S-1313.1
SENATE BILL 5921
State of Washington | 66th Legislature | 2019 Regular Session |
BySenators Conway, Walsh, Keiser, Braun, Darneille, Zeiger, Becker, Hunt, Brown, Nguyen, Hasegawa, Lovelett, and Palumbo
Read first time 02/15/19.Referred to Committee on Health & Long Term Care.
AN ACT Relating to community respite services for people with developmental disabilities; adding a new section to chapter
43.20A RCW; creating a new section; providing an effective date; providing an expiration date; and declaring an emergency.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that:
(1) Community respite is short-term, intermittent care to relieve a family member who is the primary paid care provider. Eighty percent of children and adults with developmental disabilities in Washington state live at home with their family. Community respite is one of the single most important services which help individuals and their families stay together. However, the rates paid to community respite providers and the number of respite hours a family can receive per year have not increased for the past ten years.
(2) It is the legislature's goal to assist individuals with developmental disabilities and their families to increase the rate paid to community respite providers for participants on the basic plus waiver and for participants on the individual and family services waiver by two percent each biennium over the next three biennia, and increase the annual award amount for people on the basic plus waiver and for people on the individual and family services waiver by two percent per year over the next three biennia.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. A new section is added to chapter
43.20A RCW to read as follows:
Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this specific purpose:
(1) Beginning July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2025, the reimbursement rate for community respite funded by the developmental disabilities administration's basic plus waiver and the individual and family services waiver shall be increased by two percent each biennium.
(2) Beginning July 1, 2019, and ending June 30, 2025, the annual award amount for community respite funded by the developmental disabilities administration's basic plus waiver and the individual and family services waiver shall be increased by two percent each year.
(3) For the purposes of this section, "developmental disabilities administration" means the developmental disabilities administration of the department.
(4) This section expires June 30, 2025.
NEW SECTION. Sec. 3. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and takes effect July 1, 2019.
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