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) “Certificate of parental improvement” means a certificate issued under RCW 74.13.720 to an individual who has a founded finding of physical abuse or negligent treatment or maltreatment, or a court finding that the individual’s child was dependent as a result of a finding that the individual abused or neglected their child pursuant to RCW 13.34.030(6)(b).

(3) “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.

(4) “Child protective services” has the same meaning as in RCW 26.44.020.

(5) “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.

(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 chapter 26.44 RCW 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.

(7) “Department” means the department of children, youth, and families.

(8) “Extended foster care services” means residential and other support services the department is authorized to provide to 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.

(9) “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.

(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) “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).

(16) “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.

(17) “Secretary” means the secretary of the department.

(18) “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 department or the court.

(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.

Reviser’s note: The definitions in this section have been alphabetized pursuant to RCW 1.08.015(2)(k).

Effective date—2020 c 270: See note following RCW 74.13.720.

Effective date—2018 c 284 §§ 3, 8, 13, 20, 33, 36, and 67: See note following RCW 13.34.030.

Expiration date—2018 c 284 §§ 2, 7, 12, 19, 32, 35, and 66: See note following RCW 13.34.030.

Effective date—2018 c 58: See note following RCW 28A.655.080.

Effective date—2018 c 34: See note following RCW 13.34.267.

Effective date—2017 3rd sp.s. c 6 §§ 102, 104-115, 201-227, 301-337, 401-419, 501-513, 801-803, and 805-822: See note following RCW 43.216.025.

Conflict with federal requirements—2017 3rd sp.s. c 6: See RCW 43.216.908.

Effective date—2015 c 240: See note following RCW 13.34.267.

Effective date—2013 c 332 §§ 8 and 10: “Sections 8 and 10 of this act take effect December 1, 2013.” [ 2013 c 332 § 17.]

Expiration date—2013 c 332 §§ 7 and 9: “Sections 7 and 9 of this act expire December 1, 2013.” [ 2013 c 332 § 16.]

Findings—Recommendations—Application—2013 c 332: See notes following RCW 13.34.267.

Effective date—2013 c 162 § 5: “Section 5 of this act takes effect December 1, 2013.” [ 2013 c 162 § 10.]

Expiration date—2013 c 162 § 4: “Section 4 of this act expires December 1, 2013.” [ 2013 c 162 § 9.]

Findings—Rules—2013 c 162: See notes following RCW 74.13.700.

Effective date—2012 c 259 §§ 1 and 3-10: See note following RCW 26.44.020.

Intent—2011 c 330: See note following RCW 13.04.011.

Findings—2010 c 291: “The legislature finds that, based upon the work of the child welfare transformation design committee established pursuant to 2SHB 2106 during the 2009 legislative session, several narrowly based amendments to that legislation need to be made, mainly for clarifying purposes. The legislature further finds that two deadlines need to be extended by six months, the first to allow the department of social and health services additional time to complete the conversion of its contracts to performance-based contracts and the second to allow the department additional time to gradually transfer existing cases to supervising agencies in the demonstration sites. The legislature finds that the addition of a foster youth on the child welfare transformation design committee will greatly assist the committee in its work.

The legislature recognizes that clarifying language regarding Indian tribes should be added regarding the government-to-government relationship the tribes have with the state. The legislature further recognizes that language is needed regarding the department’s ability to receive federal funding based upon the recommendations made by the child welfare transformation design committee.” [ 2010 c 291 § 1.]

Findings—Intent—2009 c 235: See note following RCW 74.13.031.

Findings—Intent—Severability—1999 c 267: See notes following RCW 43.20A.790.

Effective date—Severability—1979 c 155: See notes following RCW 13.04.011.

Effective dates—Severability—1977 ex.s. c 291: See notes following RCW 13.04.005.

Severability—1971 ex.s. c 292: See note following RCW 26.28.010.