Washington Administrative Code

You may hold a contract with the state in order to provide services, but if you provide services as a child placing agency you must also meet the licensing requirements outlined in this chapter. When contract or other statutory requirements differ from licensing, you must meet th…

(1) An agency may not be licensed by LD for more than one type of license in the same building (a group care facility and a CPA for example), unless the department determines that care of one type of client does not interfere with the care of another type of client, and you have …

(1) The home study must include the following information:(a) The applicant's motivation to foster or adopt;(b) The family's plan for honoring the child's ethnic and cultural heritage;(c) The education or training needs for the special needs of children;(d) The applicant's need f…

(1) Foster homes that you certify as meeting our licensing requirements may accept children only from:(a) Your child placing agency; or(b) A different child placing agency or the department if there is an agreement written in advance between your child placing agency and the othe…

(1) We are responsible for the safety and well-being of the children placed in our custody by parents or the court and will place children where we believe is in their best interest.(2) We specify the maximum number, age range, and gender of children in each home you certify. We …

(1) You have the right to refuse to admit or retain a child in your program. The exceptions to this requirement are individual programs that have contracts that specify a child cannot be denied admission.(2) A joint decision may be made by the provider, the placement agency and u…

(1) In planning a foster care placement for a child, you must consider:(a) The child's basic right to their own home and family;(b) Proximity to the child's birth parents, extended family and other supports;(c) Each child's individual needs, including cultural, spiritual and reli…

(1) You must give foster parents any information that may be shared about the child and the child's family. Sharing information about behavioral and emotional challenges is especially important. This helps foster parents make an informed decision about whether or not to accept a …

(1) We may modify, deny, suspend or revoke your license when you, your employees or volunteers:(a) Do not meet the licensing regulations in this chapter;(b) Have not been cleared for unsupervised access to children;(c) Have been determined by us to have abused or neglected a chil…

(1) We may make exceptions and license or continue to license you if you do not meet the minimum licensing regulations if we find that you can provide for the safety, health and well-being of children in your care.(2) In addition, we may limit or restrict your license and/or requ…

(1) The department must disqualify employees, volunteers, or subcontractors if they do not meet the regulations of chapter 110-147 WAC or cannot have unsupervised access to children because of their background check as outlined in chapter 110-04 WAC.(2) We will notify you if a pe…

You have the right to request an administrative hearing if you disagree with any of these actions. You must request this hearing within twenty-eight calendar days of receiving a certified letter with our decision (see chapter 34.05 RCW). To request a hearing you must send a lette…

(1) The decision of the administrative law judge is the final decision of the department unless you or the department files a petition for review with the DCYF board of appeals within 21 calendar days after the administrative law judge's decision is mailed to the parties.(2) The …

(1) We may issue a probationary license as part of a corrective action plan with you.(2) We will consider the following when deciding whether a probationary license will be issued:(a) An intentional or negligent violation of licensing regulations;(b) A history of violation of lic…

(1) You must employ sufficient numbers of qualified staff to meet the physical, safety, health, and emotional needs of the children placed in your care, appropriate for their age and developmental level. Requirements for specific staff are detailed below.(2) Employees and caregiv…

You and all employees, staff members, and volunteers must adhere to, follow, and comply with the case plan for each of the children in your care.[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.15.030. WSR 22-11-091, § 110-147-1443, filed 5/18/22, effective 6/18/22.]

(1) You must have an executive director or administrator who is available telephonically during business hours and meets the qualification to:(a) Manage the financial and administrative operations of the program;(b) Comply with the licensing rules contained in this chapter provid…

(1) You must have a program manager available during business hours who meets the qualifications to:(a) Coordinate the day-to-day operations of the program;(b) Supervise the case management and direct care staff; and(c) Have the responsibility to ensure the completion of each chi…

(1) Case management staff will provide individualized case management and coordination of services.(2) Case management staff hired before January 10, 2015, must have five years of experience or a bachelor's degree in social services or closely related field from an accredited sch…

(1) If you employ case aides to provide direct care, such as transporting, providing supervision, or performing other services in certified foster homes and kinship homes, these staff must:(a) Be at least 21 years of age;(b) Have a high school diploma or high school or equivalenc…

(1) If your program requires health care staff, they must:(a) Meet the full professional competency requirements in their respective field; and(b) Maintain their certification or licensure as required by the department of health.(2) Applicants with current and active medical lice…

(1) You must have a consultant available as needed to work with your staff, the children you serve, and the children's families. Consultants may be used for case management or program support.(2) A case management consultant is responsible to:(a) Review treatment, case plans, or …

(1) Your foster home licensor must:(a) Be at least twenty-one years old; and(b) Have a bachelor's degree in social services or related field; or(c) Four years of relevant full-time experience serving children may be substituted for the bachelor's degree with DLR administrative ap…

You must have sufficient clerical, accounting, administrative and maintenance services to carry out your program.[WSR 18-14-078, recodified as § 110-147-1480, filed 6/29/18, effective 7/1/18. Statutory Authority: Chapters 13.34 and 74.13 RCW, RCW 74.15.030(2), 74.15.311(2), 74.13…

The same person may have multiple staff roles and responsibilities as long as they meet the staff qualifications for each position.[WSR 18-14-078, recodified as § 110-147-1485, filed 6/29/18, effective 7/1/18. Statutory Authority: Chapters 13.34 and 74.13 RCW, RCW 74.15.030(2), 7…

