H-2775.1
SUBSTITUTE HOUSE BILL 2224
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By House Human Services, Youth, & Early Learning (originally
sponsored by Representatives Rule and Graham)
READ FIRST TIME 01/31/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to the risks, strengths, and needs assessment
2 tool used in the risk assessment process when investigating alleged
3 child abuse and neglect referrals; amending RCW 26.44.030; creating a
4 new section; and providing an expiration date.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The department of children, youth, and
7 families shall conduct a study to improve its risks, strengths, and
8 needs assessment tool used in the risk assessment process when
9 investigating alleged child abuse and neglect referrals described in
10 RCW 26.44.030(19) to:
11 (a) Identify family risks, strengths, and needs at the time of
12 the initial child protective services investigation or family
13 assessment response to help inform the most appropriate service path
14 for the family;
15 (b) Identify the risk of harm to a child when substance use
16 disorder is a factor in the case or high potency synthetic opioids,
17 such as fentanyl, are a condition in the home;
18 (c) Determine the service needs of the family and support
19 caseworkers to identify and transition families to appropriate,
20 available services quickly; and
21 (d) Support reassessment and monitoring of family progress.
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1 (2) By November 1, 2024, and in compliance with RCW 43.01.036,
2 the department of children, youth, and families shall provide data
3 and information to the legislature on the department of children,
4 youth, and families' efforts to improve its risks, strengths, and
5 needs assessment tool based on the study required under subsection
6 (1) of this section.
7 (3) This section expires August 1, 2025.
8 Sec. 2. RCW 26.44.030 and 2019 c 172 s 6 are each amended to
9 read as follows:
10 (1)(a) When any practitioner, county coroner or medical examiner,
11 law enforcement officer, professional school personnel, registered or
12 licensed nurse, social service counselor, psychologist, pharmacist,
13 employee of the department of children, youth, and families, licensed
14 or certified child care providers or their employees, employee of the
15 department of social and health services, juvenile probation officer,
16 placement and liaison specialist, responsible living skills program
17 staff, HOPE center staff, state family and children's ombuds or any
18 volunteer in the ombuds's office, or host home program has reasonable
19 cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect, he or
20 she shall report such incident, or cause a report to be made, to the
21 proper law enforcement agency or to the department as provided in RCW
22 26.44.040.
23 (b) When any person, in his or her official supervisory capacity
24 with a nonprofit or for-profit organization, has reasonable cause to
25 believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect caused by a person
26 over whom he or she regularly exercises supervisory authority, he or
27 she shall report such incident, or cause a report to be made, to the
28 proper law enforcement agency, provided that the person alleged to
29 have caused the abuse or neglect is employed by, contracted by, or
30 volunteers with the organization and coaches, trains, educates, or
31 counsels a child or children or regularly has unsupervised access to
32 a child or children as part of the employment, contract, or voluntary
33 service. No one shall be required to report under this section when
34 he or she obtains the information solely as a result of a privileged
35 communication as provided in RCW 5.60.060.
36 Nothing in this subsection (1)(b) shall limit a person's duty to
37 report under (a) of this subsection.
38 For the purposes of this subsection, the following definitions
39 apply:
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 1 (i) "Official supervisory capacity" means a position, status, or
2 role created, recognized, or designated by any nonprofit or for-
3 profit organization, either for financial gain or without financial
4 gain, whose scope includes, but is not limited to, overseeing,
5 directing, or managing another person who is employed by, contracted
6 by, or volunteers with the nonprofit or for-profit organization.
7 (ii) "Organization" includes a sole proprietor, partnership,
8 corporation, limited liability company, trust, association, financial
9 institution, governmental entity, other than the federal government,
10 and any other individual or group engaged in a trade, occupation,
11 enterprise, governmental function, charitable function, or similar
12 activity in this state whether or not the entity is operated as a
13 nonprofit or for-profit entity.
14 (iii) "Reasonable cause" means a person witnesses or receives a
15 credible written or oral report alleging abuse, including sexual
16 contact, or neglect of a child.
17 (iv) "Regularly exercises supervisory authority" means to act in
18 his or her official supervisory capacity on an ongoing or continuing
19 basis with regards to a particular person.
20 (v) "Sexual contact" has the same meaning as in RCW 9A.44.010.
21 (c) The reporting requirement also applies to department of
22 corrections personnel who, in the course of their employment, observe
23 offenders or the children with whom the offenders are in contact. If,
24 as a result of observations or information received in the course of
25 his or her employment, any department of corrections personnel has
26 reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or
27 neglect, he or she shall report the incident, or cause a report to be
28 made, to the proper law enforcement agency or to the department as
29 provided in RCW 26.44.040.
