Washington Administrative Code

(1) This chapter contains licensing requirements for kinship homes licensed directly by the department or certified through a child placing agency (CPA). Unless noted otherwise, these requirements apply to caregivers licensed to provide kinship care.(2) The licensing division (LD…

The following definitions are for the purpose of this chapter and important to understanding these requirements:"Abuse or neglect" means the same as defined in RCW 26.44.020."Agency" means the same as defined in RCW 74.15.020."Applicants" means individuals applying to receive a k…

Caregivers must meet nondiscrimination requirements by:(1) Following all state and federal laws regarding nondiscrimination while providing services to children and youth in care; and(2) Supporting and engaging children and youth in care with dignity and respect regardless of act…

Caregivers may apply to:(1) Receive a kinship or foster license through the department, CPA, or tribal CPA. If caregivers:(a) Apply through a CPA or tribal CPA, CPA's have the discretion to:(i) Determine whether to certify a caregiver; and(ii) Have additional requirements for car…

Caregivers must:(1) Only accept placements of kinship children or youth in out-of-home care, unless they are licensed foster parents under chapter 110-148 WAC, which allows them to accept nonkin placements; or(2) Have an updated assessment to include any additional kinship childr…

Caregivers must be licensed to receive monthly foster care maintenance payments while caring for kinship children or youth, per WAC 110-50-0470.[Statutory Authority: Chapters 13.34, 74.13, 74.15 RCW, and 45 C.F.R. ss 1355 and 1356. WSR 25-12-071, s 110-149-0060, filed 5/30/25, ef…

Caregivers may request the following from the department to assist in meeting the needs of kinship children or youth:(1) Training;(2) In or out-of-home services; or(3) Financial support including, but not limited to:(a) Transportation or mileage reimbursement;(b) Property damage …

Caregivers:(1) Have the right to receive breaks from caregiving, including respite;(2) Must obtain their caseworker's approval if babysitting will be provided regularly or more than 72 hours; and(3) May:(a) Make their own arrangements for babysitting using the prudent parenting g…

Certified kinship respite providers must:(1) Be approved by the department to receive payment prior to providing respite care; and(2) Complete the following when providing respite care in the:(a) Licensed kinship caregiver's home:(i) Application;(ii) A federal bureau of investiga…

Licensed kinship caregivers:(1) Must only provide respite care to other kinship children or youth; and(2) May request a reassessment of their current license to add kinship children or youth they plan to provide respite for to be eligible to receive payment for any respite provid…

Caregivers:(1) Have a right to an administrative hearing per chapter 110-03 WAC;(2) May request an administrative hearing if they contest the department's decision to deny, suspend, or revoke their license; and(3) Must submit a written request for an administrative hearing to the…

Caregivers must meet or request assistance from the children's or youth's caseworkers to develop a plan that meets the child's or youth's basic and specific needs. This includes, but is not limited to, providing:(1) Food, including options for:(a) Allergies;(b) Specific diets; an…

Caregivers:(1) Must follow these requirements when caring for children and youth:(a) Make reasonable efforts to protect children and youth from abuse or neglect;(b) Follow the children's or youth's case plans, including making them available for family time and visits with siblin…

Caregivers must follow these additional requirements when caring for Indian children and youth in their care:(1) Provide opportunities and support by connecting them with their tribal families and communities including, but not limited to, attending cultural and spiritual events,…

(1) Caregivers must make reasonable efforts for their home to meet the following conditions for and be based on the developmental needs of the children and youth placed in their care including, but not limited to:(a) Having:(i) A method for heating and cooling;(ii) Access to elec…

Caregivers must meet the following sleeping arrangement conditions based on children's or youth's ages, development, and specific needs:(1) Children under 12 months old must have a safe sleeping space that meets the infant safe sleep requirements, which includes bassinets, Native…

