WSR 98-01-168

PREPROPOSAL STATEMENT OF INQUIRY

DEPARTMENT OF

SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES

(Economic Services Administration)

[Filed December 22, 1997, 4:17 p.m.]

Subject of Possible Rule Making: In accordance with Governor's Executive Order 97-02 and the Administrative Procedure Act, Economic Services Administration (ESA) and Medical Assistance Administration (MAA) have created a team to review all services delivered by ESA. The goal of this review is to streamline and simplify program requirements across public assistance programs, including WorkFirst, childcare, cash programs, food stamps, general assistance, medical programs and child support. As part of this effort, the team will review program manuals and approximately 300 rules now published in Title 388 WAC. In some cases, streamlining and consolidating program requirements will require changes to ESA, and possibly MAA, rules. Where duplication and redundancy exist, rules may be amended or repealed or new rules written to reflect these program requirement changes.

Statutes Authorizing the Agency to Adopt Rules on this Subject: ESA receives statutory authority to adopt rules from many sources, including: RCW 74.04.050, 74.04.055, 74.04.057, 74.08.090, 74.08A.040, 74.08A.220, 74.04.005, 74.08A.320, 74.13.0903, 74.20.320, 74.20.040, 74.20A.350, 74.20.360, 26.23.045, 26.23.030, 26.23.120, 26.21.016, 26.23.035, 70.58.080, 74.20A.055, 74.20A.056, and 26.23.040. Specific statutory authority will be provided for each rule filing that follows from this Preproposal Statement of Inquiry.

Reasons Why Rules on this Subject may be Needed and What They Might Accomplish: This extensive review results from the Governor's Executive Order 97-02 and the Department of Social and Health Services Secretary's Executive Order on Regulatory Improvement. All rules and manuals related to public assistance programs have been targeted for priority review in our four-year review process. Additionally, ESA has been tasked with creating streamlined program requirements during this priority year. These changes cannot be implemented without also changing the Washington Administrative Code relating to the programs.

Other Federal and State Agencies that Regulate this Subject and the Process Coordinating the Rule with These Agencies: Department of Community, Trade and Economic Development, Employment Security Department, the Social Security Administration and other administrations within the Department of Social and Health Services may need to be involved, depending on the particular rule. ESA will include all affected agencies in mailings, invitations to participate in meetings and other development activities, as needed. Whenever possible, announcements of opportunities to collaborate will be published in the Washington State Register.

Process for Developing New Rule: Agency study; and ESA will not make any changes without involving other agencies, stakeholders, advocates and the public as much as possible through meeting invitations and inclusion on mailing lists for public comment. Whenever possible, we will announce these opportunities through publication in the Washington State Register and/or the Internet. Each rule will be developed and adopted as required by the Department of Social and Health Services policy and the Administrative Procedure Act. All proposed rule changes will be mailed for review and comment. A series of public meetings is planned for January, March and April of 1998 to present our plan and work products. Contact ESA if you would like more information about those planned meetings.

Interested parties can participate in the decision to adopt the new rule and formulation of the proposed rule before publication by contacting Sydney Doré, Regulatory Improvement Manager, Economic Services Administration, Lacey Government Center, Olympia, Washington 98504-5400, phone (360) 413-3290, e-mail sdore@dshs.wa.gov.

December 22, 1997

Merry A. Kogut, Manager