a facility and the plan of operation for carrying out the purpose for which an applicant seeks a license;
(b)
The character, suitability and competence of an agency and other persons
associated with an agency directly responsible for the care and treatment of
children, expectant mothers or developmentally disabled persons. ((In
consultation with law enforcement personnel, the secretary shall investigate
the conviction record or pending charges and dependency record information
under chapter 43.43 RCW of each agency and its staff seeking licensure or
relicensure.))
(i)
In order to determine the character, suitability, and competence
of applicants for an agency license, licensees, their employees, and other
persons who have unsupervised access to children in care, ((and)) the
department shall:
(A) In consultation with law enforcement personnel, investigate the conviction record or pending charges and dependency record information under chapter 43.43 RCW of any such person;
(B) Have access, under RCW 10.97.050(4), to criminal history record information, which includes records of arrest, charges, or allegations of criminal conduct and other nonconviction data; and
(C)
Require that any such person who ((have)) has not resided in
the state of Washington during the three-year period before being authorized to
care for children ((shall)) be fingerprinted. The fingerprints shall be
forwarded to the Washington state patrol and federal bureau of investigation
for a criminal history records check. To investigate criminal history
information, the department may reasonably rely on a criminal history records
check of the Washington state patrol criminal identification system and, where
a federal bureau of investigation check is required, a federal bureau of
investigation check by the Washington state patrol or by another governmental
agency or a branch of the United States military if the check is less than one
year old.
(ii)
The fingerprint criminal history records checks will be at the expense of the
licensee except that ((in the case of a foster family home, if this expense
would work a hardship on the licensee, the department shall pay the expense))
the department shall pay the expense for foster family homes and for family
day care homes and child day care centers which received state subsidies for at
least twenty percent of the children in their care during the past three months.
If the licensee ((may not pass)) passes this cost on to
the employee or prospective employee, ((unless the employee is determined to
be unsuitable due to his or her criminal history record)) the licensee
may reimburse the employee or prospective employee for the cost if the employee
or prospective employee remains in the licensee's employ for six months.
(iii)
The ((secretary)) department shall use ((the)) criminal
history records check information solely for the purpose of determining
eligibility for a license and for determining the character, suitability, and
competence of those persons or agencies, excluding parents, ((not required
to be)) licensed ((who are)) or authorized by the
department to care for children, expectant mothers, and developmentally
disabled persons. The department shall use nonconviction data solely as a
tool for investigation and shall not base any decision regarding character,
suitability, or competence to care for children solely on the basis of
nonconviction data. The department shall share the conviction record, pending
charges, and dependency record information with the child-placing agency that
is responsible for certifying the licensee or applicant. Criminal justice
agencies shall provide the secretary such information as they may have and that
the secretary may require for such purposes;
(c) The number of qualified persons required to render the type of care and treatment for which an agency seeks a license;
(d) The safety, cleanliness, and general adequacy of the premises to provide for the comfort, care and well-being of children, expectant mothers or developmentally disabled persons;
(e) The provision of necessary care, including food, clothing, supervision and discipline; physical, mental and social well-being; and educational, recreational and spiritual opportunities for those served;
(f) The financial ability of an agency to comply with minimum requirements established pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW and RCW 74.13.031; and
(g) The maintenance of records pertaining to the admission, progress, health and discharge of persons served;
(3) To investigate any person, including relatives by blood or marriage except for parents, for character, suitability, and competence in the care and treatment of children, expectant mothers, and developmentally disabled persons prior to authorizing that person to care for children, expectant mothers, and developmentally disabled persons. However, if a child is placed with a relative under RCW 13.34.060 or 13.34.130, and if such relative appears otherwise suitable and competent to provide care and treatment the criminal history background check required by this section need not be completed before placement, but shall be completed as soon as possible after placement;
(4) On reports of alleged child abuse and neglect, to investigate agencies in accordance with chapter 26.44 RCW, including child day-care centers and family day-care homes, to determine whether the alleged abuse or neglect has occurred, and whether child protective services or referral to a law enforcement agency is appropriate;
(5) To issue, revoke, or deny licenses to agencies pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW and RCW 74.13.031. Licenses shall specify the category of care which an agency is authorized to render and the ages, sex and number of persons to be served;
(6) To prescribe the procedures and the form and contents of reports necessary for the administration of chapter 74.15 RCW and RCW 74.13.031 and to require regular reports from each licensee;
(7) To inspect agencies periodically to determine whether or not there is compliance with chapter 74.15 RCW and RCW 74.13.031 and the requirements adopted hereunder;
(8) To review requirements adopted hereunder at least every two years and to adopt appropriate changes after consultation with the child care coordinating committee and other affected groups for child day-care requirements and with the children's services advisory committee for requirements for other agencies; and
(9) To consult with public and private agencies in order to help them improve their methods and facilities for the care of children, expectant mothers and developmentally disabled persons.
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