Senator O’Ban is running 2 bills this session in regards to adult family homes. These links below will take you to the page that will be updated regularly as session progresses. It is a good place to go for the most current information on each bill. You can also sign up for email notifications on each page .
What the bill does:
• Prohibits the Department of Social and Health Services from discharging a state hospital patient to an adult family home if:
there is a judicial finding that the person has committed acts constituting a violent felony; and
these acts were the subject of criminal charges that were dismissed without prejudice immediately prior to the current period of hospitalization based on incompetency to stand trial.
• Prohibits courts from placing a person committed as a sexually violent predator in an adult family home pursuant to a less restrictive alternative order after the effective date of the act; and
o requires such a person, if otherwise appropriate for adult family home placement, to be placed in an enhanced services facility or other setting that provides an at least equivalent staffing ratio and level of security and supervision; and
o amends eligibility requirements for enhanced services facilities to include persons who have been judicially determined to meet the statutory definition of sexually violent predator.
What the bill does:
• Applies fair share principles to persons committed to a state hospital following a judicial civil finding that they committed acts constituting a felony which were dismissed based on incompetence to stand trial by:
Requiring DSHS to develop a discharge plan within the county of origin, defined as any county within the regional service area in which the person was enrolled in services prior to commitment, or if the person was not enrolled in services, any county within the regional service area of the county of where criminal charges were filed.
Allowing DSHS to make an exception if placement in county of origin is inappropriate considering any court-issued protection orders, victim safety concerns, the availability of appropriate treatment, negative influences on the person, or the location of family or other persons or organizations offering support to the person.
Requiring that when DSHS does not discharge an 1114 patient to their county of origin, it must develop a discharge plan in a manner that does not have a disproportionate effect on a single county and must provide a written explanation to the Law and Justice Council of the county where the person is discharged.
• Expands fair share provisions applicable to the release of sexually violent predators on less restrictive alternative orders by requiring state placement efforts when the person cannot be released to their county of commitment to be directed towards placing the person in a neighboring county.
• Requires DSHS to report on the adequacy of resources to support less restrictive alternative placements for sexually violent predators in each regional service area and present a plan for procuring such services in any region with inadequate services.