Child welfare housing assist

AN ACT Relating to the child welfare housing assistance program; 1
amending RCW 74.13.802; and reenacting and amending RCW 13.34.030.2
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:3
Sec. 1. RCW 13.34.030 and 2024 c 328 s 101, 2024 c 298 s 4, and 4
2024 c 192 s 2 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:5
The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter 6
unless the context clearly requires otherwise. 7
(1) "Abandoned" means when the child's parent, guardian, or other 8
custodian has expressed, either by statement or conduct, an intent to 9
forego, for an extended period, parental rights or responsibilities 10
despite an ability to exercise such rights and responsibilities. If 11
the court finds that the petitioner has exercised due diligence in 12
attempting to locate the parent, no contact between the child and the 13
child's parent, guardian, or other custodian for a period of three 14
months creates a rebuttable presumption of abandonment, even if there 15
is no expressed intent to abandon. 16
(2) "Child," "juvenile," and "youth" mean: 17
(a) Any individual under the age of eighteen years; or18
(b) Any individual age 18 to 21 years who is eligible to receive 19
and who elects to receive the extended foster care services 20
authorized under RCW 74.13.031. A youth who remains dependent and who 21
S-0769.1
SENATE BILL 5508
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Senators Krishnadasan, Saldaña, Alvarado, Hasegawa, Lovelett,
Nobles, Salomon, Trudeau, Valdez, and C. Wilson
Read first time 01/27/25. Referred to Committee on Human Services.
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receives extended foster care services under RCW 74.13.031 shall not 1
be considered a "child" under any other statute or for any other 2
purpose. 3
(3) "Current placement episode" means the period of time that 4
begins with the most recent date that the child was removed from the 5
home of the parent, guardian, or legal custodian for purposes of 6
placement in out-of-home care and continues until: (a) The child 7
returns home; (b) an adoption decree, a permanent custody order, or 8
guardianship order is entered; or (c) the dependency is dismissed, 9
whichever occurs first. 10
(4) "Department" means the department of children, youth, and 11
families. 12
(5) "Dependency guardian" means the person, nonprofit 13
corporation, or Indian tribe appointed by the court pursuant to this 14
chapter for the limited purpose of assisting the court in the 15
supervision of the dependency. 16
(6) "Dependent child" means any child who: 17
(a) Has been abandoned; 18
(b) Is abused or neglected as defined in RCW 26.44.020 by a 19
person legally responsible for the care of the child;20
(c) Has no parent, guardian, or custodian capable of adequately 21
caring for the child, such that the child is in circumstances which 22
constitute a danger of substantial damage to the child's 23
psychological or physical development; 24
(d) Is receiving extended foster care services, as authorized by 25
RCW 74.13.031; or 26
(e) Is a victim of sex trafficking or severe forms of trafficking 27
in persons under the trafficking victims protection act of 2000, 22 28
U.S.C. Sec. 7101 et seq., when the parent is involved in the 29
trafficking, facilitating the trafficking, or should have known that 30
the child is being trafficked. 31
(7) "Developmental disability" means a disability attributable to 32
intellectual disability, cerebral palsy, epilepsy, autism, or another 33
neurological or other condition of an individual found by the 34
secretary of the department of social and health services to be 35
closely related to an intellectual disability or to require treatment 36
similar to that required for individuals with intellectual 37
disabilities, which disability originates before the individual 38
attains age eighteen, which has continued or can be expected to 39
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continue indefinitely, and which constitutes a substantial limitation 1
to the individual. 2
(8) "Educational liaison" means a person who has been appointed 3
by the court to fulfill responsibilities outlined in RCW 13.34.046.4
(9) "Experiencing homelessness" means lacking a fixed, regular, 5
and adequate nighttime residence, including circumstances such as 6
sharing the housing of other persons due to loss of housing, economic 7
hardship, fleeing domestic violence, or a similar reason as described 8
in the federal McKinney-Vento homeless assistance act (Title 42 9
U.S.C., chapter 119, subchapter I) as it existed on January 1, 2021.10
