wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > HB 1660 > Substitute Bill

HB 1660 - Child welfare/racial dispro.

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Section 1

  1. By September 1, 2026, and biennially thereafter, the department shall, in compliance with RCW 43.01.036, submit a report to the appropriate committees of the legislature that provides data regarding racial disproportionality in child welfare and recommendations to address that disproportionality and meets the requirements of this section, with a preliminary report due October 1, 2025.

  2. The report required under this section must include, but is not limited to, the following information, from at least the last five years of available information, disaggregated by race:

    1. The number of child abuse and neglect intakes received by the department where physical abuse or sexual abuse are listed as allegations;

    2. The number of child abuse and neglect intakes received by the department where neglect is the primary allegation;

    3. The number of child abuse and neglect intakes received by the department that screen in for investigation where neglect is the primary allegation;

    4. The number of child abuse and neglect intakes received by the department that screen in for investigation where physical abuse or sexual abuse are listed as allegations;

    5. The number of child abuse and neglect intakes received by the department that screen in and the department offers a family assessment response as defined in RCW 26.44.020;

    6. The number of families for which the department provides a referral for prevention services;

    7. Families who receive prevention services;

    8. Placement and outcome information including the number of children who reunify with a parent or guardian, the number of children who are placed with a relative, and the number of placements experienced by children who are dependent under chapter 13.34 RCW;

      1. The number of families for which the department receives more than one child abuse and neglect intake;

    9. The length of time that children who are dependent under chapter 13.34 RCW spend as a dependent, in foster care, with relatives, in group care, with a parent or guardian while still dependent, or in other placements;

    10. The number of child abuse and neglect intakes received by the department that screen in for investigation for children who are dependent under chapter 13.34 RCW while those children are in out-of-home care; and

    11. Employees of the department separated by job classification highlighting leadership and supervisory positions separately from nonleadership and nonsupervisory positions.

  3. In addition to the information required under subsection (2) of this section, the report required under this section must include:

    1. The efforts taken by the department to address racial disproportionality in child welfare;

    2. The outcome measures used by the department to gauge improvement in addressing racial disproportionality in child welfare;

    3. Recommendations regarding policy, practice, or funding changes that could reduce racial disproportionality in child welfare; and

    4. Updates from the assessment oversight group within the department regarding monitoring the use of assessments, approving the selection of new tools, and coordinating assessment tools that are related to racial disproportionality in child welfare.

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