Title 74 — Title 74 PUBLIC ASSISTANCE

The rehabilitation council for the blind may:(1) Provide counsel to the director in developing, reviewing, making recommendations, and agreeing on the department's state plan for vocational rehabilitation, budget requests, permanent rules concerning services to blind persons, and…

It shall be the duty of the director to consult in a timely manner with the rehabilitation council for the blind on the matters enumerated in RCW 74.18.090. The director shall provide appropriate departmental resources for the use of the rehabilitation council in conducting its o…

The department may receive, accept, and disburse gifts, grants, conveyances, devises, and bequests from public or private sources, in trust or otherwise, if the terms and conditions thereof will provide services for blind persons in a manner consistent with the purposes of this c…

(1) An applicant or eligible person who is dissatisfied with a decision, action, or inaction made by the department or its agents regarding that person's eligibility or department services provided to that person is entitled to an administrative hearing. Such administrative heari…

(1) The department shall investigate the conviction records, pending charges, and disciplinary board final decisions of individuals acting on behalf of the department who will or may have unsupervised access to persons with significant disabilities as defined by the federal rehab…

(1) Personal information and records obtained and retained by the department concerning applicants and eligible individuals are confidential, are not subject to public disclosure, and may be released only in accordance with law or with this provision.(2) The department shall adop…

The department shall provide a program of vocational rehabilitation to assist blind persons to overcome barriers to employment and to develop skills necessary for employment and independence. Applicants eligible for vocational rehabilitation services shall be blind persons who al…

The department shall ensure that vocational rehabilitation services in accordance with requirements under the federal rehabilitation act of 1973 are available to meet the identified requirements of each eligible individual in preparing for, securing, retaining, or regaining an em…

The department may grant to eligible participants in the vocational rehabilitation program equipment and materials in accordance with the provisions related to transfer of capital assets as set forth by the office of financial management in the state administrative and accounting…

The department may establish, construct, and/or operate rehabilitation or habilitation facilities to provide instruction in alternative skills necessary to adjust to blindness or substantial vision loss, to assist blind persons to develop increased confidence and independence, or…

(1) The department may provide a program of independent living services for blind persons who are not seeking vocational rehabilitation services.(2) Independent living services may include, but are not limited to, instruction in adaptive skills of blindness, counseling regarding …

(1) The department may offer services to assist blind children and their families to learn skills and locate resources which increase the child's ability for personal development and participation in society.(2) Services provided under this section may include:(a) Direct consulta…

Unless the context clearly requires otherwise, the definitions in this section apply in RCW 74.18.200 through 74.18.230.(1) "Business enterprises program" means a program operated by the department under the federal Randolph-Sheppard Act, 20 U.S.C. Sec. 107 et seq., and under thi…

The department shall maintain or cause to be maintained a business enterprises program for blind persons to operate vending facilities in public buildings. The purposes of the business enterprises program are to implement the Randolph-Sheppard Act and thereby give priority to qua…

(1) The department is authorized to license blind persons to operate vending facilities and vending machines on federal property and in public buildings.(2) The state, political subdivisions thereof, and agencies of the state, or political subdivisions thereof shall give priority…

(1) There is established in the state treasury an account known as the business enterprises revolving account.(2) The net proceeds from any vending machine operation in a public building, other than an operation managed by a licensee, shall be made payable to the business enterpr…

If any part of this chapter is found to be in conflict with federal requirements which are a condition precedent to the allocation of federal funds to the state, the conflicting part of this chapter is hereby declared to be inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict, and th…

It is the responsibility of the state of Washington through the state department of social and health services to conserve the expenditure of public assistance funds, whenever possible, in order that such funds shall not be expended if there are private funds available or which c…

See RCW 74.20A.020.

(1) Whenever the department receives an application for public assistance on behalf of a child, the department shall take appropriate action under the provisions of this chapter, chapter 74.20A RCW, or other appropriate statutes of this state to establish or enforce support oblig…

The office of support enforcement shall, as a matter of policy, use all available remedies for the enforcement of support obligations where the obligor is a self-employed individual. The office of support enforcement shall not discriminate in favor of certain obligors based upon …

The department of social and health services office of support enforcement is the designated agency in Washington state to administer the child support program under Title IV-D of the federal social security act and is responsible for providing necessary and mandated support enfo…

When the department appears or participates in an adjudicative proceeding under chapter 26.23 or 74.20A RCW it shall:(1) Act in furtherance of the state's financial interest in the matter;(2) Act in the best interests of the children of the state;(3) Facilitate the resolution of …

Any person having the care, custody or control of any dependent child or children who shall fail or refuse to cooperate with the department of social and health services, any prosecuting attorney or the attorney general in the course of administration of provisions of this chapte…

If the legal custodian has been wrongfully deprived of physical custody, the department is authorized to excuse the custodian from support payments for a child or children receiving or on whose behalf public assistance was provided under chapter 74.12 RCW, or for a child or child…

(1) A responsible parent shall make all support payments through the office of support enforcement or the Washington state support registry if:(a) The parent's support order contains a provision directing the parent to make support payments through the office of support enforceme…

