Bill Summary – FastDemocracy

S-4195.2
                                 SENATE BILL 6298
     State of Washington         68th Legislature      2024 Regular Session
     By Senators Frame, Kauffman, Hunt, Kuderer, Liias, Lovick, Nobles,
     Shewmake, Valdez, and Wellman
     Read first time 01/23/24.   Referred to Committee on Human Services.
      AN ACT Relating to the duty of the clergy to report child abuse
  or neglect; and amending RCW 26.44.020 and 26.44.030.
  BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
     Sec. 1.   RCW 26.44.020 and 2023 c 122 s 5 are each amended to
 read as follows:
     The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter
 unless the context clearly requires otherwise.
     (1) "Abuse or neglect" means sexual abuse, sexual exploitation,
 female genital mutilation as defined in RCW 18.130.460, or injury of
 a child by any person under circumstances which cause harm to the
 child's health, welfare, or safety, excluding conduct permitted under
 RCW 9A.16.100; or the negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child
 by a person responsible for or providing care to the child. An abused
 child is a child who has been subjected to child abuse or neglect as
 defined in this section.
     (2) "Child" or "children" means any person under the age of
 eighteen years of age.
     (3) "Child forensic interview" means a developmentally sensitive
 and legally sound method of gathering factual information regarding
 allegations of child abuse, child neglect, or exposure to violence.
 This interview is conducted by a competently trained, neutral
                                       p. 1                         SB 6298
 professional utilizing techniques informed by research and best
 practice as part of a larger investigative process.
     (4) "Child protective services" means those services provided by
 the department designed to protect children from child abuse and
 neglect and safeguard such children from future abuse and neglect,
 and conduct investigations of child abuse and neglect reports.
 Investigations may be conducted regardless of the location of the
 alleged abuse or neglect. Child protective services includes referral
 to services to ameliorate conditions that endanger the welfare of
 children, the coordination of necessary programs and services
 relevant to the prevention, intervention, and treatment of child
 abuse and neglect, and services to children to ensure that each child
 has a permanent home. In determining whether protective services
 should be provided, the department shall not decline to provide such
 services solely because of the child's unwillingness or developmental
 inability to describe the nature and severity of the abuse or
 neglect.
     (5)   "Child  protective   services  section"   means  the  child
 protective services section of the department.
     (6) "Child who is a candidate for foster care" means a child who
 the department identifies as being at imminent risk of entering
 foster care but who can remain safely in the child's home or in a
 kinship placement as long as services or programs that are necessary
 to prevent entry of the child into foster care are provided, and
 includes but is not limited to a child whose adoption or guardianship
 arrangement is at risk of a disruption or dissolution that would
 result in a foster care placement. The term includes a child for whom
 there is reasonable cause to believe that any of the following
 circumstances exist:
     (a) The child has been abandoned by the parent as defined in RCW
 13.34.030 and the child's health, safety, and welfare is seriously
 endangered as a result;
     (b) The child has been abused or neglected as defined in this
 chapter and the child's health, safety, and welfare is seriously
 endangered as a result;
     (c) There is no parent capable of meeting the child's needs such
 that the child is in circumstances that constitute a serious danger
 to the child's development;
     (d) The child is otherwise at imminent risk of harm.
                                     p. 2                          SB 6298
     (7) "Children's advocacy center" means a child-focused facility
 in good standing with the state chapter for children's advocacy
 centers and that coordinates a multidisciplinary process for the
 investigation, prosecution, and treatment of sexual and other types
 of child abuse. Children's advocacy centers provide a location for
 forensic interviews and coordinate access to services such as, but
 not limited to, medical evaluations, advocacy, therapy, and case
 review by multidisciplinary teams within the context of county
 protocols as defined in RCW 26.44.180 and 26.44.185.
     (8) "((Clergy)) Member of the clergy" means any regularly
 licensed, accredited, or ordained minister, deacon, priest, ((or))
 rabbi, imam, elder, or similarly situated religious or spiritual
 leader of any church ((or)), religious denomination, religious body,
 spiritual community, or sect, or person performing official duties
 that are recognized as the duties of a member of the clergy under the
 discipline, tenets, doctrine, or custom of the person's church,
 religious denomination, religious body, spiritual community, or sect,
 whether acting in an individual capacity or as an employee ((or)),
 agent, or official of any public or private organization or
 institution.
     (9) "Court" means the superior court of the state of Washington,
 juvenile department.
     (10) "Department" means the department of children, youth, and
 families.
     (11) "Elder" means a person holding a position of responsibility,
 spiritual authority, or other similar position formally recognized in
 the charter or governance documents of a religious organization.
