A social study as defined in this chapter must contain the following information:

(1) A statement of the specific harm or harms to the child that intervention is designed to alleviate;

(2) A description of the specific services and activities, for both the parents and child, that are needed in order to prevent serious harm to the child; the reasons why such services and activities are likely to be useful; the availability of any proposed services; and the agency's overall plan for ensuring that the services will be delivered. The description shall identify the services chosen and approved by the parent;

(3) If removal is recommended, a full description of the reasons why the child cannot be protected adequately in the home, including a description of any previous efforts to work with the parents and the child in the home; the in-home treatment programs that have been considered and rejected; the prevention services, including housing assistance, that have been offered or provided and have failed to prevent the need for out-of-home placement, unless the health, safety, and welfare of the child cannot be protected adequately in the home; and the parents' attitude toward placement of the child;

(4)(a) If the child is placed, for at least thirty days, in a qualified residential treatment program as defined in this chapter, a copy of the assessment described in RCW 13.34.420.

(b) As long as the child remains placed in a qualified residential treatment program and the department anticipates that the child will remain in this placement for at least sixty days, or if the child has already been in this placement for at least sixty days, the social study must also include the following information sufficient for the juvenile court to determine at each status hearing concerning the child:

(i) Whether ongoing assessment of the child's strengths and needs continues to support the determination that the child's needs cannot be met through placement in a foster family home;

(ii) Whether the child's placement provides the most effective and appropriate level of care in the least restrictive environment;

(iii) Whether the placement is consistent with the child's permanency plan;

(iv) What specific treatment or service needs will be met in the placement, and how long the child is expected to need the treatment or services; and

(v) What efforts the department has made to prepare the child to return home or be placed with a fit and willing relative as defined in RCW 13.34.030, a Title 13 RCW legal guardian, an adoptive parent, or in a foster family home;

(5) A statement of the likely harms the child will suffer as a result of removal;

(6) A description of the steps that will be taken to minimize the harm to the child that may result if separation occurs including an assessment of the child's relationship and emotional bond with any siblings, and the agency's plan to provide ongoing contact between the child and the child's siblings if appropriate; and

(7) Behavior that will be expected before determination that supervision of the family or placement is no longer necessary.

Effective date—2019 c 172 ss 3, 4, and 10-15: See note following RCW 13.34.420.