S-3441.2 _______________________________________________
SENATE BILL 6167
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State of Washington 56th Legislature 2000 Regular Session
By Senators Fairley and Thibaudeau
Read first time 01/10/2000. Referred to Committee on Labor & Workforce Development.
AN ACT Relating to public assistance; amending RCW 74.04.025 and 74.08.050; and repealing RCW 74.25.040.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1. RCW 74.04.025 and 1998 c 245 s 143 are each amended to read as follows:
(1) The department and the office of administrative hearings shall ensure that bilingual services are provided to non-English speaking applicants and recipients. The services shall be provided to the extent necessary to assure that non-English speaking persons are not denied, or unable to obtain or maintain, services or benefits because of their inability to speak English.
(2) If the number of non-English speaking applicants or recipients sharing the same language served by any community service office client contact job classification equals or exceeds fifty percent of the average caseload of a full-time position in such classification, the department shall, through attrition, employ bilingual personnel to serve such applicants or recipients.
(3) Regardless of the applicant or recipient caseload of any community service office, each community service office shall ensure that bilingual services required to supplement the community service office staff are provided through contracts with interpreters, local agencies, or other community resources.
(4) Initial client contact materials shall inform clients in all primary languages of the availability of interpretation services for non-English speaking persons. Basic informational pamphlets shall be translated into all primary languages.
(5) To the extent all written communications directed to applicants or recipients are not in the primary language of the applicant or recipient, the department and the office of administrative hearings shall include with the written communication a notice in all primary languages of applicants or recipients describing the significance of the communication and specifically how the applicants or recipients may receive assistance in understanding, and responding to if necessary, the written communication. The department shall assure that sufficient resources are available to assist applicants and recipients in a timely fashion with understanding, responding to, and complying with the requirements of all such written communications.
(6) As used in this section, "primary languages" includes but is not limited to Spanish, Vietnamese, Cambodian, Laotian, Russian, and Chinese.
Sec. 2. RCW 74.08.050 and 1971 ex.s. c 169 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
Application
for a grant in any category of public assistance shall be made to the county
office by the applicant or by another on ((his)) the applicant's
behalf, and shall be reduced to writing upon a standard form((s))
prescribed by the department, and a written acknowledgment of receipt of the
application by the department shall be given to each applicant at the time of
making application. The application form shall be streamlined so that
applicants for various types of public assistance can be identified and
cross-referred to programs for which they are eligible, based upon a single,
universal assistance application form.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. RCW 74.25.040 (Volunteer work--Child care or other work--Training) and 1997 c 59 s 30, 1997 c 58 s 405, & 1994 c 299 s 8 are each repealed.
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