Caregivers:(1) Have the authority to consent to routine medical, dental, and vision care on behalf of children or youth in the placement care and authority of the department or tribe who are younger than 18 years of age who are placed in their care;(2) Must:(a) Discuss children's…

Caregivers must:(1) Complete the following when children or youth are taking:(a) Prescription medications:(i) Notify their caseworker of the prescribed medications and any changes to medications, e.g., types or doses;(ii) Give the medications in the amount and frequency prescribe…

(1) Caregivers must keep children and youth safe by:(a) Locking firearms, ammunition, and other weapons in a manner that is inaccessible to children;(b) Verifying lifesaving medications are accessible to them including, but not limited to:(i) Inhalers;(ii) Epi-Pens; and(iii) Nalo…

Caregivers must supervise children or youth by:(1) Providing and arranging for supervision that is appropriate for the children's or youth's age and development; and(2) Following a written supervision plan if provided by the:(a) Caseworker; or(b) CPA.[Statutory Authority: Chapter…

Caregivers must follow prudent parenting standards requirements in RCW 74.13.710 when allowing children or youth to participate in normal childhood activities.[Statutory Authority: Chapters 13.34, 74.13, 74.15 RCW, and 45 C.F.R. ss 1355 and 1356. WSR 25-12-071, s 110-149-0210, fi…

Caregivers must:(1) Follow the educational plan approved by the children's or youth's caseworkers; and(2) Enroll school-aged children or youth in public or tribal schools unless there is a court order allowing:(a) Home schooling;(b) Private schooling; or(c) Alternative learning e…

When handling and storing children's and youth's personal belongings, caregivers must:(1) Treat belongings with care and respect at all times;(2) Verify children or youth who leave their home take their personal belongings with them. This includes belongings they brought with the…

(1) Caregivers must provide children and youth the right to privacy including, but not limited to, personal mail, electronic mail, and phone calls unless the:(a) Children's or youth's caseworkers ask caregivers to provide monitoring; or(b) Court approves monitoring as part of the…

(1) Caregivers must have a plan to transport children or youth to appointments and activities based on children's or youth's age, development, and specific needs.(2) If caregivers transport children or youth in a private vehicle, they must:(a) Follow all state traffic laws; and(b…

Caregivers must work with their licensor to prepare the home for emergencies to include:(1) Having:(a) A reliable way to contact emergency services when children or youth are present in the home;(b) Working smoke detectors inside and outside of all sleeping areas, on each story, …

When disciplining children or youth, caregivers:(1) Must:(a) Use discipline that is appropriate to the children's or youth's age and level of development; and(b) Not use physical or verbally abusive, neglectful, humiliating, degrading, or frightening punishment including, but not…

When considering or using physical restraint on children and youth, caregivers:(1) Must:(a) Not use physical restraint to redirect or deescalate the situation, unless the children's or youth's behaviors pose an immediate risk to the physical safety of themselves, another individu…

Caregivers must report the following incidents involving children and youth in their care within these required time frames:(1) Immediately to the department intake when the incident is a:(a) Death or near death;(b) Suspected or disclosed abuse or neglect, as outlined in RCW 26.4…

Caregivers must complete the following when children or youth are missing from their care:(1) Notify the following immediately, but not more than 24 hours, when children or youth run away while in their care:(a) Law enforcement;(b) Tribal law enforcement for Indian children or yo…

(1) Caregivers must:(a) Notify their licensor before moving to a new location and request a continuation of their current license, per RCW 74.15.100; and(b) Report the following to their licensor immediately if there is:(i) A change in their address or telephone number;(ii) Struc…

(1) The department may:(a) Issue initial licenses:(i) To caregivers prior to their completed home study to receive basic foster care maintenance payments to assist in the care of specific children or youth; and(ii) For a maximum of 90 calendar days. If the kinship license is not …

(1) Caregivers applying to become licensed kinship caregivers must:(a) Collaborate with their licensor to complete the licensing process, which includes, but is not limited to:(i) Providing:(A) The required licensing documents as outlined in the licensing provider portal; and(B) …

