AN
ACT Relating to technical clarifying changes to developmentally disabled
children's out-of-home placement; and amending RCW 74.13.350, 13.34.270, and
74.13.021.
BE IT
ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec.
1. RCW
74.13.350 and 1997 c 386 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
It
is the intent of the legislature that parents are responsible for the care and
support of children with developmental disabilities. The legislature
recognizes that, because of the intense support required to care for a child
with developmental disabilities, the help of an out-of-home placement may be
needed. It is the intent of the legislature that, when the sole reason for the
out-of-home placement is the child's developmental disability, such services be
offered by the department to these children and their families through a
voluntary placement agreement. In these cases, the parents shall retain legal
custody of the child.
As
used in this section, "voluntary placement agreement" means a written
agreement between the department and a child's parent or legal guardian
authorizing the department to place the child in a licensed facility. Under
the terms of this agreement, the parent or legal guardian shall retain legal
custody and the department shall be responsible for the child's placement and
care. The agreement shall at a minimum specify the legal status of the child
and the rights and obligations of the parent or legal guardian, the child, and
the department while the child is in placement. The agreement must be signed
by the child's parent or legal guardian and the department to be in effect,
except that an agreement regarding an Indian child shall not be valid unless
executed in writing before the court and filed with the court as provided in
RCW 13.34.245. Any party to a voluntary placement agreement may terminate the
agreement at any time. Upon termination of the agreement, the child shall be
returned to the care of the child's parent or legal guardian unless the child
has been taken into custody pursuant to RCW 13.34.050 or 26.44.050, placed in
shelter care pursuant to RCW 13.34.060, or placed in foster care pursuant to
RCW 13.34.130.
As
used in this section, "out-of-home placement" and "out-of-home
care" mean the placement of a child in a foster family home or group care
facility licensed under chapter 74.15 RCW.
Whenever
the department places a child in out-of-home care under a voluntary placement
pursuant to this section, the department shall have the responsibility for the
child's placement and care. The department shall develop a permanency plan of
care for the child no later than sixty days from the date that the department
assumes responsibility for the child's placement and care. Within the first
one hundred eighty days of the placement, the department shall obtain a
judicial determination pursuant to RCW 13.04.030(1)(j) and 13.34.270 that the
placement is in the best interests of the child. If the child's out-of-home
placement ends before one hundred eighty days have elapsed, no judicial
determination under RCW 13.04.030(1)(b) is required. The permanency
planning hearings shall review whether the child's best interests are served by
continued out-of-home placement and determine the future legal status of the
child.
The
department shall provide for periodic administrative reviews as required by
federal law. A review may be called at any time by either the department, the
parent, or the legal guardian.
Nothing
in this section shall prevent the department from filing a dependency petition
if there is reason to believe that the child is a dependent child as defined in
RCW 13.34.030.
The
department shall adopt rules providing for the implementation of chapter 386,
Laws of 1997 and the transfer of responsibility for out-of-home placements from
the dependency process under chapter 13.34 RCW to the process under this
chapter.
It
is the intent of the legislature that the department undertake voluntary
out-of-home placement in cases where the child's developmental disability is
such that the parent, guardian, or legal custodian is unable to provide the
necessary care for the child, and the parent, guardian, or legal custodian has
determined that the child would benefit from placement outside of the home. If
the department does not accept a voluntary placement agreement signed by the
parent, a petition may be filed and an action pursued under chapter 13.34 RCW.
The department shall inform the parent, guardian, or legal custodian in writing
of their right to civil action under chapter 13.34 RCW.
Sec.
2. RCW
13.34.270 and 1997 c 386 s 19 are each amended to read as follows:
(1)
Whenever the department of social and health services places a developmentally
disabled child in out-of-home care pursuant to RCW 74.13.350, the department
shall obtain a judicial determination within one hundred eighty days of the
placement that continued placement is in the best interests of the child. If
the child's out-of-home placement ends before one hundred eighty days have
elapsed, no judicial determination is required.