Notwithstanding the provisions of RCW 74.04.060, upon approval of the department of health, education and welfare of the federal government, the department of social and health services may disclose to and keep the internal revenue department of the treasury of the United States …

The prosecuting attorney of any county except a county with a population of one million or more may enter into an agreement with the attorney general whereby the duty to initiate petitions for support authorized under the provisions of *chapter 26.21 RCW as it is now or hereafter…

In order to carry out its responsibilities imposed under this chapter and as required by federal law, the state department of social and health services, through the attorney general or prosecuting attorney, is hereby authorized to:(1) Initiate an action in superior court to obta…

In carrying out the provisions of this chapter or chapters 26.18, 26.23, 26.26A, 26.26B, and 74.20A RCW, the secretary and other duly authorized officers of the department may subpoena witnesses, take testimony, and compel the production of such papers, books, records, and docume…

Any married parent with minor children, natural or legally adopted children who is receiving public assistance may apply to the superior court of the county in which such parent resides or in which the spouse may be found for an order upon such spouse, if such spouse is the natur…

(1) After the hearing of the petition for an order of support the court shall make an order granting or denying it and fixing, if allowed, the terms and amount of the support. (2) The court has the same power to compel the attendance of witnesses and the production of testimony a…

The court may, upon satisfactory showing that the petitioner is without funds to pay the filing fee, order that the petition and other papers be filed without payment of the fee.[ 1963 c 206 s 10.]

Any parent in the state whose absence is the basis upon which an application is filed for public assistance on behalf of a child shall be required to complete a statement, under oath, of his or her current monthly income, his or her total income over the past twelve months, the n…

The department is authorized and directed to establish a central unit to serve as a registry for the receipt of information, for answering interstate inquiries concerning the parents of dependent children, to coordinate and supervise departmental activities in relation to such pa…

No filing or recording fees, court fees, or fees for making copies of documents shall be required from the state department of social and health services by any county clerk, county auditor, or other county officer for the filing of any actions or documents necessary to establish…

(1) The provisions of RCW 26.26A.485 requiring appointment of a guardian ad litem to represent the child in an action brought to determine the parent and child relationship do not apply to actions brought under chapter 26.26A or 26.26B RCW if:(a) The action is brought by the atto…

Whenever a custodian of children, or other person, receives support moneys paid to them which moneys are paid in whole or in part in satisfaction of a support obligation which has been assigned to the department pursuant to Title IV-A of the federal social security act as amended…

(1) Whenever public assistance is paid under a state program funded under Title IV-A of the federal social security act as amended by the personal responsibility and work opportunity reconciliation act of 1996, and the federal deficit reduction act of 2005, each applicant or reci…

The department shall develop workload standards for each employee classification involved in support enforcement activities for each category of support enforcement cases.[ 1998 c 245 s 150; 1979 ex.s. c 171 s 25.]Notes:Severability—1979 ex.s. c 171: See note following RCW 74.20.…

In order to facilitate and ensure compliance with Title IV-D of the federal social security act, now existing or hereafter amended, wherein the state is required to undertake to establish parentage of such children as are born out of wedlock, the secretary of social and health se…

(1) The division of child support may issue an order for genetic testing when providing services under this chapter and Title IV-D of the federal social security act if genetic testing:(a) Is appropriate in an action under chapter 26.26A RCW, the uniform parentage act;(b) Is appr…

For the purposes of this chapter, the terms spouse, marriage, marital, husband, wife, widow, widower, next of kin, and family shall be interpreted as applying equally to state registered domestic partnerships or individuals in state registered domestic partnerships as well as to …

Common law and statutory procedures governing the remedies for enforcement of support for financially dependent minor children by responsible parents have not proven sufficiently effective or efficient to cope with the increasing incidence of financial dependency. The increasing …

Unless a different meaning is plainly required by the context, the following words and phrases as hereinafter used in this chapter and chapter 74.20 RCW shall have the following meanings:(1) "Department" means the state department of social and health services.(2) "Secretary" mea…

(1) The department shall be subrogated to the right of any dependent child or children or person having the care, custody, and control of said child or children, if public assistance money is paid to or for the benefit of the child, or for the care and maintenance of a child, inc…

The department of social and health services shall augment its present paternity establishment services through the hiring of additional assistant attorneys general, or contracting with prosecutors or private attorneys licensed in the state of Washington in those judicial distric…

(1) The secretary may issue a notice of a support debt accrued and/or accruing based upon RCW 74.20A.030, assignment of a support debt or a request for support enforcement services under RCW 74.20.040 (2) or (3), to enforce and collect a support debt created by a superior court o…

(1) The secretary may, if there is no order that establishes a person's support obligation or specifically relieves the person required to pay support of a support obligation or pursuant to an establishment of parentage under chapter 26.26A or 26.26B RCW, serve on the person or p…

(1)(a) If an acknowledged parent has signed an acknowledgment of parentage that has been filed with the state registrar of vital statistics:(i) The division of child support may serve a notice and finding of financial responsibility under RCW 74.20A.055 based on the acknowledgmen…