wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 6007 > Original Bill
The legislature finds that the statewide dependency filing rate has consistently dropped annually since 2016. Simultaneously, Washington has seen a measured rise in the number of critical incidents and near critical incidents. The legislature finds it is necessary to understand the relationship between assessment screening tools used by the department of children, youth, and families, and the impact they have on the initiation of dependencies, out-of-home placements, and the risk these assessments pose toward increasing child fatalities and child near fatalities, particularly where families have a history of substance abuse and frequent child welfare referrals.
Within amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, the Washington state institute for public policy shall, to the extent possible:
Perform an assessment of the department of children, youth, and families' use of screening tools and risk assessment processes for child welfare referrals, to determine whether and how those tools and processes affect outcomes;
Address, at a minimum, how screening and risk assessment lead to family assessment response, voluntary and mandatory services, dependencies, out-of-home placements, rereferrals, and child fatalities or near fatalities.
The institute shall report any preliminary findings to the legislature and the department of children, youth, and families by December 1, 2026.
The institute shall report its findings to the legislature and the department of children, youth, and families by September 1, 2027.
The department of children, youth, and families and the Washington state family and children's ombuds must cooperate with the institute to facilitate access to data or other resources necessary to complete this work.