Addressing child fatality review in child welfare cases.
Summary
Requires the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) to conduct a child fatality review when a fatality of a minor is suspected of being caused by abuse or neglect, and the child has been in the care of or received services from the DSHS or a supervising agency within one year before the child's death.
Requires the DSHS to consult with the Office of the Family and Children's Ombudsman to determine whether a review should be conducted, where it is not clear that a child's death is the result of abuse or neglect.
Requires that the child fatality review team is composed of members who have no previous involvement in the case being reviewed and that the review team include members with professional expertise that is pertinent to the dynamics of the case under review.
Requires that the DSHS post the results of a child fatality review on a public website with confidential information redacted.
Allows the DSHS to conduct a review of a near fatality of a child at its discretion or at the request of the Office of Family and Children's Ombudsman.
Prohibits questioning of employees of the DSHS in a civil or administrative proceeding regarding the work of the child fatality review team and examination of witnesses regarding his or her interactions with the child fatality or near fatality review process.
From the Substitute House Bill Report (SHB 1105), written by the Legislature's nonpartisan staff. Read the full report ↗