Opinion ID: 6227009
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: Dependency and Placement Statutes

Text: As a preliminary matter, the parties dispute which standard governs the placement of a legally free dependent child, such as K.W. The meaning of a statute 7 The Department opposed review, arguing, in part, that the case was moot because K.W. had been returned to his mother’s care when her parental rights were reinstated. See supra note 1. Generally, this court will not review a moot case unless it presents issues of continuing and substantial public interest. In re Marriage of Horner, 151 Wn.2d 884, 891, 93 P.3d 124 (2004). We consider “whether the issues are of a public or private nature, whether an authoritative determination is desirable to provide future guidance to public officers, . . . whether the issues are likely to recur,” “the likelihood that the issue will escape review[,] and the adverseness and quality of the advocacy.” In re Dependency of Z.J.G., 196 Wn.2d 152, 161 n.7, 471 P.3d 853 (2020). Questions about how our courts resolve competing interests in child welfare cases are of a public nature, and the vigorous debate about preference for relative placement and dearth of applicable case law indicate that public officers would benefit from authoritative guidance on the matter. Further, placement decisions occur every day in our courts but are likely to evade review due to their interlocutory nature. Last, the advocacy has been genuinely adverse and includes briefs from numerous amici curiae. This case satisfies each consideration for establishing an issue of continuing and substantial public interest. Id. 17 In re Dependency of K.W. No. 99301-7 is a question of law we review de novo. Dep’t of Ecology v. Campbell & Gwinn, LLC, 146 Wn.2d 1, 9, 43 P.3d 4 (2002). We determine the plain meaning of a statute based on “the statute and related statutes.” Id. at 11. The Washington Juvenile Court Act recognizes that children have a “right to conditions of basic nurture, health, [and] safety.” RCW 13.34.020. “The right of a child to basic nurturing includes the right to a safe, stable, and permanent home and a speedy resolution of any proceeding under this chapter.” Id. When a child is found dependent, the court must enter an order indicating whether the child will remain in the home or be removed “into the custody, control, and care of a relative or other suitable person, the department, or agency responsible for supervision of the child’s placement.” RCW 13.34.130(1)(b). The statute governing placement of a dependent child expresses a strong preference for placement with relatives: The department may only place a child with a person not related to the child as defined in RCW 74.15.020(2)(a)[8] . . . when the court finds that such placement is in the best interest of the child. Unless there is reasonable cause to believe that the health, safety, or welfare of the child would be jeopardized or that efforts to reunite the parent and child will be hindered, the child shall be placed with a person who is willing, appropriate, and available to care for the child, and who is: (I) Related to the child as defined in RCW 74.15.020(2)(a) with whom the child has a relationship and is comfortable; or (II) a suitable person as 8 RCW 74.15.020(2)(a)(i) specifies people related to the child, including “[a]ny blood relative, including those of half-blood, and including first cousins, second cousins, nephews or nieces, and persons of preceding generations as denoted by prefixes of grand, great, or great-great.” Aunt H. is K.W.’s great aunt and Grandma B. is his mother’s cousin. 18 In re Dependency of K.W. No. 99301-7 described in subsection (1)(b) of this section.[9] The court shall consider the child’s existing relationships and attachments when determining placement. RCW 13.34.130(3) (emphasis added). Thus, the Department is authorized to place the child with someone other than a relative who has a relationship with the child only if relative placement would jeopardize the child’s health, safety, or welfare. Id. Further, “[p]lacement of the child with a relative or other suitable person as described in subsection (1)(b) of this section shall be given preference by the court.” RCW 13.34.130(6) (emphasis added). This statutory scheme makes it clear that both the Department and the courts are directed by the legislature to preserve the family unit and, when unable to do so, to place the child with family members, relatives, or fictive kin before looking beyond those categories to nonrelatives. During the course of a dependency, the court is required to review the child’s status at least every six months to determine whether court supervision should continue. RCW 13.34.138(1). Among other things, if the court concludes the dependent child should not be returned to their parents’ home or homes, it must also 9 Previously, RCW 13.34.130(1)(b) authorized placement only with relatives or in the Department’s custody. See former RCW 13.34.130(1)(b) (LAWS OF 2007, ch. 413, § 6). In 2009, the legislature expanded this authority to include “a relative or other suitable person.” LAWS OF 2009, ch. 491, § 2(1)(b). The Department recognizes people who are not relatives by birth or law but who have kinship relationships as “suitable person[s]” if they have a preexisting relationship with the child or family, they are available and willing to safely care for and nurture the child, they pass the required background checks, and the child is comfortable with them. WASH. STATE DEP’T OF CHILDREN, YOUTH & FAMILY, POLICY NO. 4527, “Kinship Care: Searching for, Placing with, and Supporting Relatives and Suitable Other Persons,” (revised July 23, 2017) https://www.dcyf.wa.gov/4500-specific-services/4527-kinship-care-searching-placing-andsupporting-relatives-and-suitable [https://perma.cc/K72A-PFWD]. 