(10) "Extended foster care services" means residential and other 11
support services the department is authorized to provide under RCW 12
74.13.031. These services may include placement in licensed, 13
relative, or otherwise approved care, or supervised independent 14
living settings; assistance in meeting basic needs; independent 15
living services; supervised independent living subsidy; medical 16
assistance; and counseling or treatment. 17
(11) "Guardian" means the person or agency that: (a) Has been 18
appointed as the guardian of a child in a legal proceeding, including 19
a guardian appointed pursuant to chapter 13.36 RCW; and (b) has the 20
legal right to custody of the child pursuant to such appointment. The 21
term "guardian" does not include a "dependency guardian" appointed 22
pursuant to a proceeding under this chapter. 23
(12) "Guardian ad litem" means a person, appointed by the court 24
to represent the best interests of a child in a proceeding under this 25
chapter, or in any matter which may be consolidated with a proceeding 26
under this chapter. A "court-appointed special advocate" appointed by 27
the court to be the guardian ad litem for the child, or to perform 28
substantially the same duties and functions as a guardian ad litem, 29
shall be deemed to be guardian ad litem for all purposes and uses of 30
this chapter. 31
(13) "Guardian ad litem program" means a court-authorized 32
volunteer program, which is or may be established by the superior 33
court of the county in which such proceeding is filed, to manage all 34
aspects of volunteer guardian ad litem representation for children 35
alleged or found to be dependent. Such management shall include but 36
is not limited to: Recruitment, screening, training, supervision, 37
assignment, and discharge of volunteers. 38
(14) "Guardianship" means a guardianship pursuant to chapter 39
13.36 RCW or a limited guardianship of a minor pursuant to RCW 40
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11.130.215 or equivalent laws of another state or a federally 1
recognized Indian tribe. 2
(15) "High-potency synthetic opioid" means an unprescribed 3
synthetic opioid classified as a Schedule II controlled substance or 4
controlled substance analog in chapter 69.50 RCW or by the pharmacy 5
quality assurance commission in rule including, but not limited to, 6
fentanyl. 7
(16) "Housing assistance" means appropriate referrals by the 8
department or other agencies to federal, state, local, or private 9
agencies or organizations including the child welfare housing 10
assistance program established under RCW 74.13.802, assistance with 11
forms, applications, or financial subsidies or other monetary 12
assistance for housing. For purposes of this chapter, "housing 13
assistance" is not a remedial service or family reunification service 14
as described in RCW 13.34.025(2). 15
(17) "Indigent" means a person who, at any stage of a court 16
proceeding, is: 17
(a) Receiving one of the following types of public assistance: 18
Temporary assistance for needy families, aged, blind, or disabled 19
assistance benefits, medical care services under RCW 74.09.035, 20
pregnant women assistance benefits, poverty-related veterans' 21
benefits, food stamps or food stamp benefits transferred 22
electronically, refugee resettlement benefits, medicaid, or 23
supplemental security income; or 24
(b) Involuntarily committed to a public mental health facility; 25
or 26
(c) Receiving an annual income, after taxes, of 125 percent or 27
less of the federally established poverty level; or28
(d) Unable to pay the anticipated cost of counsel for the matter 29
before the court because his or her available funds are insufficient 30
to pay any amount for the retention of counsel. 31
(18) "Nonminor dependent" means any individual age 18 to 21 years 32
who is participating in extended foster care services authorized 33
under RCW 74.13.031. 34
(19) "Out-of-home care" means placement in a foster family home 35
or group care facility licensed pursuant to chapter 74.15 RCW or 36
placement in a home, other than that of the child's parent, guardian, 37
or legal custodian, not required to be licensed pursuant to chapter 38
74.15 RCW. 39
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(20) "Parent" means the biological or adoptive parents of a 1
child, or an individual who has established a parent-child 2
relationship under RCW 26.26A.100, unless the legal rights of that 3
person have been terminated by a judicial proceeding pursuant to this 4
chapter, chapter 26.33 RCW, or the equivalent laws of another state 5
