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For Professionals > Law & PolicyIf you work within the child welfare system, the laws affecting youth and families may impact the way that you interact with clients and the information you are able to provide. Your knowledge and understanding of the law can help you use it for the benefit of your client. Links for most of the laws mentioned on this site are to the Washington State Legislative Website. For information about receiving the most up to date legislative information go to Update Information at the bottom of this page . Click *HERE* for our new section on Special Education Law!
Washington State LawAdoptionRCW 26.33: Adoption contains all relevant laws related to adoption from start to finish. RCW 26.44: Abuse of Children governs the investigation and reporting of child abuse and neglect in Washington State. This chapter includes, among other things: Legal definitions of "abuse or neglect," "maltreatment," and "child protective services" Mandatory reporters, their duties, and the content of their reports Taking children into protective custody
By law enforcement — RCW 26.44.050 Parents' rights to notification of child abuse investigation, reports, findings, dependency petition filing, and protective custody. RCW 26.44.100, RCW 26.44.105, and RCW 26.44.110 Back to Top
Children in Need of Services and At-risk Youth Washington law provides a legal means for placing and supervising children, usually adolescents, who are in severe conflict with their parents and may be exhibiting behaviors such as running away, substance abuse, serious acting out problems, and/or mental health problems. RCW 13.32A: The Family Reconciliation Act governs how runaway children are reported, picked up by law enforcement, and placed out of home or returned to their parents. It also sets forth procedures for filing a Child in Need of Services (CHINS) petition for out of home placement or At-risk Youth (ARY) petitions to assist parents in controlling their child's behavior while residing at home. When law enforcement can take runaway youth into custody and for how long Semi-secure crisis residential centers Secure crisis residential centers Child in Need of Services petitions At-Risk Youth petitions Back to Top
Child Support Child Support Enforcement Child Support Schedule Court RulesWashington State Juvenile Court Rules govern procedures in all of the juvenile courts around the state. Individual county superior courts may have adopted their own set of rules for juvenile court proceedings found in their Local Superior Court Rules. Back to Top
Crimes Assault Assault in the first degree includes guns or deadly weapons, great bodily injury or intent to inflict great bodily injury (Class A felony) — RCW 9A.36.011. Assault in the second degree includes deadly weapons, substantial injury, injuring an unborn child, torture (Class B felony) — RCW 9A.36.011. Assault in the third degree includes negligently inflicting bodily harm accompanied by substantial pain that extends for a period sufficient to cause considerable suffering; also assaults on police officers, bus drivers, and transit operators (Class C felony) — RCW 9A.36.031 Assault in the fourth degree includes assaults which do not amount to first, second, or third degree assaults (Gross misdemeanor) — RCW 9A.36.041 If the victim is 12 or younger, the crime is an "assault of a child." The elements of the assaults are the same as for assault in the first, second, and third degrees above. Assault of a child in the first degree: Class A felony — RCW 9A.36.120 Assault of a child in the second degree: Class B felony — RCW 9A.36.130 Assault of a child in the third degree: Class C felony — RCW 9A.36.140 Domestic Violence Any crime may be a crime of domestic violence if committed against a family or household member. Crimes of domestic violence may remain on a person's criminal history longer and may result in an exceptional sentence. RCW 9.96.060, RCW 9.94A.535 Kidnapping Kidnapping in the first degree: Age of victim not a factor (Class A felony) — RCW 9A.40.020 Kidnapping in the second degree: Age of victim not a factor, if perpetrator is a relative it can be a defense (Class B felony unless sexually motivated, then Class A) — RCW 9A.40.030 Custodial interference in the first degree: A relative or parent who interferes and exposes child to harm, intends to hold the child permanently or for a protracted period, or removes the child from the state (Class C felony) — RCW 9A.40.060 Custodial interference in the second degree: A relative or parent who interferes with a legal custodian's access to the child or violates a residential parenting plan and has been found in contempt (first offense gross misdemeanor, second+ offense Class C felony) — RCW 9A.40.070 Sex Crimes Child Molestation in the first degree is sexual contact with victim under 12 years old where the perpetrator is at least 36 months older (Class A felony) — RCW 9A.44.083 Child molestation in the second degree is sexual contact with victim 12 or 13 years old and the perpetrator is at least 36 months older (Class B