BILL REQ. #:  S-1946.1 

READ FIRST TIME 02/19/07.   

     AN ACT Relating to child protective services training programs; adding a new section to chapter 44.28 RCW; creating new sections; and providing expiration dates.

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

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 1   The legislature recognizes that child protective services employees who promote healthy, safe relationships between children and families benefit from training designed to improve the efficacy and efficiency of child protective services investigations. The state has an important interest in helping to promote healthy, safe relationships between children and families. The state also has an interest in requiring intensive training for social workers who are committed to investigating the most difficult child protective services cases.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 2   The secretary of the department of social and health services shall establish a pilot program, focusing on intensive child protective services training in two field offices of the children's administration. The training and supporting field work shall be attended by all child protective services workers assigned to the pilot sites and shall last for a total of ten days. In selecting the two field offices to participate in the program, the secretary shall endeavor to site one in an urban office and the other in a rural office.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 3   (1) The social workers who participate in the intensive child protective services training program must attend the training, either before they are assigned their own child protective services caseload or as soon as possible after the pilot program begins. Each social worker who participates shall, for the duration of the training, and for the duration of the pilot program, receive a financial incentive from the department of social and health services in recognition of the additional work undertaken as part of the pilot program.
     (2) All social workers who participate in the intensive child protective services training program must be trained for ten days within six months of June 30, 2007.
     (3) The social workers who participate in the intensive child protective services training program shall receive advanced investigative training developed by the department of social and health services, in collaboration with local law enforcement, the attorney general's office, and the northwest institute for children and families at the University of Washington in such areas as principles of investigations, critical thinking, interviewing witnesses, analyzing and preserving evidence, legal framework and policies, and writing investigation reports. The training may also include courses in staff safety, including basic self-defense and handling volatile situations. Participants in the program may also receive specialized training in drug investigations.
     (4) The social workers who participate in the intensive child protective services training program shall receive training from medical experts or child psychologists in such areas as recognizing physical abuse injuries to children and assessing whether children present symptoms of self-mutilation or self-harm.
     (5) The children's administration shall provide and social workers in the pilot program are required to participate in other courses of advanced training, in such areas as advanced critical thinking, analysis, and techniques for combating confirmatory bias. For the purposes of this section, "confirmatory bias" means the inclination to emphasize evidence that tends to support a preexisting conclusion, rather than continuing to objectively analyze new evidence.
     (6) All social workers who participate in the intensive child protective services training program shall show measurable proficiency in tools and skills that are the objective of the training, in a manner that can be established by the department.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 4   A new section is added to chapter 44.28 RCW to read as follows:
     (1) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall begin evaluating the intensive child protective services training pilot program at least by December 30, 2007, and make a report to the legislature by December 30, 2009.
     (2) The joint legislative audit and review committee shall design its evaluation of the intensive child protective services training pilot program to determine if the pilot program:
     (a) Produces more efficient investigations, with reports being completed more quickly;
     (b) Enhances staff morale and staff retention, as compared to other field offices;
     (c) Generates higher quality reports, with documented evidence that clearly supports findings of abuse or neglect;
     (d) Reduces the number of child abuse and neglect allegations involving the same children and families;
     (e) Reduces the number of continuances or delays in court proceedings; or
     (f) Reduces the number of dependency petitions that are dismissed because there is insufficient evidence or there are problems with case investigations or documentation.

NEW SECTION.  Sec. 5   (1) Sections 1 through 3 of this act expire July 1, 2009.
     (2) Section 4 of this act expires July 1, 2010.