or a federally recognized Indian tribe. 6
(21) "Prevention and family services and programs" means specific 7
mental health prevention and treatment services, substance abuse 8
prevention and treatment services, and in-home parent skill-based 9
programs that qualify for federal funding under the federal family 10
first prevention services act, P.L. 115-123. For purposes of this 11
chapter, prevention and family services and programs are not remedial 12
services or family reunification services as described in RCW 13
13.34.025(2). 14
(22) "Prevention services" means preservation services, as 15
defined in chapter 74.14C RCW, and other reasonably available 16
services, including housing assistance, capable of preventing the 17
need for out-of-home placement while protecting the child. Prevention 18
services include, but are not limited to, prevention and family 19
services and programs as defined in this section. 20
(23) "Qualified residential treatment program" means a program 21
that meets the requirements provided in RCW 13.34.420, qualifies for 22
funding under the family first prevention services act under 42 23
U.S.C. Sec. 672 (k), and, if located within Washington state, is 24
licensed as a group care facility under chapter 74.15 RCW.25
(24) "Relative" includes persons related to a child in the 26
following ways: 27
(a) Any blood relative, including those of half-blood, and 28
including first cousins, second cousins, nephews or nieces, and 29
persons of preceding generations as denoted by prefixes of grand, 30
great, or great-great; 31
(b) Stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, and stepsister;32
(c) A person who legally adopts a child or the child's parent as 33
well as the natural and other legally adopted children of such 34
persons, and other relatives of the adoptive parents in accordance 35
with state law; 36
(d) Spouses of any persons named in (a), (b), or (c) of this 37
subsection, even after the marriage is terminated;38
(e) Relatives, as named in (a), (b), (c), or (d) of this 39
subsection, of any half sibling of the child; or 40
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(f) Extended family members, as defined by the law or custom of 1
the Indian child's tribe or, in the absence of such law or custom, a 2
person who has reached the age of 18 and who is the Indian child's 3
grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, brother-in-law or 4
sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or second cousin, or stepparent 5
who provides care in the family abode on a 24 hour basis to an Indian 6
child as defined in 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1903(4). 7
(25) "Shelter care" means temporary physical care in a facility 8
licensed pursuant to RCW 74.15.030 or in a home not required to be 9
licensed pursuant to RCW 74.15.030. 10
(26) "Sibling" means a child's birth brother, birth sister, 11
adoptive brother, adoptive sister, half-brother, or half-sister, or 12
as defined by the law or custom of the Indian child's tribe for an 13
Indian child as defined in RCW 13.38.040. 14
(27) "Social study" means a written evaluation of matters 15
relevant to the disposition of the case that contains the information 16
required by RCW 13.34.430. 17
(28) "Supervised independent living setting" includes, but is not 18
limited to, apartment living, room and board arrangements, college or 19
university dormitories, and shared roommate settings. Supervised 20
independent living settings must be approved by the department or the 21
court. 22
(29) "Supervised independent living subsidy" has the same meaning 23
as in RCW 74.13.020. 24
(30) "Voluntary placement agreement" has, for the purposes of 25
extended foster care services, the same meaning as in RCW 74.13.336.26
Sec. 2. RCW 74.13.802 and 2023 c 321 s 1 are each amended to 27
read as follows: 28
(1) Within funds appropriated for this specific purpose, the 29
department shall administer a child welfare housing assistance 30
program, which provides housing vouchers, rental assistance, 31
navigation, and other support services to eligible families.32
(a) The department shall operate or contract for the operation of 33
the child welfare housing assistance program under subsection (3) of 34
this section in one or more counties west of the crest of the Cascade 35
mountain range and one or more counties east of the crest of the 36
Cascade mountain range. 37
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(b) The child welfare housing assistance program is intended to 1
reduce the need for foster care placement and to shorten the time 2
