Wash. Rev. Code » Title 74 · Chapter 74.20A
Revised Code of Washington

Wash. Rev. Code § 74.20A.010 (2026)

✓ current as of May 2026
Find cases: SyfertCases citing this section WA-LEGapp.leg.wa.gov JustiaTitle on Justia CornellLII Search CasesGoogle Scholar
Common law and statutory procedures governing the remedies for enforcement of support for financially dependent minor children by responsible parents have not proven sufficiently effective or efficient to cope with the increasing incidence of financial dependency. The increasing workload of courts, prosecuting attorneys, and the attorney general has made such remedies uncertain, slow and inadequate, thereby resulting in a growing burden on the financial resources of the state, which is constrained to provide public assistance grants for basic maintenance requirements when parents fail to meet their primary obligations. The state of Washington, therefore, exercising its police and sovereign power, declares that the common law and statutory remedies pertaining to family desertion and nonsupport of minor dependent children shall be augmented by additional remedies directed to the real and personal property resources of the responsible parents. In order to render resources more immediately available to meet the needs of minor children, it is the legislative intent that the remedies herein provided are in addition to, and not in lieu of, existing law. It is declared to be the public policy of this state that this chapter be construed and administered to the end that children shall be maintained from the resources of responsible parents, thereby relieving, at least in part, the burden presently borne by the general citizenry through welfare programs.
[ 1971 ex.s. c 164 s 1.]
Notes of Decisions
Cited in 25 cases, 1976–2014 · leading case: In Re Parentage of LB, 122 P.3d 161 (Wash. 2005).
Sort: Relevance Newest Treatment
In Re Parentage of LB, 122 P.3d 161 (Wash. 2005). · cites it 2× “030; RCW 74.20A.010. See also Rubano v. DiCenzo, 759 A.”
Carvin v. Britain, 155 Wash. 2d 679 (Wash. 2005). · cites it 2× “030; RCW 74.20A.010. See also Rubano v. DiCenzo, 759 A.”
In Re the Marriage of Johnson, 634 P.2d 877 (Wash. 1981). · cites it 4× “010; (4) reduce the "increasing workload of courts, prosecuting attorneys, and the attorney general", RCW 74.20A.010; (5) make the collection of child support more effective and efficient, since existing techniques have proven ineffective and thus have frustrated enforcement of…”
Guardianship Est. of Keffeler v. Dep't of Soc. & Health Servs., 32 P.3d 267 (Wash. 2001). · cites it 3× “Although DSHS provides foster care for children who need it, it is Washington public policy to attempt to recover the costs of foster care from the parents of children in foster care who are primarily liable for the costs of that care: It is declared to be the public policy of…”
Griffin v. Dep't of Soc. & Health Servs., 590 P.2d 816 (Wash. 1979). “RCW 74.20A.010. We recognized the validity of a similar purpose behind RCW 72.”
Guardianship Est. of Keffeler v. STATE, DSHS, 88 P.3d 949 (Wash. 2004). “See RCW 74.20A.010; WAC XXX-XX-XXXX, WAC 388-14A-8100, -8105, -8110, -8120 (explaining duty of parent to provide support and how support is collected and used).”
Valley v. Selfridge, 639 P.2d 225 (Wash. Ct. App. 1982). “RCW 74.20A.010. Thus, we interpret this to mean the "judgment determining all accrued arrears" is simply a means to clarify the amount owed.”
West v. Dep't of Soc. & Health Servs., 586 P.2d 516 (Wash. Ct. App. 1978). “It knew that financial pressures had played a role in her decision to place her children in foster care and it also knew that pursuant to RCW 74.20A.010 and WAC 388-11-190, West would be required to contribute toward the cost of foster care.”
Komm v. Dep't of Soc. & Health Servs., 597 P.2d 1372 (Wash. Ct. App. 1979). “20A as expressed in the first section of RCW 74.20A.010: It is declared to be the public policy of this state that this chapter be construed and administered to the end that children shall be maintained from the resources of responsible parents, thereby relieving, at least in…”
Moore v. Moore, 583 P.2d 1249 (Wash. Ct. App. 1978). “In RCW 74.20A.010, the language expressly declares that the purpose of the act is to augment by additional remedies those remedies already in existence.”
State on Behalf of Sigler v. Sigler, 932 P.2d 710 (Wash. Ct. App. 1997). “RCW 74.20A.010. The State has an interest in placing the primary responsibility for the care and support of children on parents rather than on the taxpayers.”
Lizotte v. Lizotte, 551 P.2d 137 (Wash. Ct. App. 1976). · cites it 3× “RCW 74.20A.010. In those cases where the State is obliged to step in and provide funds from the public treasury to insure that a child is properly provided for, as the Department was obliged to do here through the Aid to Families with Dependent Children Program (AFDC), it is the…”
Show all 25 citing cases →
Annotations are extracted automatically from the opinions in the Syfert caselaw corpus and ranked by authority, recency, and treatment. Dots show Syfertize treatment of the citing case itself.