BILL REQ. #:  H-4497.1 

Read first time 01/16/08.   Referred to Committee on Early Learning & Children's Services.

     AN ACT Relating to voluntary out-of-home placement agreements to provide residential treatment for adoptive children in crisis; amending RCW 74.13.080; adding new sections to chapter 74.13 RCW; and adding a new section to chapter 71.34 RCW.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW to read as follows:
     The legislature finds that the state has a compelling interest in encouraging adoption of children from foster care. The legislature also finds that children adopted out of the foster care system often have particular or unique needs as a result of their life experiences. These needs may emerge, in part, as a result of the adoption process and may intensify as children enter the sometimes turbulent developmental period of adolescence. The legislature also finds that adoptive families may from time to time require intensive supports to meet the mental and behavioral needs of their adoptive children, including the need for access to residential treatment for adoptive children. The legislature further finds that residential treatment provided at the appropriate time can stabilize children and ultimately preserve adoptions. The availability of voluntary agreements for the provision of residential treatment also serves to demonstrate the state's commitment to promoting successful and enduring adoptions of children from the foster care system.
     The legislature intends to authorize limited voluntary placement agreements for the purpose of responding to severe mental and behavioral health needs of children adopted from the foster care system. These limited voluntary placement agreements are intended to be initiated only when the sole reason for the out-of-home placement is the adoptive child's mental or behavioral health needs and when the child's behavioral difficulties exceed the parent's ability to effectively and safely manage the child.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   A new section is added to chapter 74.13 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (a) "Adopted" means that a valid decree of adoption regarding the child and parent was entered and remains intact in Washington or in another jurisdiction.
     (b) "Child" means any child under the age of eighteen who was found to be dependent, placed in out-of-home care, and subsequently was adopted from an out-of-home placement.
     (c) "Licensed facility" means a facility licensed under this chapter to provide residential evaluation and treatment services for children or an "evaluation and treatment facility" as defined in RCW 71.34.020.
     (d) "Medical necessity" means a requested service which is reasonably calculated to: (i) Diagnose, correct, cure, or alleviate a mental or behavioral disorder; or (ii) prevent the worsening of mental conditions that endanger life or cause suffering and pain, or result in illness or infirmity or threaten to cause or aggravate a handicap, or cause physical deformity or malfunction, and there is no less restrictive nonresidential alternative available to meet the child's needs.
     (e) "Mental health professional" means a person licensed by the Washington state department of health to provide mental or behavioral health counseling and treatment and whose practice is regulated under Title 18 RCW.
     (f) "Parent" means the adoptive and legal parent of a child according to the terms of a valid decree of adoption, or the legal guardian of an adopted child.
     (g) "Voluntary placement agreement" means a written agreement between the department and a child's parent authorizing the department to place the child in a licensed facility for the purpose of receiving mental or behavioral health treatment intended to stabilize the child's functioning and support the child's return home. Under the terms of a voluntary placement agreement, the parent retains legal custody of the child while the department temporarily assumes responsibility for the child's placement and treatment.
     (2) A parent may request and the department may agree to enter into a voluntary placement agreement whenever the following conditions are met:
     (a) A mental health professional determines that temporary placement of the child in a licensed facility is a medical necessity;
     (b) Less intensive and/or traditional adoption supports have been unsuccessful or are not likely to be successful, as determined by a mental health professional, in stabilizing the child's behavior and functioning; and
     (c) The parent has no reasonable alternative to accessing the level of care necessary to meet the child's needs and preserve the adoption.
     (3) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the procedures in chapter 71.34 RCW for parent-initiated treatment apply whenever a child who is age thirteen years or older does not consent to the terms of a voluntary placement agreement.
     (4) Whenever the department assumes responsibility for the placement and care of a child under this section, the department, in consultation with the child, the child's parent, and a mental health professional shall develop a plan for the child's eventual return home. If the plan anticipates the child will remain in out-of-home care one hundred eighty days or longer, the department and the parent shall jointly seek a judicial determination that the agreement is in the child's best interests. If the child exits the out-of-home placement before one hundred eighty days have elapsed, no judicial determination is required. Permanency planning for the child shall be the joint responsibility of the department and the parent, and shall include consultation with a mental health professional familiar with the child, and to the extent appropriate, shall also include the child.
     (5) A written agreement under this section must specify the legal status of the child and the rights and obligations of the parent, the child, and the department while the child is in the licensed facility. Any party to the agreement may terminate the agreement at any time by providing advance notice to the other party and to the child if he or she is thirteen years of age or older. Upon termination of the agreement, the child must be returned to the care of his or her parent unless the child has been taken into custody pursuant to RCW 13.34.050 or 26.44.050, placed in shelter care pursuant to RCW 13.34.060, or placed in foster care pursuant to RCW 13.34.130.
     (6) The department must provide for periodic administrative reviews as required by state or federal law. A review of the agreement may be requested at any time by the department, the parent, or the child if he or she is age thirteen years or older.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   A new section is added to chapter 71.34 RCW to read as follows:
     Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, the department shall be responsible for the costs of treatment to a child who is accessing services under the terms of a voluntary placement agreement as defined in section 2 of this act.

Sec. 4   RCW 74.13.080 and 1987 c 170 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     Except as provided in RCW 74.13.350 and section 2 of this act, the department shall not make payment for any child in group care placement unless the group home is licensed and the department has the custody of the child and the authority to remove the child in a cooperative manner after at least seventy-two hours notice to the child care provider; such notice may be waived in emergency situations. However, this requirement shall not be construed to prohibit the department from making or mandate the department to make payment for Indian children placed in facilities licensed by federally recognized Indian tribes pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW.