The purpose of this chapter is to safeguard, protect, and contribute to the welfare of the children of the state, through a comprehensive and coordinated program of child welfare services provided by both the department and agencies providing for: Social services and facilities for children who require guidance, care, control, protection, treatment, or rehabilitation; setting of standards for social services and facilities for children; cooperation with public and voluntary agencies, organizations, and citizen groups in the development and coordination of programs and activities in behalf of children; and promotion of community conditions and resources that help parents to discharge their responsibilities for the care, development, and well-being of their children.
RCW 74.13.010
Declaration of purpose.
Applied in 10 court decisions — leading case Coalition for Homeless v. Dshs (1997)
Most recently applied in M.E. & J.E., Through Michael McKasy, Litigation Gal, App v. City Of Tacoma, Res (September 2020)
2018 c 284 s 34; 2009 c 520 s 49; 1965 c 30 s 2.
How often courts cite this section
Court decisions citing this, by year. The dip in the last several years is a data-coverage gap, not a real trend — our corpus holds fewer opinions from the most recent years, so recent citations are undercounted.
Official source: Washington State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Washington statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.