BILL REQ. #:  S-1410.2 

Read first time 02/10/2005.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to creating a department of family and children's services; amending RCW 43.17.020; reenacting and amending RCW 43.17.010; adding a new section to chapter 41.06 RCW; adding a new chapter to Title 43 RCW; creating new sections; and providing an expiration date.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature finds it is necessary to realign Washington's child welfare system over time. The legislature finds that although it is the stated mission of the children's administration in the department of social and health services to protect children, help families care for and parent their children, and find safe homes for children, the mission may be compromised by the goals, objectives, size, and complexity of the larger agency of which it is a part.
     The legislature finds that many children served by our state's juvenile rehabilitation programs come from families where there has been abuse and neglect and the lack of attention to the needs of these families to care for and parent their children safely has contributed to juvenile crime.
     The Braam lawsuit found that the children's administration was unable to adequately and safely support children in foster care and foster parents who provide the care for them. The legislature believes that the children's administration is unable to implement its own policies because it is distracted from its goals by its location in the department of social and health services, a large umbrella agency.
     The legislature finds that department's current children's administration does not set adequate indicators of success, successfully compare results to previous indicators, and then demand and achieve improvement. The legislature finds that there are inadequate key performance indicators for protective services, investigations, and foster care services for comparison on a monthly basis, and over time, to evaluate if the system is working to protect children. The legislature intends for there to be accountability for the safety and protection of children in the system. The legislature believes that an independent agency will be more efficient and more effective than under the current umbrella agency and that a small operational and administrative structure will improve employee morale.
     The legislature intends that it be the mission of the new department of family and children's services to first protect abused and neglected children, support the efforts of families to care for and parent their own children safely, and provide quality care and permanent families for children, in partnership with tribes, foster parents, and communities. The legislature intends that the new department of family and children's services will be responsible to and accountable for the stable placement of children, the obtaining of mental health services for families and their children, the improvement of foster parent training and support, identifying and correcting unsafe and inappropriate placements, and ensuring that siblings are not separated from each other when placed in out-of-home care, increasing the quality and frequency of contact and visitation between siblings in out-of-home placement, and ensuring services to adolescents.
     The legislature intends that the separate agency focus on timely recruitment and retention of high quality permanent families for children and the provision of adequate support for foster parents. A single state agency can develop a true partnership with tribes, foster parents, and communities around the need for permanent homes for children in a more effective way than as part of a large umbrella agency.
     The legislature also expects the new department to collaborate with and when possible to work with tribes, foster parents, and communities to anticipate problems and prevent child abuse and neglect, and to provide effective services to protect children and strengthen families when child abuse and neglect have occurred. The legislature finds that to learn how to prevent abuse and neglect of children, and to gain a greater understanding of the prevalence and location of this abuse, valid research data and program statistics must be shared. The legislature finds that high quality services will be provided when accountability is expected and there is motivation for higher quality strategies for protecting children.
     The legislature finds that the public does not have confidence in the department of social and health services' ability to fulfill the mission of protecting children, helping their parents, and finding families for children, in a cost-effective manner. The legislature finds that confidence in government is critical to achieving the goals of the mission. The legislature finds that this confidence is built by the willingness to take responsibility. The current children's administration does not adequately take responsibility and the umbrella agency does not hold it accountable for meeting its goals and objectives.
     The legislature intends that because the new department of family and children's services is spending other people's money, those people, the public, want government to install a performance-based system for measuring and evaluating job performance of both employees and of those we contract with to assist in improving the actions necessary to fulfill the mission. The public expects government to have a system to determine whether the goals of the mission are being met. The legislature intends for the public to regain confidence that the new department can fulfill its mission.
     The legislature finds that the current children's administration failed its federal audit, and that if it had followed its own published guidelines in several areas, it would not have failed, or would have been more successful in some of the audited areas.
     The legislature intends that there will be more accountability for the safety, well-being, and permanence for children in a separate department of family and children's services.
     The legislature intends that adequate attention paid to families and children with regard to preventing and reducing the incidences of abuse and neglect will help reduce delinquency and juvenile crime.
     The legislature intends that families will be better supported in their efforts to care for and parent their own children if the services are located in a single accountable agency. The current children's administration has many methods set in guidelines but does not produce the results needed to ensure the mission is accomplished. The legislature intends that the separate state agency leadership be held accountable to produce results.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter.
