PROPOSED RULES
SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES
(Children's Administration)
Original Notice.
Preproposal statement of inquiry was filed as WSR 02-06-083 and 02-20-016.
Title of Rule: Chapter 388-148 WAC, Licensing requirements for foster homes, staffed residential homes, group care facilities, and child-placing agencies.
Purpose: To revise rules to comply with federal funding statute and clarify language of the licensing requirements for homes, facilities, and child-placing agencies. The chapter incorporates a new set of licensing requirements for group receiving centers.
| New or Amended | WAC # | Title |
| Amended | 388-148-0005 | What is the purpose of this chapter? |
| Amended | 388-148-0010 | What definitions do I need to know to understand this chapter? |
| Amended | 388-148-0015 | Am I required to have a license to provide care to children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0025 | How do you decide how many children I may serve in my home or facility? |
| Amended | 388-148-0035 | What personal characteristics do I need to provide care to children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0040 | What first aid and cardiopulmonary resuscitation (CPA) training is required? |
| Amended | 388-148-0045 | What HIV/AIDS training is required? |
| Amended | 388-148-0050 | How do I apply for a license? |
| Amended | 388-148-0055 | How long do I have to complete the licensing application packet? |
| Amended | 388-148-0058 | May I receive more than one in-home family license? |
| Amended | 388-148-0060 | May my relative or I be certified by a child-placing agency to be a foster parent and be an employee of that same agency? |
| Amended | 388-148-0065 | When may I be certified to provide care to children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0070 | Is there a difference between licensing and certification? |
| Amended | 388-148-0075 | May I be licensed with the department and certified by a child-placing agency at the same time? |
| Amended | 388-148-0085 | Will the department license or continue to license a home or facility if the home or facility does not meet the licensing requirements? |
| Amended | 388-148-0090 | Does the department issue a probationary license? |
| Amended | 388-148-0095 | When are licenses denied, suspended or revoked? |
| New | 388-148-0098 | When is an employee or volunteer disqualified from having unsupervised access to a child at a licensed home, facility, or agency? |
| Amended | 388-148-0100 | Are there any other reasons that might cause me to lose my license? |
| Amended | 388-148-0110 | What may I do if I disagree with your decision to modify, deny, suspend or revoke my license? |
| Amended | 388-148-0120 | What incidents involving children must I report? |
| Amended | 388-148-0125 | What are your requirements for keeping client records? |
| New | 388-148-0127 | What are the requirements for information kept in facility logs for staffed residential homes and group care programs? |
| Amended | 388-148-0130 | What information may I share about a child or a child's family? |
| Amended | 388-148-0135 | What changes to my home or facility must I report to my licensor? |
| Amended | 388-148-0140 | What personnel policies must I have? |
| Amended | 388-148-0150 | Are local ordinances part of the licensing requirements? |
| Amended | 388-148-0165 | What are the requirements about the location of my home or facility? |
| Amended | 388-148-0170 | What steps must I take to ensure children's safety around outdoor bodies of water? |
| Amended | 388-148-0180 | Are alcoholic beverages or illegal drugs allowed at my home or facility? |
| Amended | 388-148-0185 | Is smoking permitted around children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0200 | Do I need first-aid supplies? |
| Amended | 388-148-0220 | What fire safety requirements must I follow to qualify for a license? |
| Amended | 388-148-0225 | What safety requirements are there for exits? |
| Amended | 388-148-0230 | Are there other fire safety requirements for inside a foster home or staffed residential home licensed for five or fewer children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0235 | What are the requirements for smoke detectors for foster homes and staffed residential homes licensed for five or fewer children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0240 | What are the requirements for fire extinguishers in homes and facilities? |
| Amended | 388-148-0245 | What fire escape measures must be taken for multi-level homes and facilities? |
| Amended | 388-148-0250 | What fire safety instructions must I give to children residing in a home or facility? |
| Amended | 388-148-0255 | What are the requirements for a fire evacuation plan? |
| Amended | 388-148-0260 | What are the general requirements for bedrooms? |
| Amended | 388-148-0265 | What are additional requirements for bedrooms for more than one person? |
| Amended | 388-148-0270 | What are the requirements for beds? |
| Amended | 388-148-0275 | Do I need a telephone at my home or facility? |
| Repealed | 388-148-0285 | Do I need a housekeeping sink? |
| Amended | 388-148-0300 | How must I ventilate my home or facility? |
| Amended | 388-148-0305 | What are the requirements for laundry facilities? |
| Amended | 388-148-0315 | What are the requirements for toilets, sinks, and bathing facilities? |
| Amended | 388-148-0320 | What are the requirements about drinking water? |
| Amended | 388-148-0325 | What are the requirements for sewage and liquid wastes? |
| Amended | 388-148-0335 | When must I get a physical exam for a child under my care? |
| Amended | 388-148-0340 | What are the requirements for immunizations for children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0345 | What must I do to prevent the spread of infections and communicable diseases? |
| Amended | 388-148-0350 | What are the requirements for obtaining consent for medical care for children under my care? |
| New | 388-148-0352 | What are the requirements for the management of medication for children in my care? |
| Amended | 388-148-0355 | May I accept medicine from a child's parent or guardian? |
