wa-law.org > bill > 2025-26 > SB 6007 > Substitute 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 screening tools used by the department of children, youth, and families, and the impact they have on the initiation of dependencies and out-of-home placements.
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 for child welfare referrals, to determine whether and how those tools and processes affect outcomes;
Address, at a minimum, how screening leads 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.