What You Need to Know
The purpose of the Child in Need of Services (CHINS) petition is to obtain a court order mandating family services in order to reunify the youth and parents. The youth can be temporary placed in a residence other than the home of his/her parent for up to nine months. The need for the placement must be based on a serious conflict between the parent and child that cannot be resolved by delivery of services to the family while the child remains at home.
Sometimes, when conflict has escalated between parents and youth, the best course of action is a temporary separation, in which time the family would engage in counseling or other efforts to resolve conflicts and heal the family bond.
A child, parent, or DSHS may file a CHINS petition. A "parent" is defined as the person(s) having legal right to custody of the child and includes custodian or guardian.
Do I Qualify for Filing a CHINS?
A child in need of services is defined by statute, RCW 13.32A.030(5), as a child under the age of 18 who meets at least one of the following three requirements:
- Is beyond parental control such that the child's behavior endangers the health, safety, or welfare of the child or other person.
- Has been reported to law enforcement as absent without consent for at least 24 consecutive hours from the parent's home, a crisis residential center, an out-of-home placement, or a court-ordered placement on two or more separate occasions and
- has exhibited a serious substance abuse problem; or
- has exhibited behaviors that create a serious risk of hard to the health, safety, or welfare of the child or any other person
- Is in need of necessary services, including food, shelter, health care, clothing, education, or services designed to maintain or reunite the family; and
- lacks access to or has declined to utilize these services, and
- whose parents have evidenced continuing but unsuccessful efforts to maintain the family structure or are unable or unwilling to continue efforts to maintain the family structure; or
- Is a sexually exploited child.