     (1) "Department" means the department of family and children's services.
     (2) "Director" means the director of family and children's services.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   The department of family and children's services is created. The department shall be vested with all powers and duties transferred to it under this chapter and such other powers and duties as may be authorized by law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   (1) All powers, duties, and functions of the department of social and health services pertaining to children and family services and the juvenile rehabilitation administration are transferred to the department of family and children's services. All references to the director or the department of social and health services in the Revised Code of Washington shall be construed to mean the director or the department of family and children's services when referring to the functions transferred in this section.
     (2)(a) All reports, documents, surveys, books, records, files, papers, or written material in the possession of the department of social and health services pertaining to the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be delivered to the custody of the department of family and children's services. All cabinets, furniture, office equipment, motor vehicles, and other tangible property employed by the department of social and health services in carrying out the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be made available to the department of family and children's services. All funds, credits, or other assets held in connection with the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be assigned to the department of family and children's services.
     (b) Any appropriations made to the department of social and health services for carrying out the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall, on the effective date of this section, be transferred and credited to the department of family and children's services.
     (c) Whenever any question arises as to the transfer of any personnel, funds, books, documents, records, papers, files, equipment, or other tangible property used or held in the exercise of the powers and the performance of the duties and functions transferred, the director of financial management shall make a determination as to the proper allocation and certify the same to the state agencies concerned.
     (3) All employees of the department of social and health services engaged in performing the powers, functions, and duties transferred are transferred to the jurisdiction of the department of family and children's services. All employees classified under chapter 41.06 RCW, the state civil service law, are assigned to the department of family and children's services to perform their usual duties upon the same terms as formerly, without any loss of rights, subject to any action that may be appropriate thereafter in accordance with the laws and rules governing state civil service.
     (4) All rules and all pending business before the department of social and health services pertaining to the powers, functions, and duties transferred shall be continued and acted upon by the department of family and children's services. All existing contracts and obligations shall remain in full force and shall be performed by the department of family and children's services.
     (5) The transfer of the powers, duties, functions, and personnel of the department of social and health services shall not affect the validity of any act performed before the effective date of this section.
     (6) If apportionments of budgeted funds are required because of the transfers directed by this section, the director of financial management shall certify the apportionments to the agencies affected, the state auditor, and the state treasurer. Each of these shall make the appropriate transfer and adjustments in funds and appropriation accounts and equipment records in accordance with the certification.
     (7) Nothing contained in this section may be construed to alter any existing collective bargaining unit or the provisions of any existing collective bargaining agreement until the agreement has expired or until the bargaining unit has been modified by action of the personnel resources board as provided by law.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   The executive head and appointing authority of the department shall be the director. The director shall be appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate, and shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. The director shall be paid a salary to be fixed by the governor in accordance with RCW 43.03.040. If a vacancy occurs in the position while the senate is not in session, the governor shall make a temporary appointment until the next meeting of the senate.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 6   (1) The director may create such administrative structures as the director considers appropriate, except as otherwise specified by law. In creating administrative structures, the director shall endeavor to promote efficient public management and to improve programs.
     (2) The director may appoint assistant directors as may be needed to administer the department. The director may employ such personnel as may be necessary for the administration of the department. This employment shall be in accordance with the state civil service law, chapter 41.06 RCW, except as otherwise provided.
     (3) Any power or duty vested in or transferred to the director by law or executive order may be delegated by the director to any officer or employee; but the director shall be responsible for the official acts of the officers and employees of the department.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 7   The director may appoint such advisory committees or councils as required by any federal legislation as a condition to the receipt of federal funds by the department. The director may also appoint statewide committees or councils on such subject matters as are or come within the department's responsibilities.
