H-2474.5
HOUSE BILL 2218
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Representatives Cortes, Chopp, Ramel, Santos, Reeves, Fey, Callan,
Alvarado, Reed, Fosse, Tharinger, Doglio, Goodman, Pollet, Timmons,
and Davis
Read first time 01/09/24. Referred to Committee on Human Services,
Youth, & Early Learning.
1 AN ACT Relating to the provision of extended foster care services
2 to youth ages 18 to 21; amending RCW 13.34.267, 74.13.031, and
3 74.13.336; reenacting and amending RCW 13.34.030 and 74.13.020; and
4 creating a new section.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature recognizes that the
7 extended foster care program strives to help hundreds of young
8 Washingtonians in foster care prepare for adulthood and to prevent
9 them from experiencing homelessness.
10 The legislature finds that extended foster care can reduce
11 homelessness, receipt of public assistance, use of medical emergency
12 departments, diagnosis of substance abuse and treatment, criminal
13 convictions, and involvement of children in the child welfare system.
14 An analysis from the department of social and health services found
15 that, at age 18, 41 percent of youth exiting the foster care system
16 experienced homelessness or housing instability compared to 23
17 percent of youth in extended foster care.
18 The legislature finds that the Washington state institute for
19 public policy's benefit-cost analysis found that the extended foster
20 care program produces $3.95 of lifetime benefits for each $1
21 invested. Furthermore, of the total benefits, 40 percent represents
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 1 savings and revenue that would accrue to state, local, and federal
2 governments.
3 However, the legislature recognizes that young people in foster
4 care still experience barriers to accessing the program: In 2022, 27
5 percent of young people leaving foster care did not participate in
6 extended foster care. The legislature intends to improve outcomes for
7 youth in the foster care system by improving access to the foster
8 care program.
9 Therefore, the legislature resolves to reduce barriers that young
10 people currently experience when seeking to participate in extended
11 foster care and to make the transition from foster care to extended
12 foster care as seamless as possible, such that all dependent youth
13 are aware of the program when they turn 18 and all youth who want to
14 participate are able to participate.
15 Sec. 2. RCW 13.34.030 and 2021 c 304 s 1 and 2021 c 67 s 2 are
16 each reenacted and amended to read as follows:
17 The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
18 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
19 (1) "Abandoned" means when the child's parent, guardian, or other
20 custodian has expressed, either by statement or conduct, an intent to
21 forego, for an extended period, parental rights or responsibilities
22 despite an ability to exercise such rights and responsibilities. If
23 the court finds that the petitioner has exercised due diligence in
24 attempting to locate the parent, no contact between the child and the
25 child's parent, guardian, or other custodian for a period of three
26 months creates a rebuttable presumption of abandonment, even if there
27 is no expressed intent to abandon.
28 (2) "Child," "juvenile," and "youth" mean:
29 (a) Any individual under the age of eighteen years; or
30 (b) Any individual age ((eighteen)) 18 to ((twenty-one)) 21 years
31 who is eligible to receive and who elects to receive the extended
32 foster care services authorized under RCW 74.13.031. A youth who
33 remains dependent and who receives extended foster care services
34 under RCW 74.13.031 shall not be considered a "child" under any other
35 statute or for any other purpose.
36 (3) "Current placement episode" means the period of time that
37 begins with the most recent date that the child was removed from the
38 home of the parent, guardian, or legal custodian for purposes of
39 placement in out-of-home care and continues until: (a) The child
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 1 returns home; (b) an adoption decree, a permanent custody order, or
2 guardianship order is entered; or (c) the dependency is dismissed,
3 whichever occurs first.
4 (4) "Department" means the department of children, youth, and
5 families.
6 (5) "Dependency guardian" means the person, nonprofit
7 corporation, or Indian tribe appointed by the court pursuant to this
8 chapter for the limited purpose of assisting the court in the
9 supervision of the dependency.
10 (6) "Dependent child" means any child who:
11 (a) Has been abandoned;
12 (b) Is abused or neglected as defined in chapter 26.44 RCW by a
13 person legally responsible for the care of the child;
14 (c) Has no parent, guardian, or custodian capable of adequately
15 caring for the child, such that the child is in circumstances which
16 constitute a danger of substantial damage to the child's
17 psychological or physical development; or
18 (d) Is receiving extended foster care services, as authorized by
19 RCW 74.13.031.
20 (7) "Developmental disability" means a disability attributable to
21 intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or another
22 neurological or other condition of an individual found by the
23 secretary of the department of social and health services to be
24 closely related to an intellectual disability or to require treatment
25 similar to that required for individuals with intellectual
26 disabilities, which disability originates before the individual
27 attains age eighteen, which has continued or can be expected to
28 continue indefinitely, and which constitutes a substantial limitation
29 to the individual.
