HB 2330 — Concerning expansion of extended foster care eligibility.

H-3846.1SUBSTITUTEH-3397.1HOUSE HOUSE BILL 2330State of Washington65th Legislature2018 Regular SessionBy House Early Learning & Human Services (originally sponsored by Representatives Fey, Goodman, Tarleton, McBride, Wylie, Slatter, Stonier, Kagi, Senn, Frame, Stanford, Reeves, Kilduff, Clibborn, Macri, Stambaugh, Jinkins, Ryu, Graves, Doglio, Valdez, Ortiz-Self, Riccelli, and Orwall)READOrwallPrefiled FIRST12/27/17. TIME 01/22/18.AN ACT Relating to expansion of extended foster care eligibility;

amendingRead RCWfirst 13.34.267,time 13.34.268,01/08/18. 74.13.020, and 74.13.336;

reenactingReferred andto amendingCommittee RCWon 74.13.031;Early Learning & Human Services.AN ACT Relating to expansion of extended foster care eligibility;

and providingreenacting anand effectiveamending date.BERCW 74.13.031.BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:Sec. 1.  RCW 13.34.26774.13.031 and 20152017 c3rd 240sp.s. s 1 are each amended to read as follows:(1) In order to facilitate the delivery of extended foster care services, the court, upon the agreement of the youth to participate in the extended foster care program, shall maintain the dependency proceeding for any youth who is dependent ((in foster care)) at the age of eighteen years and who, at the time of his or her eighteenth birthday, is:(a) Enrolled in a secondary education program or a secondary education equivalency program;(b) Enrolled and participating in a postsecondary academic or postsecondary vocational program, or has applied for and can demonstrate that he or she intends to timely enroll in a postsecondary academic or postsecondary vocational program;(c) Participating in a program or activity designed to promote employment or remove barriers to employment;(d) Engaged in employment for eighty hours or more per month;

or(e) Not able to engage in any of the activities described in (a) through (d) of this subsection due to a documented medical condition.(2) If the court maintains the dependency proceeding of a youth pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the youth is eligible to receive extended foster care services pursuant to RCW 74.13.031, subject to the youth's continuing eligibility and agreement to participate.(3) A dependent youth receiving extended foster care services is a party to the dependency proceeding.

The youth's parent or guardian must be dismissed from the dependency proceeding when the youth reaches the age of eighteen.(4) The court shall dismiss the dependency proceeding for any youth who is a dependent ((in foster care)) and who, at the age of eighteen years, does not meet any of the criteria described in subsection (1)(a) through (e) of this section or does not agree to participate in the program.(5) The court shall order a youth participating in extended foster care services to be under the placement and care authority of the department, subject to the youth's continuing agreement to participate in extended foster care services.

The department may establish foster care rates appropriate to the needs of the youth participating in extended foster care services.

The department's placement and care authority over a youth receiving extended foster care services is solely for the purpose of providing services and does not create a legal responsibility for the actions of the youth receiving extended foster care services.(6) The court shall appoint counsel to represent a youth, as defined in RCW 13.34.030(2)(b), in dependency proceedings under this section.(7) The case plan for and delivery of services to a youth receiving extended foster care services is subject to the review requirements set forth in RCW 13.34.138 and 13.34.145, and should be applied in a developmentally appropriate manner, as they relate to youth age eighteen to twenty-one years.

Additionally, the court shall consider:(a) Whether the youth is safe in his or her placement;(b) Whether the youth continues to be eligible for extended foster care services;(c) Whether the current placement is developmentally appropriate for the youth;(d) The youth's development of independent living skills;

and(e) The youth's overall progress toward transitioning to full independence and the projected date for achieving such transition.(8) Prior to the review hearing, the youth's attorney shall indicate whether there are any contested issues and may provide additional information necessary for the court's review.Sec. 2.  RCW 13.34.268 and 2013 c 332 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:(1)(a) If a youth prior to reaching age ((nineteen)) twenty-one years requests extended foster care services from the department pursuant to RCW 74.13.336, and the department declines to enter into a voluntary placement agreement with the youth, the department must provide written documentation to the youth which contains:(i) The date that the youth requested extended foster care services;(ii) The department's reasons for declining to enter into a voluntary placement agreement with the youth and the date of the department's decision;

and(iii) Information regarding the youth's right to ask the court to establish a dependency for the purpose of providing extended foster care services and his or her right to counsel to assist in making that request.(b) The written documentation pursuant to (a) of this subsection must be provided to the youth within ten days of the department's decision not to enter into a voluntary placement agreement with the youth.(2)(a) A youth seeking to participate in extended foster care after being declined by the department under subsection (1) of this section may file a notice of intent to file a petition for dependency, asking the court to determine his or her eligibility for extended foster care services, and to enter an order of dependency.

If the youth chooses to file such notice, it must be filed within thirty days of the date of the department's decision.(b) Upon filing the notice, the youth must be provided counsel at no cost to him or her.

