BILL REQ. #:  S-0343.1 

Read first time 01/21/13.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to juveniles and runaway children; and amending RCW 13.32A.030, 13.32A.082, 13.32A.085, and 43.43.510.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 13.32A.030 and 2010 c 289 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     As used in this chapter the following terms have the meanings indicated unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
     (1) "Abuse or neglect" means the injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, negligent treatment, or maltreatment of a child by any person under circumstances ((which)) that indicate ((that)) the child's health, welfare, and safety is harmed, excluding conduct permitted under RCW 9A.16.100. An abused child is a child who has been subjected to child abuse or neglect as defined in this section.
     (2) "Administrator" means the individual who has the daily administrative responsibility of a crisis residential center, or his or her designee.
     (3) "At-risk youth" means a juvenile:
     (a) Who is absent from home for at least seventy-two consecutive hours without consent of his or her parent;
     (b) Who is beyond the control of his or her parent such that the child's behavior endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the child or any other person; or
     (c) Who has a substance abuse problem for which there are no pending criminal charges related to the substance abuse.
     (4) "Child," "juvenile," ((and)) "youth," and "minor" mean any unemancipated individual who is under the chronological age of eighteen years.
     (5) "Child in need of services" means a juvenile:
     (a) Who is beyond the control of his or her parent such that the child's behavior endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the child or any other person;
     (b) Who has been reported to law enforcement as absent without consent for at least twenty-four consecutive hours on two or more separate occasions from the home of either parent, a crisis residential center, an out-of-home placement, or a court-ordered placement; and
     (i) Has exhibited a serious substance abuse problem; or
     (ii) Has exhibited behaviors that create a serious risk of harm to the health, safety, or welfare of the child or any other person;
     (c)(i) Who is in need of: (A) Necessary services, including food, shelter, health care, clothing, or education; or (B) services designed to maintain or reunite the family;
     (ii) Who lacks access to, or has declined to ((utilize)) use, these services; and
     (iii) Whose parents have evidenced continuing but unsuccessful efforts to maintain the family structure or are unable or unwilling to continue efforts to maintain the family structure; or
     (d) Who is a "sexually exploited child."((.))
     (6) "Child in need of services petition" means a petition filed in juvenile court by a parent, child, or the department seeking adjudication of placement of the child.
     (7) "Crisis residential center" means a secure or semi-secure facility established pursuant to chapter 74.13 RCW.
     (8) "Custodian" means the person or entity ((who)) that has the legal right to ((the)) custody of the child.
     (9) "Department" means the department of social and health services.
     (10) "Extended family member" means an adult who is a grandparent, brother, sister, stepbrother, stepsister, uncle, aunt, or first cousin with whom the child has a relationship and is comfortable, and who is willing and available to care for the child.
     (11) "Guardian" means ((that)) the person or agency that (a) has been appointed as the guardian of a child in a legal proceeding other than a proceeding under chapter 13.34 RCW, and (b) has the legal right to ((legal)) custody of the child pursuant to such appointment. The term "guardian" does not include a "dependency guardian" appointed pursuant to a proceeding under chapter 13.34 RCW.
     (12) "Multidisciplinary team" means a group formed to provide assistance and support to a child who is an at-risk youth or a child in need of services and his or her parent. The team ((shall)) must include the parent, a department caseworker, a local government representative when authorized by the local government, and when appropriate, members from the mental health and substance abuse disciplines. The team may also include, but is not limited to, the following persons: Educators, law enforcement personnel, probation officers, employers, church persons, tribal members, therapists, medical personnel, social service providers, placement providers, and extended family members. The team members ((shall)) must be volunteers who do not receive compensation while acting in a capacity as a team member, unless the member's employer chooses to provide compensation or the member is a state employee.
     (13) "Out-of-home placement" means a placement in a foster family home or group care facility licensed pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW or placement in a home, other than that of the child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian, not required to be licensed pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW.
     (14) "Parent" means the parent or parents who have the legal right to custody of the child. "Parent" includes custodian or guardian.
     (15) "Secure facility" means a crisis residential center, or portion thereof, that has locking doors, locking windows, or a secured perimeter, designed and operated to prevent a child from leaving without permission of the facility staff.
     (16) "Semi-secure facility" means any facility, including but not limited to crisis residential centers or specialized foster family homes, operated in a manner to reasonably assure that youth placed there will not run away. Pursuant to rules established by the department, the facility administrator shall establish reasonable hours for residents to come and go from the facility such that no residents are free to come and go at all hours of the day and night. To prevent residents from taking unreasonable actions, the facility administrator, where appropriate, may condition a resident's leaving the facility upon the resident being accompanied by the administrator or the administrator's designee and the resident may be required to notify the administrator or the administrator's designee of any intent to leave, his or her intended destination, and the probable time of his or her return to the center.
     (17) "Sexually exploited child" means any person under the age of eighteen who is a victim of the crime of commercial sex abuse of a minor under RCW 9.68A.100, promoting commercial sexual abuse of a minor under RCW 9.68A.101, or promoting travel for commercial sexual abuse of a minor under RCW 9.68A.102.
     (18) "Staff secure facility" means a structured group care facility licensed under rules adopted by the department with a ratio of at least one adult staff member to every two children.
     (19) "Temporary out-of-home placement" means an out-of-home placement of not more than fourteen days ordered by the court at a fact-finding hearing on a child in need of services petition.