(1) Caregivers, caregivers' household members, and individuals on the property having unsupervised access to children or youth must:(a) Meet the requirements outlined in chapter 110-04 WAC; and(b) Pass a background check.(2) The department:(a) Must:(i) Disqualify caregivers or th…

(1) The licensors or CPA workers must complete a home inspection when they receive notification of licensed kinship caregivers moving within 30 calendar days of the:(a) Licensed kinship caregiver's first night in their new home when children or youth are placed; or(b) Notificatio…

(1) Employees or their relatives applying for kinship licenses who:(a) Work for:(i) The department must follow department policy regarding licensure; and(ii) A CPA, in the roles of administration, supervision, foster or kinship home certification, placement, payment authorization…

(1) Applicants must submit a complete licensing application for each license they are requesting.(2) The department:(a) Must:(i) Conduct an individualized assessment of each complete license application when applicants apply for more than one license, prior to approving or denyin…

(1) Caregivers must:(a) Submit applications for kinship license renewals prior to the expiration date on the current license; and(b) Collaborate with their licensor to complete the license renewal process which includes, but is not limited to:(i) Providing the required renewal do…

(1) Caregivers requesting a provisional expedited kinship license:(a) Must submit a completed provisional expedited license application to the department or a CPA to initiate this type of license;(b) May request a provisional expedited kinship license if they meet the following r…

When caregivers do not meet the licensing requirements:(1) The department may approve an exemption to license and continue to license a caregiver if the department finds that they can provide for the safety, health, and well-being of children or youth in their care; and(2) Caregi…

The department:(1) Will work or attempt to work with caregivers before moving to deny, suspend, or revoke kinship licenses;(2) May deny, suspend, or revoke kinship licenses when:(a) The department has determined that caregivers have abused, neglected, or abandoned a child or yout…

(1) This chapter establishes the minimum requirements for eligible families to receive subsidized child care benefits through the working connections child care (WCCC) and seasonal child care (SCC) programs. This chapter also establishes the minimum requirements for providers tha…

DEL is designated as the lead agency for child care and development funds (CCDF) and oversees expenditure of CCDF funds.(1) The responsibilities of the department of early learning (DEL) include, but are not limited to:(a) Determining child care subsidy policy for the WCCC and SC…

The definitions in this section apply throughout this chapter unless the context clearly requires otherwise."Able" means being physically and mentally capable of caring for a child in a responsible manner."Administrative error" means an error made by the department through no fau…

(1) Consumers at the time of application and reapplication must meet the following requirements to be eligible for WCCC:(a) Have parental control of one or more eligible children;(b) Live in Washington state;(c) Participate in an approved activity or meet the eligibility special …

(1) DSHS may require the consumer to provide verification of child care subsidy eligibility if DSHS is unable to verify it through agency records or systems. The information and verification provided to DSHS from the consumer must:(a) Clearly relate to the request made by DSHS;(b…

(1) The department determines a consumer's family size for:(a) Single parents, including a minor parent living independently, by counting the consumer and the consumer's children;(b) Unmarried parents who have:(i) At least one mutual child, by counting both parents and all of the…

(1) A legal guardian or individual acting in loco parentis may be eligible for WCCC benefits based on participation in approved activities without consideration of the legal guardian's or individual's acting in loco parentis spouse or live-in partner's availability to provide car…

At application and reapplication:(1) A consumer is not eligible for WCCC benefits for any child who receives care from a licensed family home child care in which the consumer works.(2) A consumer is not eligible for WCCC benefits for a child who receives care from a child care ce…

(1) A homeless grace period (HGP) is established as described in this section.(2) A family experiencing homelessness at the time the consumer applies for child care subsidy is eligible for HGP under this section when:(a) They meet all eligibility requirements described in WAC 110…