WSR 97-08-072
PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY
DEPARTMENT OF
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Aging and Adult Services Administration)
(Public Assistance)
[Filed April 2, 1997, 8:12 a.m.]
Subject of Possible Rule Making: Amend WAC 388-15-196(6) and related sections. Amendment will (1) exempt certain in-home care providers from the required twenty-two hour "fundamentals of caregiving" curriculum and the mandatory continuing education requirements and (2) allow in-home care providers to challenge the required twenty-two hour "fundamentals of caregiving" or the "modified fundamentals of caregiving" training through competency testing.
Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: RCW 74.39A.030.
Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: (1) Exempts parent providers of adults with developmental disabilities from the required twenty-two hour "fundamentals of caregiving" training and allows the parents to take a modified curriculum relevant to parent providers and (2) provides in-home caregivers an opportunity to challenge the required training by successfully passing the department's caregiver's competency test.
Process for Developing New Rule: (1) Conduct public meetings with stakeholders which allows for discussions by agencies involved and encourages input from consumers, providers, and case managers. (2) Provide an opportunity for public comment through mass mailings and announcing the department's intent to stakeholders, in-home caregivers, and the public at large. (3) Proposed changes will be filed and published in the Washington State Register in accordance with the Administrative Procedure Act. A public hearing will be conducted before any final action is taken on proposed amendments.
Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication. For questions concerning in-home caregivers competency test contact Casey Zimmer, Aging and Adult Services Administration, P.O. Box 45600, Olympia, WA 98504-5600, phone (360) 407-0431.
For questions concerning exemptions for parents of adults with developmental disabilities contact Sue Poltl, Division of Developmental Disabilities, Mailstop 45310, Olympia, WA 98504-5310, phone (360) 902-8474.
April 1, 1997
Merry A. Kogut, Manager
Rules and Policies Assistance Unit