     Members of state advisory committees or councils created under this section may be paid their travel expenses in accordance with RCW 43.03.050 and 43.03.060.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 8   In furtherance of the policy of the state to cooperate with the federal government in all of the programs under the jurisdiction of the department, such rules as may become necessary to entitle the state to participate in federal funds may be adopted, unless expressly prohibited by law. Any internal reorganization carried out under the terms of this chapter shall meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to state receipt of federal funds. Any section or provision of law dealing with the department that may be susceptible to more than one construction shall be interpreted in favor of the construction most likely to comply with federal laws entitling this state to receive federal funds for the various programs of the department. If any law dealing with the department is ruled to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition of the allocation of federal funds to the state, or to any departments or agencies thereof, the conflicting part is inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 9   A new section is added to chapter 41.06 RCW to read as follows:
     In addition to the exemptions under RCW 41.06.070, the provisions of this chapter shall not apply in the department of family and children's services to the director, the director's personal secretary, all assistant directors, and one confidential secretary for each assistant director.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 10   (1) The director of financial management and the secretary of social and health services shall jointly develop a reorganization implementation plan to implement sections 2 through 9 of this act. The plan shall take into account recommendations from interested individuals.
     (2) The plan shall detail the implementation steps to effectuate the transfer of the:
     (a) Children's administration relating to children to the new family and children's services agency; and
     (b) Juvenile rehabilitation administration to the new family and children's services agency.
     (3) In developing the recommendations required under this section, the director and secretary shall consult with the directors of the departments of general administration and personnel to ensure that no duplication of functions will occur between the departments of general administration, personnel, and other departments.
     (4) The completed reorganization implementation plan shall be submitted to the governor and the appropriate standing committees of the legislature by November 15, 2005.
     (5) The plan shall include details addressing the following areas of legislative, public, and departmental concerns:
     (a) Assessment and increased accountability measures over all transferred functions;
     (b) Quantifiable outcomes for all transferred functions;
     (c) Equitable cost-effective coordinated service delivery and continuity of care enhancements, including coordination with all relevant service delivery components at the state, local, and private level for the family and individuals in need;
     (d) Staffing support and caseload management enhancements;
     (e) Retention of the collocation of facilities wherever economically possible until at least the year 2008, including procedures for client referrals to new departments;
     (f) Federal requirements, including but not limited to federal reforms and the ability to continue participating to the maximum extent possible in the receipt of federal funds and grants;
     (g) Promotion of public and private partnerships; and
     (h) Retention of centralized core administrative services such as payment, financial, and information systems, until at least the year 2008.
     (6) By December 15, 2005, the director of financial management and the secretary of the department of social and health services shall jointly submit to the governor and the appropriate standing committees of the legislature any proposed legislation necessary to implement the reorganization implementation plan.
     (7) This section expires June 30, 2006.

Sec. 11   RCW 43.17.010 and 1993 sp.s. c 2 s 16, 1993 c 472 s 17, and 1993 c 280 s 18 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
     There shall be departments of the state government which shall be known as (1) the department of social and health services, (2) the department of ecology, (3) the department of labor and industries, (4) the department of agriculture, (5) the department of fish and wildlife, (6) the department of transportation, (7) the department of licensing, (8) the department of general administration, (9) the department of community, trade, and economic development, (10) the department of veterans affairs, (11) the department of revenue, (12) the department of retirement systems, (13) the department of corrections, ((and)) (14) the department of health, ((and)) (15) the department of financial institutions, and (16) the department of family and children's services, which shall be charged with the execution, enforcement, and administration of such laws, and invested with such powers and required to perform such duties, as the legislature may provide.

Sec. 12   RCW 43.17.020 and 1995 1st sp.s. c 2 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     There shall be a chief executive officer of each department to be known as: (1) The secretary of social and health services, (2) the director of ecology, (3) the director of labor and industries, (4) the director of agriculture, (5) the director of fish and wildlife, (6) the secretary of transportation, (7) the director of licensing, (8) the director of general administration, (9) the director of community, trade, and economic development, (10) the director of veterans affairs, (11) the director of revenue, (12) the director of retirement systems, (13) the secretary of corrections, ((and)) (14) the secretary of health, ((and)) (15) the director of financial institutions, and (16) the director of family and children's services.
     Such officers, except the secretary of transportation and the director of fish and wildlife, shall be appointed by the governor, with the consent of the senate, and hold office at the pleasure of the governor. The secretary of transportation shall be appointed by the transportation commission as prescribed by RCW 47.01.041. The director of fish and wildlife shall be appointed by the fish and wildlife commission as prescribed by RCW 77.04.055.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 13   Sections 2 through 8 of this act constitute a new chapter in Title 43 RCW.