BILL REQ. #:  S-3764.1 

Read first time 01/21/14.   Referred to Committee on Human Services & Corrections.

     AN ACT Relating to expanding the categories of offenses eligible for the parenting program with the department of corrections; and amending RCW 9.94A.655.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 9.94A.655 and 2010 c 224 s 2 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) An offender is eligible for the parenting sentencing alternative if:
     (a) The high end of the standard sentence range for the current offense is greater than one year;
     (b) The offender has no prior or current conviction for a felony that is a sex offense or a serious violent offense;
     (c) The offender has not been found by the United States attorney general to be subject to a deportation detainer or order and does not become subject to a deportation order during the period of the sentence;
     (d) The offender signs any release of information waivers required to allow information regarding current or prior child welfare cases to be shared with the department and the court; and
     (e) The offender has physical custody of his or her minor child or is a legal guardian or custodian with physical custody of a child under the age of eighteen at the time of the current offense.
     (2) To assist the court in making its determination, the court may order the department to complete either a risk assessment report or a chemical dependency screening report as provided in RCW 9.94A.500, or both reports prior to sentencing.
     (3) If the court is considering this alternative, the court shall request that the department contact the children's administration of the Washington state department of social and health services to determine if the agency has an open child welfare case or prior substantiated referral of abuse or neglect involving the offender or if the agency is aware of any substantiated case of abuse or neglect with a tribal child welfare agency involving the offender.
     (a) If the offender has an open child welfare case, the department will provide the release of information waiver and request that the children's administration or the tribal child welfare agency provide a report to the court. The children's administration shall provide a report within seven business days of the request that includes, at the minimum, the following:
     (i) Legal status of the child welfare case;
     (ii) Length of time the children's administration has been involved with the offender;
     (iii) Legal status of the case and permanent plan;
     (iv) Any special needs of the child;
     (v) Whether or not the offender has been cooperative with services ordered by a juvenile court under a child welfare case; and
     (vi) If the offender has been convicted of a crime against a child.
     (b) If a report is required from a tribal child welfare agency, the department shall attempt to obtain information that is similar to what is required for the report provided by the children's administration in a timely manner.
     (c) If the offender does not have an open child welfare case with the children's administration or with a tribal child welfare agency but has prior involvement, the department will obtain information from the children's administration on the number and type of past substantiated referrals of abuse or neglect and report that information to the court. If the children's administration has never had any substantiated referrals or an open case with the offender, the department will inform the court.
     (4) If the sentencing court determines that the offender is eligible for a sentencing alternative under this section and that the sentencing alternative is appropriate and should be imposed, the court shall waive imposition of a sentence within the standard sentence range and impose a sentence consisting of twelve months of community custody. The court shall consider the offender's criminal history when determining if the alternative is appropriate.
     (5) When a court imposes a sentence of community custody under this section:
     (a) The court may impose conditions as provided in RCW 9.94A.703 and may impose other affirmative conditions as the court considers appropriate.
     (b) The department may impose conditions as authorized in RCW 9.94A.704 that may include, but are not limited to:
     (i) Parenting classes;
     (ii) Chemical dependency treatment;
     (iii) Mental health treatment;
     (iv) Vocational training;
     (v) Offender change programs;
     (vi) Life skills classes.
     (c) The department shall report to the court if the offender commits any violations of his or her sentence conditions.
     (6) The department shall provide the court with quarterly progress reports regarding the offender's progress in required programming, treatment, and other supervision conditions. When an offender has an open child welfare case, the department will seek to coordinate services with the children's administration.
     (7)(a) The court may bring any offender sentenced under this section back into court at any time during the period of community custody on its own initiative to evaluate the offender's progress in treatment, or to determine if any violations of the conditions of the sentence have occurred.
     (b) If the offender is brought back to court, the court may modify the conditions of community custody or impose sanctions under (c) of this subsection.
     (c) The court may order the offender to serve a term of total confinement within the standard range of the offender's current offense at any time during the period of community custody, if the offender violates the conditions or requirements of the sentence or if the offender is failing to make satisfactory progress in treatment.
     (d) An offender ordered to serve a term of total confinement under (c) of this subsection shall receive credit for any time previously served in confinement under this section.