WSR 97-16-106

PERMANENT RULES

DEPARTMENT OF

SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

(Aging and Adult Services Administration)

(Public Assistance)

[Filed August 6, 1997, 9:27 a.m.]

Date of Adoption: August 6, 1997.

Purpose: Amend WAC 388-15-196(6). 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.

Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 388-15-196.

Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.04.050, 74.08.090, 74.39A.005, 74.39A.007, 74.39A.050, 74.39A.070.

Adopted under notice filed as WSR 97-13-090 on June 18, 1997.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, amended 1, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, amended 0, repealed 0.

Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.

August 6, 1997

Merry A. Kogut, Manager

Rules and Policies Assistance Unit

AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 96-20-093, filed 10/1/96, effective 11/1/96)

WAC 388-15-196 Home and community services--Minimum qualifications for care providers in home and community settings. To protect the health and welfare of a long-term care service client receiving an AASA administered service, the adult client's care provider shall:

(1) Be eighteen years of age or older;

(2) Complete and submit a criminal history background inquiry form prescribed by the department;

(3) Possess the following minimum standards of knowledge and experience:

(a) General knowledge of acceptable standards of performance, including the necessity to perform dependably, report punctually, maintain flexibility, and to demonstrate kindliness and caring to the client;

(b) Knowledge of when and how to contact the client's representative and the client's case manager.

(4) Have the following required skills:

(a) Adequate skills to read, either directly or through an interpreter, understand and implement the client's service plan;

(b) Adequate communication skills to convey and understand either directly or through an interpreter information required to implement the client's written service plan and verbal instructions;

(c) Adequate skills to maintain provider records of services performed and payments received.

(5) Be able to:

(a) Understand specific directions for providing the care which the individual client requires;

(b) Observe the client for change in health status, including weakness, confusion, and loss of appetite;

(c) Identify problem situations and take appropriate action;

(d) Respond to emergencies without direct supervision;

(e) Perform authorized housework functions competently;

(f) Perform authorized direct personal care functions competently;

(g) Accept the client's individual differences and preferences when performing routine tasks; and

(h) Work independently and perform responsibly within the boundaries of the nonmedical personal care task limits.

(6)(a) Complete the department's fundamentals of caregiving training according to the following schedule:

(i) All in-home personal care providers hired on or after the effective date of this section shall successfully complete the department-designated fundamentals of caregiving training within one hundred twenty days of employment, unless he or she meets the requirements under (iii) or (iv) of this subsection or in subsection (6)(c) or (6)(f);

(ii) All in-home care providers hired prior to ((the effective date of this section)) November 1, 1996 shall successfully complete the department designated fundamentals of caregiving training prior to October 31, 1997, unless he or she meets the requirements under (iii) or (iv) of this subsection or in subsection (6)(c) or (6)(f);

(iii) Natural, step, or adoptive parents hired as personal care providers for their division of developmental disabilities (DDD) adult children prior to the effective date of this section, will have until September 1, 1998 to complete the caregiving training;

(iv) Natural, step, or adoptive parents hired as personal care providers for their own adult children on or after the effective date of this section will have one hundred eighty days to complete the training requirements.

(b) Complete a minimum of ten hours of continuing education credits per calendar year, on topics relevant to caregiving unless he or she is a parent hired as a personal care provider for their own DDD adult child:

(i) Topics include, but are not limited to:

(A) Residents' rights;

(B) Personal care (such as transfers or skin care);

(C) Dementia;

(D) Mental illness;

(E) Developmental disabilities;

(F) Depression;

(G) Medication assistance;

(H) Communication skills;

(I) Alternatives to restraints; and

(J) Activities for clients.

(ii) Parent providers of their own DDD adult children are exempt from continuing education requirements;

(iii) Other caregivers are required to earn a certificate of completion to meet the requirement for continuing education credit and each hour of completed instruction will count as one hour of continuing education credit; and

(((iii))) (iv) The continuing education requirement begins the calendar year after the year in which the caregiver completes the fundamentals or modified fundamentals of caregiving training.

(c) The following providers are exempt from the fundamentals of caregiving training requirement in subsection (6)(a) of this section if the provider successfully completes the department designated modified fundamentals of caregiving training in accordance with the dates specified in subsection (6)(a) of this section.

(i) A provider who ((is)) has successfully completed training as a registered or licensed practical nurse, a physical or occupational therapist, a certified nursing assistant, a Medicare-certified home health aide, or who has successfully completed department-approved adult family home training, or department-approved personal care training from an area agency on aging or their subcontractor((, is exempt from the fundamentals of caregiving training in subsection (6)(a) of this section if the provider successfully completes the department designated modified fundamentals of caregiving training in accordance with the dates specified in subsection (6)(a) of this section)).

(ii) A provider who has successfully completed the ((division of developmental disabilities)) DDD staff training as required by chapter 275-26 WAC is exempt from the fundamentals of caregiving training in subsection (6)(a) of this section as long as the provider continues to work for a ((division of developmental disabilities)) DDD-contracted agency. This exemption no longer applies if the provider leaves the DDD-contracted agency.

(iii) Parent hired as a personal care provider for their own DD adult child. This exemption no longer applies if the parent provides services to anyone who is not their own adult child.

(d) The provider shall provide documentation upon request that the provider has met the education and training requirements.

(e) The department shall not continue to authorize reimbursement for services rendered by a care provider who does not meet the educational requirement in subsection (6) of this section.

(f) All in-home personal care providers are exempt from attending the "fundamentals of caregiving" or "modified fundamentals of caregiving" training if they successfully pass the department's challenge test for the class they are required to take. The provider only has one opportunity to successfully pass the challenge test. If the provider does not pass the challenge test then he/she must attend the "fundamentals of caregiving" or "modified fundamentals of caregiving" training as required.