CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6642
58th Legislature
2004 Regular SessionPassed by the Senate March 9, 2004
YEAS 42 NAYS 7
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President of the Senate
Passed by the House March 4, 2004
YEAS 96 NAYS 0
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Speaker of the House of Representatives
| | CERTIFICATE
I, Milton H. Doumit, Jr., Secretary of the Senate of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6642 as passed by the Senate and the House of Representatives on the dates hereon set forth.
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Secretary |
Approved
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Governor of the State of Washington | | FILED
Secretary of State
State of Washington |
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ENGROSSED SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 6642
_____________________________________________
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed Legislature - 2004 Regular Session| State of Washington | 58th Legislature | 2004 Regular Session |
By Senate Committee on Children & Family Services & Corrections (originally sponsored by Senators Stevens, Hargrove, Schmidt, Carlson, Mulliken, Hewitt, Roach and McAuliffe)READ FIRST TIME 02/09/04.
AN ACT Relating to case conferences following shelter care
hearings; amending RCW 13.34.067, 13.34.062, and 13.34.094; creating a
new section; and providing an effective date.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
Sec. 1 RCW 13.34.067 and 2001 c 332 s 1 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) Following shelter care and no later than ((twenty-five)) thirty
days prior to fact-finding, the department((, upon the parent's request
or counsel for the parent's request,)) shall ((facilitate)) convene a
case conference as required in the shelter care order to develop and
specify in a written service agreement the expectations of both the
department and the parent regarding ((the care and placement of the
child)) voluntary services for the parent.
((The department shall invite to)) The case conference shall
include the parent, counsel for the parent, ((the foster parent or
other out-of-home care provider,)) caseworker, counsel for the state,
guardian ad litem, ((counselor, or other relevant health care
provider)) counsel for the child, and any other person ((connected to
the development and well-being of the child)) agreed upon by the
parties. Once the shelter care order is entered, the department is not
required to provide additional notice of the case conference to any
participants in the case conference.
The ((initial)) written service agreement expectations must
correlate with the court's findings at the shelter care hearing. The
written service agreement must set forth specific ((criteria that
enables the court to measure the performance of both the department and
the parent, and must be updated throughout the dependency process to
reflect changes in expectations. The service agreement must serve as
the unifying document for all expectations established in the
department's various case planning and case management documents and
the findings and orders of the court during dependency proceedings.
The court shall review the written service agreement at each stage
of the dependency proceedings and evaluate the performance of both the
department and the parent for consistent, measurable progress in
complying with the expectations identified in the agreement)) services
to be provided to the parent.
The case conference agreement must be agreed to and signed by the
parties. The court shall not consider the content of the discussions
at the case conference at the time of the fact-finding hearing for the
purposes of establishing that the child is a dependent child, and the
court shall not consider any documents or written materials presented
at the case conference but not incorporated into the case conference
agreement, unless the documents or written materials were prepared for
purposes other than or as a result of the case conference and are
otherwise admissible under the rules of evidence.
(2) At any other stage in a dependency proceeding, the department,
upon the parent's request, shall ((facilitate)) convene a case
conference.
Sec. 2 RCW 13.34.062 and 2001 c 332 s 2 are each amended to read
as follows:
(1) The written notice of custody and rights required by RCW
13.34.060 shall be in substantially the following form:
"NOTICE
Your child has been placed in temporary custody under the
supervision of Child Protective Services (or other person or agency).
You have important legal rights and you must take steps to protect your
interests.
1. A court hearing will be held before a judge within 72 hours of
the time your child is taken into custody excluding Saturdays, Sundays,
and holidays. You should call the court at (insert appropriate
phone number here) for specific information about the date, time,
and location of the court hearing.
2. You have the right to have a lawyer represent you at the
hearing. Your right to representation continues after the shelter care
hearing. You have the right to records the department intends to rely
upon. A lawyer can look at the files in your case, talk to child
protective services and other agencies, tell you about the law, help
you understand your rights, and help you at hearings. If you cannot
afford a lawyer, the court will appoint one to represent you. To get
a court-appointed lawyer you must contact: (explain local
procedure) .
3. At the hearing, you have the right to speak on your own behalf,
to introduce evidence, to examine witnesses, and to receive a decision
based solely on the evidence presented to the judge.
4. If your hearing occurs before a court commissioner, you have the
right to have the decision of the court commissioner reviewed by a
superior court judge. To obtain that review, you must, within ten days
after the entry of the decision of the court commissioner, file with
the court a motion for revision of the decision, as provided in RCW
2.24.050.