30 (d) The reporting requirement shall also apply to any adult who
31 has reasonable cause to believe that a child who resides with them,
32 has suffered severe abuse, and is able or capable of making a report.
33 For the purposes of this subsection, "severe abuse" means any of the
34 following: Any single act of abuse that causes physical trauma of
35 sufficient severity that, if left untreated, could cause death; any
36 single act of sexual abuse that causes significant bleeding, deep
37 bruising, or significant external or internal swelling; or more than
38 one act of physical abuse, each of which causes bleeding, deep
39 bruising, significant external or internal swelling, bone fracture,
40 or unconsciousness.
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 1 (e) The reporting requirement also applies to guardians ad litem,
2 including court-appointed special advocates, appointed under Titles
3 11 and 13 RCW and this title, who in the course of their
4 representation of children in these actions have reasonable cause to
5 believe a child has been abused or neglected.
6 (f) The reporting requirement in (a) of this subsection also
7 applies to administrative and academic or athletic department
8 employees, including student employees, of institutions of higher
9 education, as defined in RCW 28B.10.016, and of private institutions
10 of higher education.
11 (g) The report must be made at the first opportunity, but in no
12 case longer than forty-eight hours after there is reasonable cause to
13 believe that the child has suffered abuse or neglect. The report must
14 include the identity of the accused if known.
15 (2) The reporting requirement of subsection (1) of this section
16 does not apply to the discovery of abuse or neglect that occurred
17 during childhood if it is discovered after the child has become an
18 adult. However, if there is reasonable cause to believe other
19 children are or may be at risk of abuse or neglect by the accused,
20 the reporting requirement of subsection (1) of this section does
21 apply.
22 (3) Any other person who has reasonable cause to believe that a
23 child has suffered abuse or neglect may report such incident to the
24 proper law enforcement agency or to the department as provided in RCW
25 26.44.040.
26 (4) The department, upon receiving a report of an incident of
27 alleged abuse or neglect pursuant to this chapter, involving a child
28 who has died or has had physical injury or injuries inflicted upon
29 him or her other than by accidental means or who has been subjected
30 to alleged sexual abuse, shall report such incident to the proper law
31 enforcement agency, including military law enforcement, if
32 appropriate. In emergency cases, where the child's welfare is
33 endangered, the department shall notify the proper law enforcement
34 agency within twenty-four hours after a report is received by the
35 department. In all other cases, the department shall notify the law
36 enforcement agency within seventy-two hours after a report is
37 received by the department. If the department makes an oral report, a
38 written report must also be made to the proper law enforcement agency
39 within five days thereafter.
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 1 (5) Any law enforcement agency receiving a report of an incident
2 of alleged abuse or neglect pursuant to this chapter, involving a
3 child who has died or has had physical injury or injuries inflicted
4 upon him or her other than by accidental means, or who has been
5 subjected to alleged sexual abuse, shall report such incident in
6 writing as provided in RCW 26.44.040 to the proper county prosecutor
7 or city attorney for appropriate action whenever the law enforcement
8 agency's investigation reveals that a crime may have been committed.
9 The law enforcement agency shall also notify the department of all
10 reports received and the law enforcement agency's disposition of
11 them. In emergency cases, where the child's welfare is endangered,
12 the law enforcement agency shall notify the department within twenty-
13 four hours. In all other cases, the law enforcement agency shall
14 notify the department within seventy-two hours after a report is
15 received by the law enforcement agency.
16 (6) Any county prosecutor or city attorney receiving a report
17 under subsection (5) of this section shall notify the victim, any
18 persons the victim requests, and the local office of the department,
19 of the decision to charge or decline to charge a crime, within five
20 days of making the decision.
21 (7) The department may conduct ongoing case planning and
22 consultation with those persons or agencies required to report under
23 this section, with consultants designated by the department, and with
24 designated representatives of Washington Indian tribes if the client
25 information exchanged is pertinent to cases currently receiving child
26 protective services. Upon request, the department shall conduct such
27 planning and consultation with those persons required to report under
28 this section if the department determines it is in the best interests
29 of the child. Information considered privileged by statute and not
30 directly related to reports required by this section must not be
31 divulged without a valid written waiver of the privilege.