19 In re Dependency of K.W. No. 99301-7 determine “[w]hether preference has been given to placement with the child’s relatives if such placement is in the child’s best interests.” RCW 13.34.138(2)(c)(ix). This means that the dependency court is charged with actively ensuring that relative placements have been fairly evaluated. This is an active process required at each hearing. Id. Making a finding that no such family placements exist at one hearing does not mean that the inquiry ends: the statute contemplates that the inquiry is ongoing, recognizing that family circumstances change, as they so often do, and as they did in this very case. Id. Although dependent children are very often placed somewhere other than their parents’ homes, parental rights remain intact during a dependency. However, if the Department ultimately concludes that parental rights to the dependent child should be terminated, the court may enter an order terminating parental rights. RCW 13.34.180(1), .190. At that point, if “there remains no parent having parental rights,” the child is considered legally free, and the court shall commit the child to the custody of the department . . . for the purpose of placing the child for adoption. If an adoptive home has not been identified, the department shall place the child in a licensed foster home or take other suitable measures for the care and welfare of the child. RCW 13.34.210. While the termination of parental rights authorizes the Department to identify and place the child in an adoptive home, it does not put an end to the dependency; a child who is legally free remains dependent until the court concludes 20 In re Dependency of K.W. No. 99301-7 that supervision should not continue. Id.; RCW 13.34.138(1). Many children remain legally free after their parents’ parental rights have been terminated. For example, in 2020, of the children who became legally free, 32 percent had adoptions completed within six months of being legally free. WASH. STATE CTR. FOR COURT RESEARCH, DEPENDENT CHILDREN IN WASHINGTON STATE: CASE TIMELINESS AND OUTCOMES 2020 ANNUAL REPORT 21 (2020), https://www.courts.wa.gov/subsite/wsccr/docs/2020DTR.pdf (hereinafter DEPENDENT CHILDREN IN WASHINGTON STATE 2020 ANNUAL REPORT). That means that 68 percent of legally free children remained legally free for at least six months after their parents’ parental rights were terminated. Id. While many of those children may be in permanent placements, the data do not assure that. K.W. and the Department appear to agree that RCW 13.34.210 governs the custody of legally free dependent children, but they disagree on whether the preference for relative placement expressed by the legislature at various stages of dependency are among the “suitable measures” the court must take at that time. See RCW 13.34.060(2) (shelter care), .065(5)(b) (shelter care hearing), .130(1), (6) (disposition). All amici argue that the dependency disposition statute, RCW 13.34.130—which explicitly states a strong preference for relative placement— governs the placement of a dependent child, whether legally free or not, unless and until there is a “change in circumstance.” See RCW 13.34.130(6), .150. 21 In re Dependency of K.W. No. 99301-7 We consider the statutory scheme as a whole when determining legislative intent. Campbell & Gwinn, 146 Wn.2d at 11-12. A child remains dependent even after parental rights have been terminated. RCW 13.34.138(1), .210. During dependency, the legislature requires courts and the Department to prioritize placement with relatives “[u]nless there is reasonable cause to believe that the health, safety, or welfare of the child would be jeopardized or that efforts to reunite the parent and child will be hindered.” RCW 13.34.130(3). One of the primary goals in dependency proceedings is the child’s stability, and the standards governing a child’s placement should not change at each stage of a dependency. See RCW 13.34.020. When a dependent child becomes legally free, the Department is authorized to identify an adoptive home and to place the child in licensed foster care “or take other suitable measures for the care and welfare of the child.” RCW 13.34.210. Looking to the statutory scheme as a whole, we conclude that the legislature intended “other suitable measures” to be those expressed throughout the statutory scheme for child dependency and termination, including the placement preferences stated in RCW 13.34.130(3): “the child shall be placed with a person who is willing, appropriate, and available to care for the child, and who is[ a relative or another] suitable person” with whom the child has a relationship and is comfortable, and the court “shall consider the child’s existing relationships and attachments when determining placement.” Therefore, the preference for relative 22 In re Dependency of K.W. No. 99301-7 placement and the requirement for the court to consider existing relationships and attachments continue to apply to a dependent child once legally free. RCW 13.34.130(3), (6).