Sec. 2   RCW 13.32A.082 and 2011 c 151 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1)(a) Except as provided in (b) of this subsection, any person ((who)), unlicensed youth shelter, or runaway and homeless youth program that, without legal authorization, provides shelter to a minor and ((who)) that knows at the time of providing the shelter that the minor is away from ((the parent's home without the permission of the parent, or other)) a lawfully prescribed residence or home without parental permission, shall promptly report the location of the child to the parent, the law enforcement agency of the jurisdiction in which the person lives, or the department.
     ((The report)) (b)(i) If a licensed overnight youth shelter, or another licensed organization with a stated mission to provide services to homeless or runaway youth and their families, shelters a child and knows at the time of providing the shelter that the child is away from a lawfully prescribed residence or home without parental permission, it must contact the youth's parent within seventy-two hours, but preferably within twenty-four hours, following the time that the youth is admitted to the shelter or other licensed organization's program. The notification must include the whereabouts of the youth, a description of the youth's physical and emotional condition, and the circumstances surrounding the youth's contact with the shelter or organization. If there are compelling reasons not to notify the parent, the shelter or organization must instead notify the department.
     (ii) At least once every eight hours after learning that a youth receiving services or shelter under this section is away from home without permission, the shelter or organization staff must consult the information that the Washington state patrol makes publicly available under RCW 43.43.510(2). If the youth is publicly listed as missing, the shelter or organization must immediately notify the department of its contact with the youth listed as missing. The notification must include a description of the minor's physical and emotional condition and the circumstances surrounding the youth's contact with the shelter or organization.
     (c) Reports required under this section may be made by telephone or any other reasonable means.
     (2) Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this subsection apply throughout this section.
     (a) "Shelter" means the person's home or any structure over which the person has any control.
     (b) "Promptly report" means to report within eight hours after the person has knowledge that the minor is away from a lawfully prescribed residence or home without parental permission.
     (c) "Compelling reasons" include, but are not limited to, circumstances that indicate that notifying the parent or legal guardian will subject the minor to abuse or neglect as defined in RCW 26.44.020.
     (3) When the department receives a report under subsection (1) of this section, it shall make a good faith attempt to notify the parent that a report has been received and offer services designed to resolve the conflict and accomplish a reunification of the family.
     (4) Nothing in this section prohibits any person, unlicensed youth shelter, or runaway and homeless youth program from immediately reporting the identity and location of any minor who is away from a lawfully prescribed residence or home without parental permission more promptly than required under this section.

Sec. 3   RCW 13.32A.085 and 2010 c 229 s 3 are each amended to read as follows:
     A private right of action or claim on the part of a parent is created against an unlicensed youth shelter or unlicensed runaway and homeless youth program ((who)) that fails to meet the ((notification)) reporting requirements in RCW 13.32A.082(1) (a), (b), and (c).

Sec. 4   RCW 43.43.510 and 2010 c 229 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) As soon as is practical and feasible there shall be established, by means of data processing, files listing stolen and wanted vehicles, outstanding warrants, identifying children whose parents, custodians, or legal guardians have reported as having run away from home or the custodial residence, identifiable stolen property, files maintaining the central registry of sex offenders required to register under chapter 9A.44 RCW, and such other files as may be of general assistance to law enforcement agencies.
     (2)(a) At the request of a parent, legal custodian, or guardian who has reported a child as having run away from home or the custodial residence, the Washington state patrol shall make the information about the runaway child as is filed in subsection (1) of this section publicly available.
     (b) The information that can be made publicly available under (a) of this subsection is limited to ((the)) information that will facilitate the safe return of the child to his or her home or custodial residence and so long as making the information publicly available incurs no additional costs.