felony) — RCW 9A.44.086 Child molestation in the third degree is sexual contact with a victim 14 or 15 years old and the perpetrator is at least 48 months older (Class C felony) — RCW 9A.44.089 Indecent Liberties involves forcing sexual contact with another person where age of the victim is not a factor. (Class B unless done with forcible compulsion and then Class A) — RCW 9A.44.100 Incest in the First and Second Degree involves sexual intercourse or sexual contact with a family member: Class B or C felony — RCW 9A.64.020 Rape of a child in the first degree is sexual intercourse with a victim who is under 12 years old and perpetrator is at least 24 months older — RCW 9A.44.073 Rape of a child in the second degree is sexual intercourse with a victim who is 12 or 13 years old and perpetrator is at least 36 months older — RCW 9A.44.076 Rape of a child in the third degree is sexual intercourse with a victim who is 14 or 15 years old and perpetrator is at least 48 months older (Class C felony) — RCW 9A.44.079 Rape in the first degree is rape by forcible compulsion — with a deadly weapon, or where serious physical injury occurs, or kidnapping or felonious entry of a building or vehicle (Class A felony) — RCW 9A.44.040 Rape in the second degree is rape by forcible compulsion, or victim is incapacitated and incapable of consenting (Class A felony) — RCW 9A.44.050 Rape in the third degree is rape where victim did not consent and clearly expressed lack of consent to perpetrator by words or conduct (Class C felony) — RCW 9A.44.060 Sexual Exploitation of a Minor includes prohibiting child pornography, communicating with a minor for immoral purposes, and patronizing juvenile prostitutes — RCW 9.68A Sexual misconduct with a minor in the first degree is sexual intercourse with victim who is 16 or 17, perpetrator is at least 5 years older and is a school employee or abuses a supervisory position with the victim (Class C felony) — RCW 9A.44.093 Sexual misconduct with a minor in the second degree is sexual contact with victim who is 16 or 17, perpetrator is at least 5 years older and is a school employee or abuses a supervisory position with the victim (gross misdemeanor) — RCW 9A.44.096 Sexual Motivation Special Allegation: Any crime may be charged as "with sexual motivation" if one of the purposes for which the defendant committed the crime was for the purpose of his or her sexual gratification. For example, "Residential burglary with sexual motivation" or "Assault in the fourth degree with sexual motivation." Persons convicted of felonies with sexual motivation are required to register as sex offenders. RCW 9.94A.835 Sex Offender Registration — RCW 9A.44.130 Back to Top
Department of Social and Health Services The Department's roles and responsibilities for providing services can be found in RCW 74 and WAC 388-25. Provisions relating specifically to how DSHS is involved in the lives of children are in the following sections: Child Protective Services/Findings WAC 388-15 governs CPS investigations and the notification and appeal of CPS findings. Child Welfare Services
Crisis Residential Centers — RCW 74.13.032 Children and Family Services Services for emotionally disturbed and mentally ill children, potentially dependent children, and families-in-conflict — RCW 74.14A.020 Children's Services RCW 74.14B includes information on DSHS' requirements to provide:
Hiring and training of Children's Services workers — RCW 74.14B.010 Family Preservation Services Required characteristics of preservation services, including family preservation and intensive family preservation services — RCW 74.14C.020 What DSHS must and can do regarding preservation services — RCW 74.14C.030 Preservation services contracts — RCW 74.14C.032
Eligibility criteria for:
Reporting requirements for referrals to preservation services — RCW 74.14C.090 Alternative Family Centered Services RCW 41.14D (this chapter expires July 1, 2005)
Includes information on DSHS' duties to: Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
Eligibility — RCW 74.12.030-035
Dependent Children The Juvenile Court Act Relating to Dependency and Termination Proceedings, RCW 13.34, governs dependency proceedings in Washington State. RCW 13.34 includes, among other things:
How a child is removed from the home — RCW 13.34.050 Emancipation
Who can petition — RCW 13.64.010
Family Law Law regarding Non-parental Actions for Child Custody (Third Party Custody) can be found in RCW 26.10. Instructions and forms for filing non-parental custody actions are available on the Washington State Courts Web site. Forms Washington State Courts provide downloadable forms for shelter care, dependency, termination of parental rights, CHINS/At-Risk Youth, emancipation, offender and truancy matters in juvenile court at Juvenile Court Forms. They also provide a General List of Forms, which includes forms for family law, protection orders, child support and others. Foster Care Laws pertaining to foster care can be found in RCW 74.13 and WAC 388. More specific foster care information from the Washington Administrative Code can be found as shown below.
