BY SHAUNA SOWERSBY, REPORTER

A new law could reshape the way child dependency cases are handled in Washington state, potentially leading to more children staying with family members without those relatives being required to adopt them. The current practice, explained Shrounda Selivanoff, director of public policy for Children’s Home Society of Washington, is for the state to force relatives to adopt children in cases where neither parent is able to take care of the child. If family members don’t wish to adopt, the Department of Children, Youth and Families removes children from those placements, even if those relatives still want permanent kinship guardianship, and places the child up for adoption. “We’re removing children out of relatives’ homes, loving relatives’ homes, because they’re unwilling to adopt,” said Selivanoff, who was a major proponent and writer of the legislation.

Children’s Home Society of Washington noted in their 2022 legislative priorities that the state currently “prioritizes termination” of parental rights instead of using other options available first. Termination of parental rights is not required when a dependency case ends, they said. Under the new law, DCYF will no longer be allowed to move children out of their relatives’ care if those relatives would prefer not to adopt. In addition, existing placement standards will be kept during the life of the dependency case. Financial assistance also has been expanded for relatives who are eligible.

McClatchy wrote in February about the case of a young boy, Keyon, who was taken out of his supportive living situation with relatives and placed in three different foster homes before he was eventually returned to his family’s care. Keyon’s case eventually led to a ruling by the Washington Supreme Court which said that relative placements during child welfare proceedings “must be given meaningful preference throughout a dependency” and said that DCYF’s reasoning for opposing relative placements served as “proxies for race and class.” Selivanoff said Keyon’s case is the perfect example of why this new law was needed. Her own personal experience with having placement of her grandson is that while families in those types of situations want guardianship over children, they don’t always want to adopt. “Adoption is permanent,” Selivanoff said, and added that it “extinguishes any hope that something along the lines could be different.”

Sometimes families want to keep options open and maintain that hope, she said. The piece that Selivanoff said she finds disturbing for Black families in particular is the history of paperwork and ownership. “What happens is you force the relative to adopt their relative and what you do is erase their history because you erase the parents off of the birth certificate and you insert grandmother as mother,” she explained. “Under these terms we force relatives to enter into collusion with the system that erases family histories.” Some people will choose to adopt eventually, but families should have that choice, Selivanoff added. According to the National Library of Medicine, Indigenous children are 2.7 times more likely than white children to have both of their parent’s rights terminated. Black children are also 2.4 times more likely than white children to have both of their parent’s rights terminated. Data from around the U.S. shows that parental termination rates are also racially disproportionate in Washington.

Others agree that this change in the law will help allow children to remain in stable living situations. Colleen Shea-Brown, a legal supervisor for the Legal Counsel for Youth and Children, said she believes the new law will ensure that children are not only able to stay with their relatives, but they also can continue to participate in their own cultures and communities. “The shift in focus to relational permanency for children will help prevent unnecessary and generational trauma to children and their families in the child welfare system, who are disproportionately children of color,” Shea-Brown said. “It is critical that the implementation of the Keeping Families Together Act is informed by those who will be most impacted by this bill and we hope that DCYF will take appropriate measures to ensure that there is meaningful community engagement,” she added. In an email to McClatchy, Nancy Gutierrez, the communications consultant manager for DCYF, said that the law “will ensure that we are exploring whether or not a guardianship with a relative or close family friend is available before terminating parental rights and pursuing adoption.” “It will also make sure we are prioritizing placement with relatives throughout the time the child is in foster care,” Gutierrez said. “Finally, it will expand eligibility to Relative Guardianship Assistance Payments to Title 11 guardianships. DCYF supported these changes to the law in the legislative session and this is aligned with our strategic plan.”

The bill was sponsored by Rep. Lillian Ortiz-Self, D-Mukilteo, who serves on the House Children, Youth and Families Committee. “If we truly have the children’s best interest at heart, then our goal should be the least traumatic outcome, and that is keeping children connected to their families,” Ortiz-Self said in a press statement in March. The legislation passed both chambers of the legislature unanimously and was signed into law March 24 by the governor. The law goes into effect June 9.

This story was originally published April 10, 2022 5:00 AM.

Read more at: https://www.theolympian.com/news/state/washington/article260249620.html#storylink=cpy

Kristen Conte is the marketing and communications director for Children’s Home Society of Washington