Court: Washington Court of Appeals: Division I
Case No.: 81278-5-I
Hearing Date: N/A

Case Description: The Child-Petitioner, K.W., has filed a motion for discretionary review to this Court pursuant to RAP 2.3(b).

Amicus Description: Because of the significant public policy and constitutional questions presented, amici curiae respectfully move this Court pursuant to RAP 1.2 and 18.8(a) to grant amici leave to file briefs in support of the motion for discretionary review “in the interests of justice.”  Amici curiae’s brief will support that the grounds for discretionary review are met and this Court should grant K.W’s motion for discretionary review. The Amici brief will address the following: (1) why the lower court’s decision is not consistent with Washington’s statutory preference for children to remain within their extended family above all other types of placements, and constitutional interests at stake in violating this preference;  (2) why this Court should consider the devastating impact that historic and ongoing racial bias pervading Washington’s child welfare system visits upon Black children, like K.W.;  and (3) why the lower court’s ruling refusing to return this young child to his loving relatives and authorizing the State to place him into licensed care leads to an impermissible disregard for the life of this young Black child and his right to be raised within his own loving family, and reflects harmful preference for placement with strangers in a nuclear family setting over placement with extended family, who have shown their ability to care for the child and with whom the child has a strong parental-like bond.

Opinion:
N/A