PDFWAC 388-71-0836

What definitions apply to the long-term care worker training requirements?

"Activities of daily living," in the context of this chapter, means self-care abilities related to personal care such as bathing, eating, using the toilet, dressing, and transfer. Instrumental activities of daily living may also be used to assess a person's functional abilities in the home and the community such as cooking, shopping, house cleaning, doing laundry, working, and managing personal finances.
"Care team" includes the client and everyone involved in his or her care. The care team can include family, friends, doctors, nurses, long-term care workers, social workers and case managers. The role of the care team is to support the well-being of the client, however, the client directs the care plan.
"Certified home care aide" means a long-term care worker who has obtained and maintains a home care aide certification through the department of health.
"Challenge test" means a challenge test taken for specialty training, without first taking the class for which the test is designed and can only be used when basic training is not required.
"Client" means an individual receiving in-home services.
"Competency" defines the integrated knowledge, skills, or behavior expected of a long-term care worker after completing training in a required topic area. Learning objectives are associated with each competency.
"Competency testing" is evaluating a student to determine if he or she can demonstrate the required level of skill, knowledge, and/or behavior with respect to the identified learning objectives of a particular course. The department only requires competency testing for nurse delegation core and specialized diabetes training and the specialty trainings. Training programs may integrate competency testing within their approved curricula.
"DDD" refers to the division of developmental disabilities.
"Department" or "DSHS" refers to the department of social and health services.
"Enhancement" is additional time provided for skills practice and additional training materials or classroom activities that help a worker to thoroughly learn the course content and skills. Enhancements can include new student materials, videos or DVDs, online materials, and/or additional student activities.
"Guardian" means an individual as defined in chapter 11.88 RCW.
"Individual provider" means a person who has contracted with the department to provide personal care or respite care services to persons with functional disabilities under a medicaid state plan or federal waiver such as community options program entry system (COPES), or other waiver programs.
"Learning objectives" are measurable, written statements that clearly describe what a long-term care worker must minimally learn to meet each competency. Learning objectives are identified for each competency. Learning objectives provide consistent, common language and a framework for curriculum designers, the curriculum approval process, and testing. Curriculum developers have the flexibility to determine how learning objectives are met and may include additional content deemed necessary to best meet the competency in a particular setting.
"Long-term care worker" includes all persons providing paid, personal care services for the elderly or persons with disabilities, including individual providers of home care services, direct care employees of home care agencies, providers of home care services to persons with developmental disabilities under Title 71A RCW, all direct care workers in state-licensed boarding homes, adult family homes, respite care providers, community residential service providers, and any other direct care staff providing home or community-based services to the elderly or persons with functional disabilities or developmental disabilities, and supported living providers.
The following persons are not long-term care workers:
(1) Persons who are:
(a) Providing personal care services to individuals who are not receiving state-funded services; and
(b) The person is not employed by an agency or facility that is licensed by the state.
(2) Persons employed by:
(a) Nursing homes licensed under chapter 18.51 RCW;
(b) Facilities certified under 42 C.F.R. Part 483;
(c) Residential habilitation centers under chapter 71A.20 RCW;
(d) Hospitals or other acute care settings;
(e) Hospice agencies licensed under chapter 70.127 RCW;
(f) Adult day care centers or adult day health centers.
(3) Persons whose services are exclusively limited to assistance with "instrumental activities of daily living," as that term is defined in WAC 388-106-0010.
"Personal care services" means physical or verbal assistance with activities of daily living, or activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living which are provided to the client.
"Training entity" means an organization, including an independent contractor, who is providing or may provide training under this section using approved curriculum. Training entities may only deliver approved curriculum.
"Training partnership" means a joint partnership or trust that includes the office of the governor and the exclusive bargaining representative of individual providers under RCW 74.39A.270 with the capacity to provide training, peer mentoring, and workforce development, or other services to individual providers.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.08.090, 74.09.520. WSR 13-02-023, § 388-71-0836, filed 12/20/12, effective 1/20/13.]