You should be present at any shelter care hearing. If you do not
come, the judge will not hear what you have to say.
You may call the Child Protective Services' caseworker for more
information about your child. The caseworker's name and telephone
number are: (insert name and telephone number) .
5. You ((may request that the department facilitate)) have a right
to a case conference to develop a written service agreement following
the shelter care hearing. The service agreement may not conflict with
the court's order of shelter care. You may request that a
multidisciplinary team, family group conference, or prognostic
staffing((, or case conference)) be convened for your child's case.
You may participate in these processes with your counsel present."
Upon receipt of the written notice, the parent, guardian, or legal
custodian shall acknowledge such notice by signing a receipt prepared
by child protective services. If the parent, guardian, or legal
custodian does not sign the receipt, the reason for lack of a signature
shall be written on the receipt. The receipt shall be made a part of
the court's file in the dependency action.
If after making reasonable efforts to provide notification, child
protective services is unable to determine the whereabouts of the
parents, guardian, or legal custodian, the notice shall be delivered or
sent to the last known address of the parent, guardian, or legal
custodian.
(2) If child protective services is not required to give notice
under RCW 13.34.060(2) and subsection (1) of this section, the juvenile
court counselor assigned to the matter shall make all reasonable
efforts to advise the parents, guardian, or legal custodian of the time
and place of any shelter care hearing, request that they be present,
and inform them of their basic rights as provided in RCW 13.34.090.
(3) Reasonable efforts to advise and to give notice, as required in
RCW 13.34.060(2) and subsections (1) and (2) of this section, shall
include, at a minimum, investigation of the whereabouts of the parent,
guardian, or legal custodian. If such reasonable efforts are not
successful, or the parent, guardian, or legal custodian does not appear
at the shelter care hearing, the petitioner shall testify at the
hearing or state in a declaration:
(a) The efforts made to investigate the whereabouts of, and to
advise, the parent, guardian, or legal custodian; and
(b) Whether actual advice of rights was made, to whom it was made,
and how it was made, including the substance of any oral communication
or copies of written materials used.
(4) The court shall hear evidence regarding notice given to, and
efforts to notify, the parent, guardian, or legal custodian and shall
examine the need for shelter care. The court shall hear evidence
regarding the efforts made to place the child with a relative. The
court shall make an express finding as to whether the notice required
under RCW 13.34.060(2) and subsections (1) and (2) of this section was
given to the parent, guardian, or legal custodian. All parties have
the right to present testimony to the court regarding the need or lack
of need for shelter care. Hearsay evidence before the court regarding
the need or lack of need for shelter care must be supported by sworn
testimony, affidavit, or declaration of the person offering such
evidence.
(5)(a) A shelter care order issued pursuant to RCW 13.34.065 shall
include the requirement for a case conference as provided in RCW
13.34.067. However, if the parent is not present at the shelter care
hearing, or does not agree to the case conference, the court shall not
include the requirement for the case conference in the shelter care
order.
(b) If the court orders a case conference, the shelter care order
shall include notice to all parties and establish the date, time, and
location of the case conference which shall be no later than thirty
days prior to the fact-finding hearing.
(c) The court may order a conference or meeting as an alternative
to the case conference required under RCW 13.34.067 so long as the
conference or meeting ordered by the court meets all requirements under
RCW 13.34.067, including the requirement of a written agreement
specifying the services to be provided to the parent.
(6) A shelter care order issued pursuant to RCW 13.34.065 may be
amended at any time with notice and hearing thereon. The shelter care
decision of placement shall be modified only upon a showing of change
in circumstances. No child may be placed in shelter care for longer
than thirty days without an order, signed by the judge, authorizing
continued shelter care.
(((6))) (7) Any parent, guardian, or legal custodian who for good
cause is unable to attend the initial shelter care hearing may request
that a subsequent shelter care hearing be scheduled. The request shall
be made to the clerk of the court where the petition is filed prior to
the initial shelter care hearing. Upon the request of the parent, the
court shall schedule the hearing within seventy-two hours of the
request, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and holidays. The clerk shall
notify all other parties of the hearing by any reasonable means.
Sec. 3 RCW 13.34.094 and 2001 c 332 s 6 are each amended to read
as follows:
The department shall, within existing resources, provide to parents
requesting or participating in a multidisciplinary team, family group
conference, case conference, or prognostic staffing((, or case
conference,)) information that describes these processes prior to the
processes being undertaken.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4 If specific funding for the purposes of this
act, referencing this act by bill or chapter number, is not provided by
June 30, 2004, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and
void.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5 This act takes effect July 1, 2004.
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