S-4566

AN ACT Relating to domestic violence fatality reviews; and adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.

(1) "Department" means the department of social and health services.

(2) "Domestic violence fatality" means a homicide or suicide under any of the following circumstances:

(a) The alleged perpetrator and victim resided together at any time;

(b) The alleged perpetrator and victim have a child in common;

(d) The alleged perpetrator had been stalking the victim;

(e) The homicide victim lived in the same household, was present at the workplace of, was in proximity of, or was related by blood or affinity to a victim who experienced or was threatened with domestic abuse by the alleged perpetrator;

(f) The victim or perpetrator was a child of a person in a relationship that is described within this subsection; or

(g) The domestic violence fatality review panel decides that the death falls within the parameters of its mission.

This subsection should be interpreted broadly to give the domestic violence fatality review panels discretion to review fatalities that have occurred both directly and peripherally to domestic relationships.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. (1) Subject to the availability of state funds, the department shall contract with an entity with expertise in domestic violence policy and education and with a state-wide perspective to coordinate review of domestic violence fatalities. The coordinating entity shall be authorized to:

(a) Convene regional review panels;

(b) Gather information for use of regional review panels;

(d) Compile information and issue annual reports with recommendations; and

(e) Establish a protocol that may be used as a guideline for identifying domestic violence related fatalities, forming review panels, convening reviews, and selecting which cases to review. The coordinating entity may also establish protocols for data collection and preservation of confidentiality.

(2)(a) The coordinating entity may convene a regional domestic violence fatality review panel to review any domestic violence fatality.

(b) Private citizens may request a review of a particular death by submitting a written request to the coordinating entity within two years of the death. Of these, the appropriate regional review panel may review those cases which fit the criteria set forth in the protocol for the project.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. (1) Regional domestic violence fatality review panels shall include but not be limited to:

(a) Medical personnel with expertise in domestic violence abuse;

(b) Coroners or medical examiners or others experienced in the field of forensic pathology, if available;

(d) Domestic violence shelter service staff and battered women's advocates;

(e) Law enforcement personnel;

(f) County health department staff who deal with domestic violence victims' health issues;

(g) Child protective services workers;

(h) Community corrections professionals;

(i) Perpetrator treatment program provider; and

(j) Judges, court administrators, and/or their representatives.

(2) Regional domestic violence fatality review panels may also invite other relevant persons to serve on an ad hoc basis and participate as full members of the review team for a particular review. These persons may include, but are not limited to:

(a) Individuals with particular expertise helpful to the regional review panel;

(b) Representatives of organizations or agencies that had contact with or provided services to the homicide victim or to the alleged perpetrator.

(3) The regional review panels shall make periodic reports to the coordinating entity and shall make a final report to the coordinating entity with regard to every fatality that is reviewed.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. (1) An oral or written communication or a document shared within or produced by a regional domestic violence fatality review panel related to a domestic violence fatality review is confidential and not subject to disclosure or discoverable by a third party. An oral or written communication or a document provided by a third party to a regional domestic violence fatality review panel, or between a third party and a regional domestic violence fatality review panel is confidential and not subject to disclosure or discovery by a third party. Notwithstanding the foregoing, recommendations from the regional domestic violence fatality review panel and the coordinating entity generally may be disclosed minus personal identifiers.

(2) The regional review panels shall have access to information and records regarding domestic violence victims and perpetrators under review held by batterer's treatment providers; dental care providers; hospitals, medical providers, and pathologists; coroners and medical examiners; mental health providers; defense attorneys and other lawyers; the state and local governments; the courts; and employers. The coordinating entity and the regional review panels shall maintain the confidentiality of such information to the extent required by any applicable law.

(3) The regional review panels shall review, when determined to be appropriate, guardian ad litem reports, parenting evaluations, and victim impact statements; probation information; mental health evaluations done for court; presentence interviews and reports, and any recommendations made regarding bail and release on own recognizance; child protection services, welfare, and other information held by the department; any law enforcement incident documentation, such as incident reports, dispatch records, victim, witness, and suspect statements, and any supplemental reports, probable cause statements, and 911 call taker's reports; corrections and postsentence supervision reports; and any other information determined to be relevant to the review.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. If acting in good faith, without malice, and within the parameters of this chapter and the protocols established, representatives of the coordinating entity and the regional domestic violence fatality review panels are immune from civil or criminal liability for an activity related to reviews of particular fatalities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. Within available funds, data regarding each domestic violence fatality review shall be collected on standard forms created by the coordinating entity. Data collected on reviewed fatalities shall be compiled and analyzed for the purposes of identifying points at which the system response to domestic violence could be improved and identifying patterns in domestic violence fatalities.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 7. (1) An annual state-wide report shall be issued by the coordinating entity in December containing recommendations and issues identified through the work of the regional panels. Copies of this report shall be distributed to public officials in the state who deal with domestic violence issues and to those agencies involved in the regional domestic violence fatality review panels.

(2) The annual report in December 2010 shall contain a recommendation as to whether or not the domestic violence review process provided for in this chapter should continue or be terminated by the legislature.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 8. Sections 1 through 7 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.