     (12) "Experiencing homelessness" means lacking a fixed, regular,
 and adequate nighttime residence, including circumstances such as
 sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic
 hardship, fleeing domestic violence, or a similar reason as described
 in the federal McKinney-Vento homeless assistance act (Title 42
 U.S.C., chapter 119, subchapter I) as it existed on January 1, 2021.
     (((12)))   (13)   "Family  assessment"   means   a   comprehensive
 assessment of child safety, risk of subsequent child abuse or
 neglect, and family strengths and needs that is applied to a child
 abuse or neglect report. Family assessment does not include a
 determination as to whether child abuse or neglect occurred, but does
 determine the need for services to address the safety of the child
 and the risk of subsequent maltreatment.
                                     p. 3                          SB 6298
     (((13))) (14) "Family assessment response" means a way of
 responding to certain reports of child abuse or neglect made under
 this chapter using a differential response approach to child
 protective services. The family assessment response shall focus on
 the safety of the child, the integrity and preservation of the
 family, and shall assess the status of the child and the family in
 terms of risk of abuse and neglect including the parent's or
 guardian's or other caretaker's capacity and willingness to protect
 the child and, if necessary, plan and arrange the provision of
 services to reduce the risk and otherwise support the family. No one
 is named as a perpetrator, and no investigative finding is entered in
 the record as a result of a family assessment.
     (((14))) (15) "Founded" means the determination following an
 investigation by the department that, based on available information,
 it is more likely than not that child abuse or neglect did occur.
     (((15))) (16) "Inconclusive" means the determination following an
 investigation by the department of social and health services, prior
 to October 1, 2008, that based on available information a decision
 cannot be made that more likely than not, child abuse or neglect did
 or did not occur.
     (((16))) (17) "Institution" means a private or public hospital or
 any other facility providing medical diagnosis, treatment, or care.
     (((17)))   (18)  "Law   enforcement  agency"   means  the   police
 department, the prosecuting attorney, the state patrol, the director
 of public safety, or the office of the sheriff.
     (((18))) (19) "Malice" or "maliciously" means an intent, wish, or
 design to intimidate, annoy, or injure another person. Such malice
 may be inferred from an act done in willful disregard of the rights
 of another, or an act wrongfully done without just cause or excuse,
 or an act or omission of duty betraying a willful disregard of social
 duty.
     (((19))) (20) "Negligent treatment or maltreatment" means an act
 or a failure to act, or the cumulative effects of a pattern of
 conduct, behavior, or inaction, that evidences a serious disregard of
 consequences of such magnitude as to constitute a clear and present
 danger to a child's health, welfare, or safety, including but not
 limited to conduct prohibited under RCW 9A.42.100. When considering
 whether a clear and present danger exists, evidence of a parent's
 substance abuse as a contributing factor to negligent treatment or
 maltreatment shall be given great weight. The fact that siblings
                                     p. 4                          SB 6298
 share a bedroom is not, in and of itself, negligent treatment or
 maltreatment. Poverty, experiencing homelessness, or exposure to
 domestic violence as defined in RCW 7.105.010 that is perpetrated
 against someone other than the child does not constitute negligent
 treatment or maltreatment in and of itself.
     (((20))) (21) "Pharmacist" means any registered pharmacist under
 chapter 18.64 RCW, whether acting in an individual capacity or as an
 employee or agent of any public or private organization or
 institution.
     (((21)))   (22)   "Practitioner   of    the   healing   arts"  or
 "practitioner" means a person licensed by this state to practice
 podiatric medicine and surgery, optometry, chiropractic, nursing,
 dentistry, osteopathic medicine and surgery, or medicine and surgery
 or to provide other health services. The term "practitioner" includes
 a duly accredited Christian Science practitioner. A person who is
 being furnished Christian Science treatment by a duly accredited
 Christian Science practitioner will not be considered, for that
 reason alone, a neglected person for the purposes of this chapter.
     (((22))) (23) "Prevention and family services and programs" means
 specific mental health prevention and treatment services, substance
 abuse prevention and treatment services, and in-home parent skill-
 based programs that qualify for federal funding under the federal
 family first prevention services act, P.L. 115-123. For purposes of
 this chapter, prevention and family services and programs are not
 remedial services or family reunification services as described in
 RCW 13.34.025(2).
     (((23))) (24) "Professional school personnel" include, but are
 not limited to, teachers, counselors, administrators, child care
 facility personnel, and school nurses.
     (((24))) (25) "Psychologist" means any person licensed to
 practice psychology under chapter 18.83 RCW, whether acting in an
 individual capacity or as an employee or agent of any public or
 private organization or institution.