Placement, payment, training requirements, etc. — WAC 388-25
Paternity RCW 26.26 Uniform Parentage Act Placing Children Out of State DSHS can not place children in foster care or in a pre-adoptive placement in another state without complying with the Interstate Compact on Placement of Children found at RCW 26.34. Under RCW 26.34, DSHS or another sending agency may send a child to another state for placement by following certain procedures; however, jurisdiction over custody and supervision matters will remain in Washington. Juvenile Court Records — RCW 13.50 DSHS Records — RCW 74.1.500 and RCW 74.13.505. Back to Top
Federal LawAdoption and Safe Families Act of 1997 (ASFA)This law amended federal child welfare laws which provide funds to states for foster care by, among other things, (1) re-defining "reasonable efforts"; (2) imposing deadlines for filing termination of parental rights petitions; (3) requiring notice and an opportunity to be heard to foster parents, pre-adoptive parents and caretaker relatives at all review hearings; (4) requiring case plans to address efforts to achieve permanence; and (5) limiting time for federally funded reunification services to 15 months from initial placement. Child Abuse Prevention and Treatment Act (CAPTA) This law provides annual federal grants to states to support improvement in the work of child protective services (CPS) agencies, as well as enhanced interdisciplinary collaboration in the handling of reported child maltreatment cases. Children's Bureau Child Welfare Policy Manual Child Welfare Policy Manual full text This Child Welfare Policy Manual updates and reformats all of the existing relevant policy issuances (Policy Announcements and Policy Interpretation Questions) into an easy to use question and answer format. This manual is broken down into nine main policy areas (with detailed subsections): AFCARS, CAPTA, Independent Living, MEPA/IEAP, Monitoring, SACWIS, Title IV-B, Title IV-E, Tribes/Indian Tribal Organizations. Titles IV-B and IV-E of the Social Security Act "Title IV" of the Social Security Act" authorizes federal funds to states for foster care and adoption assistance and sets forth the states' requirements for receiving those funds. "Reasonable efforts", reviews, permanency planning requirements, etc. can all be found in Title IV. Washington State receives millions of dollars from the federal government each year to administer its child welfare program, thus state child welfare laws and procedures must conform to federal requirements. The ABA Center for Children and the Law has compiled a copy of the federal child welfare laws as amended by ASFA. Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 (Chafee Act) Explore the full text of the Chafee Act or a summary. In 1999, Congress passed a bill which changed the name of what was once called the "Independent Living Program" and increased funding to assist children who are aging out of foster care. It increased states' flexibility in administering their independent living programs while also providing greater accountability. FAQs about the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 Information Packet on the Foster Care Independence Act of 1999 prepared by the National Resource Center for Foster Care and Permanency Planning. For more information on Independent Living go to the Connect for Kids reference room. Native American Children Dependency cases involving Native American families require unique handling.
Indian
Child Welfare Act — 25 U.S.C., ch. 21. Individiuals with Disabilities Education Act (IDEA)
Update Information for Laws and WACsHere is the updating schedule for the Washington State Legislature:
If an RCW indicates that there has been an amendment to a law (e.g. *** CHANGE IN 2003 *** (SEE 1561.SL) ***), there is no simple way to insure that you have the information the day that it is passed in the legislature. You can, however, follow these steps:
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