Passed by the House April 19, 2007 Yeas 98   ________________________________________ Speaker of the House of Representatives Passed by the Senate April 19, 2007 Yeas 40   ________________________________________ President of the Senate | I, Richard Nafziger, Chief Clerk of the House of Representatives of the State of Washington, do hereby certify that the attached is SECOND SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 1334 as passed by the House of Representatives and the Senate on the dates hereon set forth. ________________________________________ Chief Clerk | |
Approved ________________________________________ Governor of the State of Washington | Secretary of State State of Washington |
State of Washington | 60th Legislature | 2007 Regular Session |
READ FIRST TIME 2/28/07.
AN ACT Relating to documentation in child welfare proceedings; adding a new section to chapter 13.34 RCW; and creating new sections.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1 The legislature finds that in order to allow
courts to make well-informed placement decisions for children in the
care of the state, the courts must have accurate information, including
documentation supporting assertions or recommendations made by social
workers, when appropriate.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2 A new section is added to chapter 13.34 RCW
to read as follows:
In any proceeding under this chapter, if the department submits a
report to the court in which the department is recommending a new
placement or a change in placement, the department shall include the
documents relevant to persons in the home in which a child will be
placed and listed in subsections (1) through (5) of this section to the
report. The department shall include only these relevant documents and
shall not attach the entire history of the subject of the report.
(1) If the report contains a recommendation, opinion, or assertion
by the department relating to substance abuse treatment, mental health
treatment, anger management classes, or domestic violence classes, the
department shall attach the document upon which the recommendation,
opinion, or assertion was based. The documentation may include the
progress report or evaluation submitted by the provider, but may not
include the entire history with the provider.
(2) If the report contains a recommendation, opinion, or assertion
by the department relating to visitation with a child, the department
shall attach the document upon which the recommendation, opinion, or
assertion was based. The documentation may include the most recent
visitation report, a visitation report referencing a specific incident
alleged in the report, or summary of the visitation prepared by the
person who supervised the visitation. The documentation attached to
the report shall not include the entire visitation history.
(3) If the report contains a recommendation, opinion, or assertion
by the department relating to the psychological status of a person, the
department shall attach the document upon which the recommendation,
opinion, or assertion was based. The documentation may include the
progress report, evaluation, or summary submitted by the provider, but
shall not include the entire history of the person.
(4) If the report contains a recommendation, opinion, or assertion
by the department relating to injuries to a child, the department shall
attach a summary of the physician's report, prepared by the physician
or the physician's designee, relating to the recommendation, opinion,
or assertion by the department.
(5) If the report contains a recommendation, opinion, or assertion
by the department relating to a home study, licensing action, or
background check information, the department shall attach the document
or documents upon which that recommendation, opinion, or assertion is
based.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3 This act shall be known and cited as the
Rafael Gomez act.
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, 2007, in the omnibus appropriations act, this act is null and
void.