30 (8) "Educational liaison" means a person who has been appointed
31 by the court to fulfill responsibilities outlined in RCW 13.34.046.
32 (9) "Experiencing homelessness" means lacking a fixed, regular,
33 and adequate nighttime residence, including circumstances such as
34 sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic
35 hardship, fleeing domestic violence, or a similar reason as described
36 in the federal McKinney-Vento homeless assistance act (Title 42
37 U.S.C., chapter 119, subchapter I) as it existed on January 1, 2021.
38 (10) "Extended foster care services" means residential and other
39 support services the department is authorized to provide under RCW
40 74.13.031. These services may include placement in licensed,
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 1 relative, or otherwise approved care, or supervised independent
2 living settings; assistance in meeting basic needs; independent
3 living services; medical assistance; and counseling or treatment.
4 (11) "Guardian" means the person or agency that: (a) Has been
5 appointed as the guardian of a child in a legal proceeding, including
6 a guardian appointed pursuant to chapter 13.36 RCW; and (b) has the
7 legal right to custody of the child pursuant to such appointment. The
8 term "guardian" does not include a "dependency guardian" appointed
9 pursuant to a proceeding under this chapter.
10 (12) "Guardian ad litem" means a person, appointed by the court
11 to represent the best interests of a child in a proceeding under this
12 chapter, or in any matter which may be consolidated with a proceeding
13 under this chapter. A "court-appointed special advocate" appointed by
14 the court to be the guardian ad litem for the child, or to perform
15 substantially the same duties and functions as a guardian ad litem,
16 shall be deemed to be guardian ad litem for all purposes and uses of
17 this chapter.
18 (13) "Guardian ad litem program" means a court-authorized
19 volunteer program, which is or may be established by the superior
20 court of the county in which such proceeding is filed, to manage all
21 aspects of volunteer guardian ad litem representation for children
22 alleged or found to be dependent. Such management shall include but
23 is not limited to: Recruitment, screening, training, supervision,
24 assignment, and discharge of volunteers.
25 (14) "Guardianship" means a guardianship pursuant to chapter
26 13.36 RCW or a limited guardianship of a minor pursuant to RCW
27 11.130.215 or equivalent laws of another state or a federally
28 recognized Indian tribe.
29 (15) "Housing assistance" means appropriate referrals by the
30 department or other agencies to federal, state, local, or private
31 agencies or organizations, assistance with forms, applications, or
32 financial subsidies or other monetary assistance for housing. For
33 purposes of this chapter, "housing assistance" is not a remedial
34 service or family reunification service as described in RCW
35 13.34.025(2).
36 (16) "Indigent" means a person who, at any stage of a court
37 proceeding, is:
38 (a) Receiving one of the following types of public assistance:
39 Temporary assistance for needy families, aged, blind, or disabled
40 assistance benefits, medical care services under RCW 74.09.035,
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 1 pregnant women assistance benefits, poverty-related veterans'
2 benefits, food stamps or food stamp benefits transferred
3 electronically, refugee resettlement benefits, medicaid, or
4 supplemental security income; or
5 (b) Involuntarily committed to a public mental health facility;
6 or
7 (c) Receiving an annual income, after taxes, of ((one hundred
8 twenty-five)) 125 percent or less of the federally established
9 poverty level; or
10 (d) Unable to pay the anticipated cost of counsel for the matter
11 before the court because his or her available funds are insufficient
12 to pay any amount for the retention of counsel.
13 (17) "Nonminor dependent" means any individual age ((eighteen))
14 18 to ((twenty-one)) 21 years who is participating in extended foster
15 care services authorized under RCW 74.13.031.
16 (18) "Out-of-home care" means placement in a foster family home
17 or group care facility licensed pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW or
18 placement in a home, other than that of the child's parent, guardian,
19 or legal custodian, not required to be licensed pursuant to chapter
20 74.15 RCW.
21 (19) "Parent" means the biological or adoptive parents of a
22 child, or an individual who has established a parent-child
23 relationship under RCW 26.26A.100, unless the legal rights of that
24 person have been terminated by a judicial proceeding pursuant to this
25 chapter, chapter 26.33 RCW, or the equivalent laws of another state
26 or a federally recognized Indian tribe.
27 (20) "Prevention and family services and programs" means specific
28 mental health prevention and treatment services, substance abuse
29 prevention and treatment services, and in-home parent skill-based
30 programs that qualify for federal funding under the federal family
31 first prevention services act, P.L. 115-123. For purposes of this
32 chapter, prevention and family services and programs are not remedial
33 services or family reunification services as described in RCW
34 13.34.025(2).
35 (21) "Prevention services" means preservation services, as
36 defined in chapter 74.14C RCW, and other reasonably available
37 services, including housing assistance, capable of preventing the
38 need for out-of-home placement while protecting the child. Prevention
39 services include, but are not limited to, prevention and family
40 services and programs as defined in this section.