Upon receipt of the youth's petition, the court must set a hearing date to determine whether the petition should be granted.Sec. 3.  RCW 74.13.020 and 2017 3rd sp.s.

c 6 s 401 are each amended to read as follows:The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise.(1) "Case management" means convening family meetings, developing, revising, and monitoring implementation of any case plan or individual service and safety plan, coordinating and monitoring services needed by the child and family, caseworker-child visits, family visits, and the assumption of court-related duties, excluding legal representation, including preparing court reports, attending judicial hearings and permanency hearings, and ensuring that the child is progressing toward permanency within state and federal mandates, including the Indian child welfare act.(2) "Child" means:(a) A person less than eighteen years of age;

or(b) A person age eighteen to twenty-one years who is eligible to receive the extended foster care services authorized under RCW 74.13.031.(3) "Child protective services" has the same meaning as in RCW 26.44.020.(4) "Child welfare services" means social services including voluntary and in-home services, out-of-home care, case management, and adoption services which strengthen, supplement, or substitute for, parental care and supervision for the purpose of:(a) Preventing or remedying, or assisting in the solution of problems which may result in families in conflict, or the neglect, abuse, exploitation, or criminal behavior of children;(b) Protecting and caring for dependent, abused, or neglected children;(c) Assisting children who are in conflict with their parents, and assisting parents who are in conflict with their children, with services designed to resolve such conflicts;(d) Protecting and promoting the welfare of children, including the strengthening of their own homes where possible, or, where needed;(e) Providing adequate care of children away from their homes in foster family homes or day care or other child care agencies or facilities."Child welfare services" does not include child protection services.(5) "Committee" means the child welfare transformation design committee.(6) "Department" means the department of children, youth, and families.(7) "Extended foster care services" means residential and other support services the department is authorized to provide to ((foster)) dependent children.

These services include, but are not limited to, placement in licensed, relative, or otherwise approved care, or supervised independent living settings;

assistance in meeting basic needs;

independent living services;

medical assistance;

and counseling or treatment.(8) "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.(9) "Measurable effects" means a statistically significant change which occurs as a result of the service or services a supervising agency is assigned in a performance-based contract, in time periods established in the contract.(10) "Medical condition" means, for the purposes of qualifying for extended foster care services, a physical or mental health condition as documented by any licensed health care provider regulated by a disciplining authority under RCW 18.130.040.(11) "Nonminor dependent" means any individual age eighteen to twenty-one years who is participating in extended foster care services authorized under RCW 74.13.031.(12) "Out-of-home care services" means services provided after the shelter care hearing to or for children in out-of-home care, as that term is defined in RCW 13.34.030, and their families, including the recruitment, training, and management of foster parents, the recruitment of adoptive families, and the facilitation of the adoption process, family reunification, independent living, emergency shelter, residential group care, and foster care, including relative placement.(13) "Performance-based contracting" means the structuring of all aspects of the procurement of services around the purpose of the work to be performed and the desired results with the contract requirements set forth in clear, specific, and objective terms with measurable outcomes.

Contracts shall also include provisions that link the performance of the contractor to the level and timing of reimbursement.(14) "Permanency services" means long-term services provided to secure a child's safety, permanency, and well-being, including foster care services, family reunification services, adoption services, and preparation for independent living services.(15) "Primary prevention services" means services which are designed and delivered for the primary purpose of enhancing child and family well-being and are shown, by analysis of outcomes, to reduce the risk to the likelihood of the initial need for child welfare services.(16) "Secretary" means the secretary of the department.(17) "Supervised independent living" includes, but is not limited to, apartment living, room and board arrangements, college or university dormitories, and shared roommate settings.

Supervised independent living settings must be approved by the children's administration or the court.(18) "Supervising agency" means an agency licensed by the state under RCW 74.15.090, or licensed by a federally recognized Indian tribe located in this state under RCW 74.15.190, that has entered into a performance-based contract with the department to provide case management for the delivery and documentation of child welfare services, as defined in this section.

This definition is applicable on or after December 30, 2015.(19) "Unsupervised" has the same meaning as in RCW 43.43.830.(20) "Voluntary placement agreement" means, for the purposes of extended foster care services, a written voluntary agreement between a nonminor dependent who agrees to submit to the care and authority of the department for the purposes of participating in the extended foster care program.Sec. 4.  RCW 74.13.336 and 2013 c 332 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:(1) A youth who has reached age eighteen years may request extended foster care services authorized under RCW 74.13.031 at any time before he or she reaches the age of ((nineteen)) twenty-one years if ((on or after July 28, 2013)):(a) The dependency proceeding of the youth was dismissed pursuant to RCW 13.34.267(4) at the time that he or she reached age eighteen years;

or(b) The court, after holding the dependency case open pursuant to RCW 13.34.267(1), has dismissed the case because the youth became ineligible for extended foster care services.(2)(a) Upon a request for extended foster care services by a youth pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, a determination that the youth is eligible for extended foster care services, and the completion of a voluntary placement agreement, the department shall provide extended foster care services to the youth.(b) In order to continue receiving extended foster care services after entering into a voluntary placement agreement with the department, the youth must agree to the entry of an order of dependency within one hundred eighty days of the date that the youth is placed in extended foster care pursuant to a voluntary placement agreement.(3) A youth may enter into a voluntary placement agreement for extended foster care services ((only once)).

A youth may transition among the eligibility categories identified in RCW 74.13.031 while under the same voluntary placement agreement, provided that the youth remains eligible for extended foster care services during the transition.(4) "Voluntary placement agreement," for the purposes of this section, means a written voluntary agreement between a nonminor dependent who agrees to submit to the care and authority of the department for the purposes of participating in the extended foster care program.Sec. 5.  RCW 74.13.031 and 2017 3rd sp.s.

Such determinations are solely within the department's discretion.NEWdiscretion.--- SECTION.  Sec. 6.  This act takes effect July 1, 2018.--- END ---