This bill adds a new section to chapter 72.05 RCW that requires the Department of Children, Youth, and Families to cooperate with all law enforcement personnel (as defined in RCW 43.101.010) in investigating criminal activity and enforcing the law. The cooperation duty explicitly includes responding to requests to search the premises of an "institution" (as defined in RCW 13.40.020). "The department" in the bill means the Department of Children, Youth, and Families. This is a procedural change directing a state agency to assist law enforcement; it does not create a new crime or set out new penalties in the provided text. The affected parties named are the Department of Children, Youth, and Families, law enforcement personnel under RCW 43.101.010, and institutions under RCW 13.40.020. The bill was read for the first time on 02/03/25 and referred to the House Committee on Early Learning & Human Services. The extract does not include the actual definitions from RCW 43.101.010 or RCW 13.40.020, and it does not provide an effective date, enforcement mechanisms, exceptions, confidentiality provisions, or penalties. It is also unclear whether other sections or provisions are part of the bill beyond this single new section.

If enacted, the Department of Children, Youth, and Families would be required to work with any law enforcement personnel (as defined elsewhere in state law) to investigate crimes and help enforce the law, and specifically to respond when law enforcement asks to search the premises of an "institution" (the bill relies on the existing legal definition of that term). That means DCYF staff and the facilities covered by the institution definition would see a new, affirmative obligation to cooperate with searches and investigations initiated by police or other defined officers. Practically, this will increase DCYF’s operational responsibilities and likely require staff time for coordination, legal review, and on-site responses, and institutions may face more frequent or less-resisted law enforcement access. The bill does not say who pays for any added work, how conflicts with confidentiality or child-welfare rules are handled, or when the requirement would take effect, so the exact costs, procedures, and legal limits on searches remain unclear.