BP BHEAD INT H [atlas:bill]

AN ACT Relating to establishing a foster parent retention pilot program; creating new sections; making appropriations; and providing an expiration date.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:

(1) Foster parents have little means to cope with sexually abused children. There is no support for these children in the foster home setting, contributing to the fact that seventy percent of these children have multiple foster home placements;

(2) Two-thirds of the work of child protective services in Washington state is linked with families that it sees repeatedly. The families have cumulative risks such as drug abuse, domestic violence, and mental illness. Sexual abuse of children in these families frequently occurs;

(3) Many of our next generation's sexual predators are in foster care today. These children have had severe and repeated early abuse, are under age twelve, and move freely in schools and child care. The division of children and family services reports that these children have molested an average of five children while they are in foster care; and

(4) In Pierce county alone, seventy-five of these children are now in foster care. This pressures an already stressed foster care system, and sets the stage for these children to enter into a lifetime of sexually deviant behavior.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A foster parent retention pilot program is established to retain foster parents who care for children who act out sexually. The foster parent retention pilot program is to be implemented under the division of children and family services' contract and supervision. A contractor must demonstrate experience providing in-home case management to regular division of children and family services foster parents.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) The sum of one hundred sixty-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2000, from the general fund to the division of children and family services to be used according to the following schedule:

(a) One hundred twenty-two thousand dollars shall be used for direct services under section 4(1) of this act; and

(b) Forty-three thousand dollars shall be used for evaluation of the foster parent retention pilot program under section 4(2) of this act.

(2) The sum of one hundred sixty-five thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2001, from the general fund to the division of children and family services for the purposes of this act.

(a) One hundred twenty-two thousand dollars shall be used for direct services under section 4(1) of this act; and

(b) Forty-three thousand dollars shall be used for evaluation of the foster parent retention pilot program under section 4(2) of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) Under the foster parent retention pilot program, foster parents who care for children who act out sexually will receive:

(a) Emergency assistance; and

(b) Problem solving in the home and group training.

(2) By December 2001, the division of children and family services shall prepare a presentation for an independent evaluation before the appropriate committees of the legislature, which includes the following:

(a) The retention rate of foster parents in the program as compared to a comparable group of foster parents who are not in the program;

(b) Incidents of sexual molestation of children by children;

(d) Recommendations by the division of children and family services on whether a foster parent retention program should be continued.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. If specific funding for the purposes of this act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by June 30, 2001, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and void.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. This act expires January 1, 2002.