Both the House and Senate have active proposals to provide services and resources to children and youth who are victims of sexual crimes.

HB 2704, sponsored by Rep. Michelle Caldier (R–Port Orchard), charges the Office of Crime Victims Advocacy with developing a competitive annual grant program to provide group counseling in public schools for youth survivors of sexual assault. To qualify for grant funds, an applicant must:

• Be a community sexual assault program accredited and contracted through the Office of Crime Victims Advocacy;
• Have prior experience providing group counseling to youth; and
• Have established, or be willing to establish, partnerships with one or more public schools.

HB 1775, sponsored by Rep. Tina Orwall (D–Des Moines), and companion SB 5744, sponsored by Sen. Manka Dhingra (D–Redmond), remove criminal penalties from children or youth engaged in prostitution and establishes two state resource facilities for sexually trafficked children and youth. Law enforcement who takes a sexually exploited child into custody may transport that child to the state facilities for evaluation and treatment.

HB 1775 received public hearing in the House Human Services & Early Learning Committee on Friday, January 24. SB 5744 received public hearing in the Senate Human Services, Reentry & Rehabilitation Committee on Thursday, January 23.

Dates to remember

HB 2704 is scheduled for public hearing in the House Appropriations Committee at 3:30 pm on Monday, January 27.

HB 1775 is scheduled for possible executive session in the House Human Services & Early Learning Committee at 1:30 pm on both Tuesday, January 28 and Wednesday, January 29.