Effective Date of Rule: Immediately.

     Purpose: The department is creating emergency WAC to support ESHB 2592 Extended foster care services. ESHB 2592 authorizes children's administration to provide extended foster care services to youth age eighteen up to twenty-one years who are eligible to receive foster care services authorized under RCW 74.13.031 to complete secondary education, a secondary education equivalency program, a post-secondary education program, or a post-secondary vocational program.

     Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-25-0110 and 388-148-0010.

     Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.13.031.

     Other Authority: 2012 ESHB 2592, RCW 74.13.020 and 13.34.267.

     Under RCW 34.05.350 the agency for good cause finds that state or federal law or federal rule or a federal deadline for state receipt of federal funds requires immediate adoption of a rule.

     Reasons for this Finding: ESHB 2592 enables Washington state to access a federal match of funds under 2008 federal legislation "Fostering Connections to Success and Increasing Adoptions Act." The act provides an option permitting states to use Title IV-E foster care funds for youth who wish to pursue secondary or post-secondary education programs from age eighteen up to twenty-one years old. ESHB 2592 authorizes continued extended foster care services for youth ages eighteen to twenty-one years to complete a post-secondary academic or post-secondary vocational education program. Because of the range and complexity of delivering foster care and legal services relating to this program, children's administration has collaborated with advocates, judicial officers, legal counsel for children and the department, service providers, youth, foster parents, JRA, DDD, [and] others in developing the proposed WACs to govern the program.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.

     Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0;      Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 2, Repealed 0.

     Date Adopted: October 23, 2012.

Katherine I. Vasquez

Rules Coordinator

     Reviser's note: The material contained in this filing exceeded the page-count limitations of WAC 1-21-040 for appearance in this issue of the Register. It will appear in the 12-23 issue of the Register.