(2)
To obtain the judicial determination, the department shall file a petition
alleging that there is located or residing within the county a child who has a
developmental disability, as defined in RCW 71A.10.020, and that the child has
been placed in out-of-home care pursuant to RCW 74.13.350. The petition shall
request that the court review the child's placement, make a determination that
continued placement is in the best interests of the child, and take other
necessary action as provided in this section. The petition shall contain the
name, date of birth, and residence of the child and the names and residences of
the child's parent or legal guardian who has agreed to the child's placement in
out-of-home care. Reasonable attempts shall be made by the department to
ascertain and set forth in the petition the identity, location, and custodial
status of any parent who is not a party to the placement agreement and why that
parent cannot assume custody of the child.
(3)
Upon filing of the petition, the clerk of the court shall schedule the petition
for a hearing to be held no later than fourteen calendar days after the
petition has been filed. The department shall provide notification of the
time, date, and purpose of the hearing to the parent or legal guardian who has
agreed to the child's placement in out-of-home care. The department shall also
make reasonable attempts to notify any parent who is not a party to the
placement agreement, if the parent's identity and location is known.
Notification under this section may be given by the most expedient means,
including but not limited to, mail, personal service, telephone, and telegraph.
(4)
The court shall appoint a guardian ad litem for the child as provided in RCW
13.34.100, unless the court for good cause finds the appointment unnecessary.
(5)
Permanency planning hearings shall be held as provided in this subsection. At
the hearing, the court shall review whether the child's best interests are
served by continued out-of-home placement and determine the future legal status
of the child.
(a)
For children age ten and under, a permanency planning hearing shall be held in
all cases where the child has remained in out-of-home care for at least nine
months and an adoption decree or guardianship order has not previously been
entered. The hearing shall take place no later than twelve months following
commencement of the child's current placement episode.
(b)
For children over age ten, a permanency planning hearing shall be held in all
cases where the child has remained in out-of-home care for at least fifteen
months and an adoption decree or guardianship order has not previously been
entered. The hearing shall take place no later than eighteen months following
commencement of the current placement episode.
(c)
No later than ten working days before the permanency planning hearing, the
department shall submit a written permanency plan to the court and shall mail a
copy of the plan to all parties. The plan shall be directed toward securing a
safe, stable, and permanent home for the child as soon as possible. The plan
shall identify one of the following outcomes as the primary goal and may also
identify additional outcomes as alternative goals: Return of the child to the
home of the child's parent or legal guardian; adoption; guardianship; or long-term
out-of-home care, until the child is age eighteen, with a written agreement
between the parties and the child's care provider.
(d)
If a goal of long-term out-of-home care has been achieved before the permanency
planning hearing, the court shall review the child's status to determine
whether the placement and the plan for the child's care remains appropriate.
In cases where the primary permanency planning goal has not ((be [been]))
been achieved, the court shall inquire regarding the reasons why the primary
goal has not been achieved and determine what needs to be done to make it
possible to achieve the primary goal.
(e)
Following the first permanency planning hearing, the court shall hold a further
permanency planning hearing in accordance with this section at least once every
twelve months until a permanency planning goal is achieved or the voluntary
placement agreement is terminated.
(6)
Any party to the voluntary placement agreement may terminate the agreement at
any time. Upon termination of the agreement, the child shall be returned to
the care of the child's parent or legal guardian, unless the child has been
taken into custody pursuant to RCW 13.34.050 or 26.44.050, placed in shelter
care pursuant to RCW 13.34.060, or placed in foster care pursuant to RCW
13.34.130. The department shall notify the court upon termination of the
voluntary placement agreement and return of the child to the care of the
child's parent or legal guardian. Whenever a voluntary placement agreement is
terminated, an action under this section shall be dismissed.
(7) This section does not prevent the department from filing a
dependency petition if there is reason to believe that the child is a dependent
child as defined in RCW 13.34.030. An action filed under this section shall be
dismissed upon the filing of a dependency petition regarding a child who is the
subject of the action under this section.
Sec.
3. RCW
74.13.021 and 1997 c 386 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
As
used in this chapter, "developmentally disabled ((dependent))
child" is a child who has a developmental disability as defined in RCW
71A.10.020 and whose parent, guardian, or legal custodian and with the
department mutually agree that services appropriate to the child's needs can
not be provided in the home.
