Subject to amounts appropriated for this specific purpose, DCYF must develop and implement a process by which individuals with a founded finding of child abuse or neglect or an individual whose child was found by a court to be dependent under state law, may petition DCYF for a certificate of parental improvement (CPI). DCYF must respond to a CPI request by approving or denying the request within 60 days. A requestor may not request a CPI if less than two years have passed since DCYF's denial of an individual's request for a CPI. court finding is accompanied by a certificate of parental improvement.
DCYF may not issue a CPI to an individual if it has been less than five years since the applicant's last founded finding of child abuse or neglect; or the applicant has any of the outlined convictions.
DCYF must also consider the outlined requirements before issuing a CPI.
An individual who has been denied a CPI by DCYF has a right to review this determination, and be given the reasons for the denial. These reviews must take place within thirty days of a written request.
Agencies that may not deny an individual the opportunity to volunteer are outlined. Public schools may deny individuals with founded findings the opportunity to volunteer.
Note: It is very likely a substitute will be heard, not the bill as it passed out of the Human Services and Early Learning Committee last session.
Amedments:
1st substitute:
The following changes are made:
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Creates a standard by which certificates must be granted (if, on a more probable than not basis, the requestor has the character, suitability, and competence to care for children);
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Prohibits requests for a certificate if not more than two years have passed since the DCYF's denial of a request;
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Limits liability for acts or omissions in issuing certificates;
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Expands criminal background check authority for the DCYF to include responding to certificate requests;
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Prohibits DSHS and DCYF from denying a request for unsupervised access to adults solely based on a founded finding or solely because the individual's child was found by a court to be dependent when that founded finding orr court finding is accompanied by a certificate;
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Prohibits providers from automatically denying a request from a prospective volunteer for unsupervised access to vulnerable adults from an individual solely because of a founded finding or solely because the individual's child was found by a court to be dependent when that founded finding or court finding is accompanied by a certificate related to the same incident without conducting review to determine the individual's character, suitability, and competency to volunteer with vulnerable adult
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Requires the Secretary to make determinations in response to requests for certificates and requests to review this determination.
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2nd Substitute:
- Requires the DCYF to implement a process where an individual who received a founded finding or court finding of abuse or neglect can petition the DCYF for a certificate of parental improvement (CPI).
- Prohibits the DCYF from denying or delaying a foster care or child care license or approval for unsupervised access solely because of a founded finding of abuse or neglect or court finding that the individual's child is dependent based on abuse or neglect if that finding is accompanied by a CPI.
- Prohibits nursing homes and assisted living facilities from automatically denying a prospective volunteer solely based on a founded finding of abuse or neglect or a dependency court finding when that finding is accompanied by a CPI.