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 1 (22) "Qualified residential treatment program" means a program
2 that meets the requirements provided in RCW 13.34.420, qualifies for
3 funding under the family first prevention services act under 42
4 U.S.C. Sec. 672(k), and, if located within Washington state, is
5 licensed as a group care facility under chapter 74.15 RCW.
6 (23) "Relative" includes persons related to a child in the
7 following ways:
8 (a) Any blood relative, including those of half-blood, and
9 including first cousins, second cousins, nephews or nieces, and
10 persons of preceding generations as denoted by prefixes of grand,
11 great, or great-great;
12 (b) Stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, and stepsister;
13 (c) A person who legally adopts a child or the child's parent as
14 well as the natural and other legally adopted children of such
15 persons, and other relatives of the adoptive parents in accordance
16 with state law;
17 (d) Spouses of any persons named in (a), (b), or (c) of this
18 subsection, even after the marriage is terminated;
19 (e) Relatives, as named in (a), (b), (c), or (d) of this
20 subsection, of any half sibling of the child; or
21 (f) Extended family members, as defined by the law or custom of
22 the Indian child's tribe or, in the absence of such law or custom, a
23 person who has reached the age of ((eighteen)) 18 and who is the
24 Indian child's grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister,
25 brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or second
26 cousin, or stepparent who provides care in the family abode on a
27 ((twenty-four)) 24 hour basis to an Indian child as defined in 25
28 U.S.C. Sec. 1903(4).
29 (24) "Shelter care" means temporary physical care in a facility
30 licensed pursuant to RCW 74.15.030 or in a home not required to be
31 licensed pursuant to RCW 74.15.030.
32 (25) "Sibling" means a child's birth brother, birth sister,
33 adoptive brother, adoptive sister, half-brother, or half-sister, or
34 as defined by the law or custom of the Indian child's tribe for an
35 Indian child as defined in RCW 13.38.040.
36 (26) "Social study" means a written evaluation of matters
37 relevant to the disposition of the case that contains the information
38 required by RCW 13.34.430.
39 (27) "Supervised independent living setting" includes, but is not
40 limited to, apartment living, room and board arrangements, college or
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 1 university dormitories, and shared roommate settings. Supervised
2 independent living settings must be approved by the department or the
3 court.
4 (28) "Supervised independent living subsidy" means a foster care
5 maintenance payment and a housing subsidy. The housing subsidy shall
6 be calculated based on the United States department of housing and
7 urban development's estimated fair market rent for the total amount
8 of a one bedroom apartment in the county or metro area where the
9 young person intends to reside, minus one-third of the foster care
10 maintenance payment.
11 (29) "Voluntary placement agreement" means, for the purposes of
12 extended foster care services, a written voluntary agreement
13 ((between)) by a nonminor dependent who agrees to ((submit to the
14 care and authority of the department for the purposes of
15 participating in the extended foster care program)) participate in
16 extended foster care. A youth may sign a voluntary placement
17 agreement to participate in extended foster care prior to the age of
18 18, in which case the agreement will take effect on the youth's 18th
19 birthday. The youth may withdraw consent to participate, at any time,
20 including prior to their 18th birthday. A voluntary placement
21 agreement may be signed by a dependent child or eligible youth over
22 the age of 18 electronically.
23 Sec. 3. RCW 13.34.267 and 2021 c 210 s 10 are each amended to
24 read as follows:
25 (1) In order to facilitate the delivery of extended foster care
26 services, the court, upon the agreement of the youth to participate
27 in the extended foster care program, shall maintain the dependency
28 proceeding for any youth who is dependent at the age of ((eighteen))
29 18 years ((and who, at the time of his or her eighteenth birthday,))
30 until the youth turns 21 or withdraws their agreement to participate.
31 (2) For the purposes of pursuing federal reimbursement only, the
32 department may request judicial findings that a youth is:
33 (a) Enrolled in a secondary education program or a secondary
34 education equivalency program;
35 (b) Enrolled and participating in a postsecondary academic or
36 postsecondary vocational program, or has applied for and can
37 demonstrate that he or she intends to timely enroll in a
38 postsecondary academic or postsecondary vocational program;
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 1 (c) Participating in a program or activity designed to promote
2 employment or remove barriers to employment;
3 (d) Engaged in employment for ((eighty)) 80 hours or more per
4 month; or
5 (e) Not able to engage in any of the activities described in (a)
6 through (d) of this subsection due to a documented medical condition.
7 (((2) If)) (3) When the court maintains the dependency proceeding
8 of a youth pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the youth is
9 eligible to receive extended foster care services pursuant to RCW
10 74.13.031, subject to the youth's continuing ((eligibility and))
11 agreement to participate.
12 (