     (((25))) (26) "Screened-out report" means a report of alleged
 child abuse or neglect that the department has determined does not
 rise to the level of a credible report of abuse or neglect and is not
 referred for investigation.
     (((26))) (27) "Sexual exploitation" includes: (a) Allowing,
 permitting, or encouraging a child to engage in prostitution by any
 person; or (b) allowing, permitting, encouraging, or engaging in the
                                     p. 5                          SB 6298
 obscene or pornographic photographing, filming, or depicting of a
 child by any person.
     (((27))) (28) "Sexually aggressive youth" means a child who is
 defined in RCW 74.13.075(1)(b) as being a sexually aggressive youth.
     (((28))) (29) "Social service counselor" means anyone engaged in
 a professional capacity during the regular course of employment in
 encouraging or promoting the health, welfare, support, or education
 of children, or providing social services to adults or families,
 including mental health, drug and alcohol treatment, and domestic
 violence programs, whether in an individual capacity, or as an
 employee or agent of any public or private organization or
 institution.
     (((29))) (30) "Unfounded" means the determination following an
 investigation by the department that available information indicates
 that, more likely than not, child abuse or neglect did not occur, or
 that there is insufficient evidence for the department to determine
 whether the alleged child abuse did or did not occur.
     Sec. 2.   RCW 26.44.030 and 2019 c 172 s 6 are each amended to
 read as follows:
     (1)(a) When any practitioner, county coroner or medical examiner,
 law enforcement officer, professional school personnel, registered or
 licensed nurse, social service counselor, psychologist, pharmacist,
 employee of the department of children, youth, and families, licensed
 or certified child care providers or their employees, employee of the
 department of social and health services, juvenile probation officer,
 placement and liaison specialist, responsible living skills program
 staff, HOPE center staff, state family and children's ombuds or any
 volunteer in the ombuds's office, or host home program has reasonable
 cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect, he or
 she shall report such incident, or cause a report to be made, to the
 proper law enforcement agency or to the department as provided in RCW
 26.44.040.
     (b) When any person, in his or her official supervisory capacity
 with a nonprofit or for-profit organization, has reasonable cause to
 believe that a child has suffered abuse or neglect caused by a person
 over whom he or she regularly exercises supervisory authority, he or
 she shall report such incident, or cause a report to be made, to the
 proper law enforcement agency, provided that the person alleged to
 have caused the abuse or neglect is employed by, contracted by, or
                                     p. 6                          SB 6298
 volunteers with the organization and coaches, trains, educates, or
 counsels a child or children or regularly has unsupervised access to
 a child or children as part of the employment, contract, or voluntary
 service. No one shall be required to report under this section when
 he or she obtains the information solely as a result of a privileged
 communication as provided in RCW 5.60.060, except as provided in (g)
 of this subsection.
     Nothing in this subsection (1)(b) shall limit a person's duty to
 report under (a) of this subsection.
     For the purposes of this subsection, the following definitions
 apply:
     (i) "Official supervisory capacity" means a position, status, or
 role created, recognized, or designated by any nonprofit or for-
 profit organization, either for financial gain or without financial
 gain, whose scope includes, but is not limited to, overseeing,
 directing, or managing another person who is employed by, contracted
 by, or volunteers with the nonprofit or for-profit organization.
     (ii) "Organization" includes a sole proprietor, partnership,
 corporation, limited liability company, trust, association, financial
 institution, governmental entity, other than the federal government,
 and any other individual or group engaged in a trade, occupation,
 enterprise, governmental function, charitable function, or similar
 activity in this state whether or not the entity is operated as a
 nonprofit or for-profit entity.
     (iii) "Reasonable cause" means a person witnesses or receives a
 credible written or oral report alleging abuse, including sexual
 contact, or neglect of a child.
     (iv) "Regularly exercises supervisory authority" means to act in
 his or her official supervisory capacity on an ongoing or continuing
 basis with regards to a particular person.
     (v) "Sexual contact" has the same meaning as in RCW 9A.44.010.
     (c) The reporting requirement also applies to department of
 corrections personnel who, in the course of their employment, observe
 offenders or the children with whom the offenders are in contact. If,
 as a result of observations or information received in the course of
 his or her employment, any department of corrections personnel has
 reasonable cause to believe that a child has suffered abuse or
 neglect, he or she shall report the incident, or cause a report to be
 made, to the proper law enforcement agency or to the department as
 provided in RCW 26.44.040.
                                     p. 7                          SB 6298
     (d) The reporting requirement shall also apply to any adult who
 has reasonable cause to believe that a child who resides with them,
 has suffered severe abuse, and is able or capable of making a report.
 For the purposes of this subsection, "severe abuse" means any of the
 following: Any single a