32 (8) Any case referred to the department by a physician licensed
33 under chapter 18.57 or 18.71 RCW on the basis of an expert medical
34 opinion that child abuse, neglect, or sexual assault has occurred and
35 that the child's safety will be seriously endangered if returned
36 home, the department shall file a dependency petition unless a second
37 licensed physician of the parents' choice believes that such expert
38 medical opinion is incorrect. If the parents fail to designate a
39 second physician, the department may make the selection. If a
40 physician finds that a child has suffered abuse or neglect but that
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 1 such abuse or neglect does not constitute imminent danger to the
2 child's health or safety, and the department agrees with the
3 physician's assessment, the child may be left in the parents' home
4 while the department proceeds with reasonable efforts to remedy
5 parenting deficiencies.
6 (9) Persons or agencies exchanging information under subsection
7 (7) of this section shall not further disseminate or release the
8 information except as authorized by state or federal statute.
9 Violation of this subsection is a misdemeanor.
10 (10) Upon receiving a report that a child is a candidate for
11 foster care as defined in RCW 26.44.020, the department may provide
12 prevention and family services and programs to the child's parents,
13 guardian, or caregiver. The department may not be held civilly liable
14 for the decision regarding whether to provide prevention and family
15 services and programs, or for the provision of those services and
16 programs, for a child determined to be a candidate for foster care.
17 (11) Upon receiving a report of alleged abuse or neglect, the
18 department shall make reasonable efforts to learn the name, address,
19 and telephone number of each person making a report of abuse or
20 neglect under this section. The department shall provide assurances
21 of appropriate confidentiality of the identification of persons
22 reporting under this section. If the department is unable to learn
23 the information required under this subsection, the department shall
24 only investigate cases in which:
25 (a) The department believes there is a serious threat of
26 substantial harm to the child;
27 (b) The report indicates conduct involving a criminal offense
28 that has, or is about to occur, in which the child is the victim; or
29 (c) The department has a prior founded report of abuse or neglect
30 with regard to a member of the household that is within three years
31 of receipt of the referral.
32 (12)(a) Upon receiving a report of alleged abuse or neglect, the
33 department shall use one of the following discrete responses to
34 reports of child abuse or neglect that are screened in and accepted
35 for departmental response:
36 (i) Investigation; or
37 (ii) Family assessment.
38 (b) In making the response in (a) of this subsection the
39 department shall:
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 1 (i) Use a method by which to assign cases to investigation or
2 family assessment which are based on an array of factors that may
3 include the presence of: Imminent danger, level of risk, number of
4 previous child abuse or neglect reports, or other presenting case
5 characteristics, such as the type of alleged maltreatment and the age
6 of the alleged victim. Age of the alleged victim shall not be used as
7 the sole criterion for determining case assignment;
8 (ii) Allow for a change in response assignment based on new
9 information that alters risk or safety level;
10 (iii) Allow families assigned to family assessment to choose to
11 receive an investigation rather than a family assessment;
12 (iv) Provide a full investigation if a family refuses the initial
13 family assessment;
14 (v) Provide voluntary services to families based on the results
15 of the initial family assessment. If a family refuses voluntary
16 services, and the department cannot identify specific facts related
17 to risk or safety that warrant assignment to investigation under this
18 chapter, and there is not a history of reports of child abuse or
19 neglect related to the family, then the department must close the
20 family assessment response case. However, if at any time the
21 department identifies risk or safety factors that warrant an
22 investigation under this chapter, then the family assessment response
23 case must be reassigned to investigation;
24 (vi) Conduct an investigation, and not a family assessment, in
25 response to an allegation that, the department determines based on
26 the intake assessment:
27 (A) Indicates a child's health, safety, and welfare will be
28 seriously endangered if not taken into custody for reasons including,
29 but not limited to, sexual abuse and sexual exploitation of the child
30 as defined in this chapter;
31 (B) Poses a serious threat of substantial harm to a child;
32 (C) Constitutes conduct involving a criminal offense that has, or
33 is about to occur, in which the child is the victim;
34 (D) The child is an abandoned child as defined in RCW 13.34.030;
35 (E) The child is an adjudicated dependent child as defined in RCW
36 13.34.030, or the child is in a facility that is licensed, operated,
37 or certified for care of children by the department under chapter
38 74.15 RCW.
39 (c) In addition, the department may use a family assessment
40 response to assess for and provide prevention and family services and
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 1 programs, as defined in RCW 26.44.020, for the following children and
2 their families, consistent with requirements under the federal family
3 first prevention services act and this section:
4 (i) A child who is a candidate for foster care, as defined in RCW
5 26.44.020; and
6 (ii) A child who is in foster care and who is pregnant,
7 parenting, or both.
8 (d) The department may not be held civilly liable for the<