that children remain in out-of-home care when placement is necessary.3
(c) The department or entities contracted with the department 4
under this section may continue to provide housing assistance through 5
the child welfare housing assistance program after the department is 6
no longer providing child welfare or child protective services to the 7
family.8
(d) The department shall adopt rules to establish formal 9
procedures for implementation of the child welfare housing assistance 10
program.11
(2) The following families are eligible for assistance from the 12
child welfare housing assistance program: 13
(a) A parent with a child who is dependent pursuant to chapter 14
13.34 RCW and a lack of appropriate housing is a remaining barrier to 15
reunification; and 16
(b) A parent of a child who is a candidate for foster care as 17
defined in RCW 26.44.020 and whose housing instability is a barrier 18
to the child remaining in the home. 19
(3) The department shall contract with an outside entity or 20
entities, who must have a demonstrated understanding of the 21
importance of stable housing for children and families involved or at 22
risk of being involved with the child welfare system, to operate the 23
child welfare housing assistance program. If no outside entity or 24
entities are available to operate the program or specific parts of 25
the program, the department may operate the program or the specific 26
parts that are not operated by an outside entity. 27
(4) Families may be referred to the child welfare housing 28
assistance program by a department caseworker, an attorney, a 29
guardian ad litem as defined in chapter 13.34 RCW, a parent ally as 30
defined in RCW 2.70.060, an office of public defense social worker, 31
or the court. 32
(5) The department shall consult with a stakeholder group that 33
must include, but is not limited to, the following:34
(a) Parent allies; 35
(b) Parent attorneys and social workers managed by the office of 36
public defense parent representation program; 37
(c) The department of commerce; 38
(d) Housing experts; 39
(e) Community-based organizations; 40
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(f) Advocates; and 1
(g) Behavioral health providers. 2
(6) The stakeholder group established in subsection (5) of this 3
section shall begin meeting after July 28, 2019, and assist the 4
department in design of the child welfare housing assistance program 5
in areas including, but not limited to: 6
(a) Equitable racial, geographic, ethnic, and gender distribution 7
of program support; 8
(b) Eligibility criteria; 9
(c) Creating a definition of homeless for purposes of eligibility 10
for the program; and 11
(d) Options for program design that include outside entities 12
operating the entire program or specific parts of the program.13
(7) Beginning November 1, 2024, the department shall annually 14
report data and outcomes for the child welfare housing assistance 15
program to the legislature. At a minimum, when available, the report 16
must include the following information: 17
(a) Distribution of the child welfare housing assistance program 18
by race, geography, ethnicity, and gender including a discussion of 19
whether this distribution was equitable; ((and))20
(b) Any recommendations for legislative changes to the child 21
welfare housing assistance program;22
(c) The number of unhoused parents on the waiting list for 23
vouchers supported by the child welfare housing assistance program 24
and the average time spent on the waiting list;25
(d) The percentage of funding spent on housing assistance for 26
families to prevent out-of-home placement, support reunification, 27
provide for program administration, or other purposes; and28
(e) The percentage of funding spent on program administration, 29
rental assistance to families, and supportive services necessary to 30
receive federal housing voucher support. 31
(8) The child welfare housing assistance program established in 32
this section is subject to the availability of funds appropriated for 33
this purpose. 34
(9) During the 2025-2027 biennium, the department shall increase 35
the number of households served by the child welfare housing 36
assistance program by at least 200 above those served during fiscal 37
year 2025, with a priority on serving families on any wait lists. 38
Beginning July 1, 2027, the department shall continue to provide 39
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child welfare housing assistance to at least the same number of 1
households as were served during the 2025-2027 biennium.2
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