(1) The administrative office of the courts, through the gender and justice commission of the Washington state supreme court, and with the support of the Washington state women's commission, shall work with representatives of superior, district, and municipal court judicial officers, court clerks, and administrators, including those with experience in protection order proceedings, as well as advocates and practitioners with expertise in each type of protection order, and others with relevant expertise, to consider and develop recommendations regarding:
(a) Uses of technology to reduce administrative burdens in protection order proceedings;
(b) Improving access to unrepresented parties in protection order proceedings, including promoting access for pro bono attorneys for remote protection order proceedings, in consultation with the Washington state bar association;
(c) Developing best practices for courts when there are civil protection order and criminal proceedings that concern the same alleged conduct;
(d) Developing best practices in data collection and sharing, including demographic information, in order to promote research and study on protection orders and transparency of protection order data for the public, in partnership with the Washington state center for court research, the Washington state institute for public policy, the University of Washington, and the urban Indian health institute;
(e) Developing best practices, including proposed training and necessary forms, in partnership with the Washington tribal state court consortium, to address how:
(i) Washington state court judges of all levels can see the existence of, and parties to, tribal court, military, and other jurisdiction protection orders, in comity with similar state court orders;
(ii) Tribal courts can enter their protection orders into the judicial information system used by courts to check for conflicting orders and history; and
(iii) State courts can query the national crime information center to check for tribal, military, and other jurisdictions' protection orders prior to issuing protection orders;
(f) Developing best practices for minor respondents and petitioners in civil protection order proceedings, including what sanctions should be provided for in law, with input from legal advocates for children and youth, juvenile public defense, juvenile prosecutors, adolescent behavioral health experts, youth development experts, educators, judicial officers, victim advocates, restorative-informed or trauma-informed professionals, child advocacy centers, and professionals experienced in evidenced-based modalities for the treatment of trauma; and
(g) Assessing how the civil protection order law can more effectively address the type of abuse known as "coercive control" so that survivors can seek earlier protective intervention before abuse further escalates.
(2) The gender and justice commission may hire a consultant to assist with the requirements of this section with funds as appropriated.
(3) The gender and justice commission shall provide a brief report of its recommendations to the legislature for subsection (1)(e) through (g) of this section by December 1, 2021, and, for subsection (1)(a) through (d) of this section, provide recommendations to the courts by July 1, 2022.
[ 2021 c 215 § 36.]