These volunteers must meet the licensing requirements listed in this chapter, including meeting the qualifications for case aide staff, and must:(1) Be at least 21 years of age, unless they are between 18 and 21 years of age with an internship or practicum program as per WAC 110-…

(1) You must have at least one full-time case manager providing case management services for every twenty-five children in care.(2) If you have both a license and a contract for services, you must adhere to the most stringent caseload size requirements for case managers.[WSR 18-1…

(1) Prior to having responsibility for direct care, staff, interns, and volunteers must have a minimum of 16 hours of the following preservice training, including policies and procedures, job responsibilities and facility administration. This is in addition to the first aid and c…

(1) If you have employees in your agency, you must offer in-service training programs for developing and upgrading staff skills. Your training plan must be in writing.(2) You must submit an in-service training plan for staff for approval by the department, with a minimum of 12 ho…

If you or any of your staff provide supervision or direct care to children, basic standard first aid and age-appropriate cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPR) training is required. The CPR training is not required for staff/volunteers with a statement from their physician that the …

(1) If you or any of your staff provide supervision or direct care to children, bloodborne pathogens training is required. This training should include infection control standards.(2) You must use infection control requirements and educational material consistent with the current…

(1) You must both submit to the department through the licensing provider portal and keep on file personnel records for each person who is employed or volunteers at your agency.(2) For staff who will not have unsupervised access to children you must keep the following:(a) An empl…

(1) You must retain a record of each child placed by your agency. This record must contain all identifying legal, medical, and social information.(2) Any identifying and personal information about a child and the child's family must be kept confidential as required by chapter 26.…

(1) If you have child files with information not returned to the department, you must keep them for six years following the termination or expiration of any license or contract you have with the department. Children's records must never be submitted to the department through the …

(1) Information about a child or the child's family is confidential and must only be shared with people directly involved in the case plan for a child.(2) You may discuss information about the child, the child's family, and the case plan only with:(a) A representative of the depa…

(1) You must report the following incidents immediately and in no instance later than 48 hours after the incident to your local DCYF intake staff and the child's DCYF caseworker and tribal Indian child welfare (ICW) case manager as applicable:(a) Death, serious illness or injury,…

(1) As soon as you or your staff have reason to believe a child in your care is missing as defined in WAC 110-147-1305 or has refused to return to or remain in your care, or whose whereabouts are otherwise unknown, you are required to notify the following:(a) The child's assigned…

(1) You must immediately report through the licensing provider portal changes in the original licensing application. You must report changes in:(a) Your location or designated space, including address;(b) Your phone number;(c) Your program description or population served;(d) Str…

(1) You must maintain your buildings, premises, and equipment in a clean and sanitary condition, free of hazards, and in good repair. You must have a working telephone at your agency at all times.(2) All homes certified by your agency must meet the health and safety requirements …

(1) You must notify your DLR licensor if you or any adults having access to children in your care, have been exposed to someone with tuberculosis, or if a health care provider recommends testing.(2) Retesting for license renewals is not required unless the above conditions apply.…

(1) You must not have or consume alcohol, marijuana, or illegal drugs on the premises of your agency.(2) You must not allow staff members who are under the influence of alcohol, marijuana, or illegal drugs to have contact with children in care.[WSR 18-14-078, recodified as § 110-…

(1) You must not allow your staff to smoke in your agency, in the living spaces of the homes you certify, or while transporting children.(2) You may permit adults to smoke outdoors away from children in accordance with RCW 70.160.075.(3) You must not provide tobacco to children.(…

You must not permit guns, ammunition and other weapons on the premises of your agency.[WSR 18-14-078, recodified as § 110-147-1575, filed 6/29/18, effective 7/1/18. Statutory Authority: Chapters 13.34 and 74.13 RCW, RCW 74.15.030(2), 74.15.311(2), 74.13.032, 13.04.011, 74.13.020,…

(1) Child placing agency staff providing supervision to your certified homes must be knowledgeable about each home's emergency and evacuation plan and be able to:(a) Operate fire extinguishers;(b) Test smoke detectors (single station types); and(c) Conduct inspections to identify…

(1) You must have a written plan on how you will assist the homes you certify in case of fire or other emergencies such as natural disasters or unforeseen events. Emergency plans may change based on the developmental level and behaviors of children you serve. To ensure that medic…

(1) You must assure an environment of tolerance and sensitivity to a child's spiritual and religious beliefs. This includes providing adequate opportunity for spiritual and religious training and participation appropriate to the child's beliefs, and not requiring any child to par…

(1) You must follow all state and federal laws regarding nondiscrimination while providing services to children in your care.(2) You must support and engage foster children in your care with dignity and respect regardless of actual or perceived race, ethnicity, religion, culture,…

(1) You must develop a written diagnostic social summary for each child accepted for care. The social summary must serve as the basis of the child's admission to your care.(2) The social summary must be completed as soon as possible or no later than 30 days from the date of place…

(1) If you care for children under the care and authority of the department, with contracts or agreements to provide treatment or therapeutic services, you must assist in developing and implementing a written treatment plan for each child by the thirtieth day in care.(2) The trea…

The case manager must contact a foster child and the foster child's foster family according to a case plan that reflects the child's needs. Case managers must make in home health and safety visits as required by the department's policy. Each foster child and one or both foster pa…