| Repealed | 388-148-0360 | Whom do I notify about medication changes and reactions? |
| Amended | 388-148-0365 | When may children take their own medicine? |
| Amended | 388-148-0375 | How often must I feed children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0380 | How do I handle a child's special diet? |
| Amended | 388-148-0395 | What requirements must I meet for feeding babies? |
| Amended | 388-148-0400 | What are the requirements for diapers and diaper-changes areas? |
| New | 388-148-0422 | What are the requirements for privacy for children in out-of-home placements? |
| Amended | 388-148-0425 | What are the requirements about nondiscrimination? |
| Repealed | 388-148-0427 | Are there specific requirements regarding Native American children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0430 | May I take a foster child to church services, temple, mosque, or synagogue? |
| Amended | 388-148-0445 | What toys and activities must I provide to children? |
| Repealed | 388-148-0450 | What types of toys must I provide to children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0455 | Do I need permission to travel on an overnight trip, or out-of-state with my foster child? |
| Amended | 388-148-0460 | What requirements do you have for supervising children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0470 | What types of disciplinary practices are forbidden? |
| Amended | 388-148-0480 | When may a child be physically restrained? |
| Amended | 388-148-0485 | What types of physical restraint are not acceptable for children? |
| New | 388-148-0487 | What are the requirements for time-out or quiet rooms? |
| New | 388-148-0488 | Are time-delay mechanisms allowed on windows and doors of a facility or staffed residential home licensed for six? |
| Amended | 388-148-0490 | What must I do following an incident that involved using physical restraint? |
| Repealed | 388-148-0500 | May I receive more than one on-home care license? |
| Amended | 388-148-0520 | What are the training requirements for foster parents and prospective foster parents? |
| Amended | 388-148-0525 | How many children may my foster home serve? |
| Amended | 388-148-0535 | Do I need to have income separate from foster care payments? |
| Amended | 388-148-0540 | When may I use respite care? |
| New | 388-148-0551 | Who may provide care to a foster child in the foster home when the foster parent is away from the home? |
| New | 388-148-0542 | May someone under eighteen supervise a foster child in the foster home? |
| Amended | 388-148-0555 | Do I need a social summary for children under my care? |
| Amended | 388-148-0560 | Do I need a treatment plan for children under my care? |
| Amended | 388-148-0585 | What social service staff do I need? |
| Amended | 388-148-0600 | Do I need professional consultants for my program? |
| Amended | 388-148-0605 | Is in-service training required? |
| Amended | 388-148-0610 | What are the required ratios of social service staff to children under care? |
| Amended | 388-148-0615 | Are there specific fire safety requirements for the care of nonambulatory children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0620 | What safety features do I need for hazardous areas? |
| Amended | 388-148-0625 | What other requirements must I follow for smoke detectors? |
| Repealed | 388-148-0630 | What fire prevention measures must I take? |
| Repealed | 388-148-0635 | What are the requirements for fire sprinkler systems? |
| Amended | 388-148-0640 | What fire safety procedures do staff of a group care facility and a staffed residential home licensed for six children need to know? |
| Amended | 388-148-0645 | What are the requirements for fire drills and testing smoke detectors? |
| Repealed | 388-148-0650 | What requirements do you have regarding windows in staffed residential homes and group care facilities? |
| Amended | 388-148-0655 | Are there different construction and fire safety requirements for facilities that have multiple licenses in the same building? |
| Amended | 388-148-0660 | Do mealtimes need to be established? |
| Amended | 388-148-0670 | What types of group care programs are licensed to provide care to children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0685 | Who may I serve as a group care program provider? |
| Amended | 388-148-0695 | Must I give a child an allowance? |
| Amended | 388-148-0700 | What are the qualifications for an executive director for a group care program or child-placing agency? |
| Amended | 388-148-0705 | Do I need an on-site program manager or social service staff at each group care facility? |
| Amended | 388-148-0710 | What are the responsibilities of the on-site program manager or social services staff for a group care facility? |
| Amended | 388-148-0715 | What qualifications must the on-site program manager for a group care program for a CPA program manager have? |
| New | 388-148-0718 | What are the responsibilities for child care staff at a group care program? |
| Amended | 388-148-0720 | What are the qualifications for child care staff or case aides for a group care program and a child-placing agency? |
| New | 388-148-0722 | What are the qualifications for health care staff for a group care program or a child-placing agency caring for medically fragile children? |
| Amended | 388-148-0725 | What is the ratio of child care staff to children in group care facilities? |
| Amended | 388-148-0730 | Are there room requirements for group care facilities? |
| Repealed | 388-148-0735 | When do I need a special care room? |
| Amended | 388-148-0750 | What maternity services must I provide? |
| Amended | 388-148-0765 | What types of health education must I offer expectant and new mothers? |
| Amended | 388-148-0775 | Do expectant and new mothers need to be under a physician's care? |
| Amended | 388-148-0785 | What is the proper ratio of staff to children in home or group care facilities offering maternity services? |
| Amended | 388-148-0795 | How is capacity determined for a maternity services facility? |
| Amended | 388-148-0800 | What is the purpose of day treatment programs? |
| Amended | 388-148-0805 | What staff must my day treatment program have? |
| Amended | 388-148-0810 | What consultants must my day treatment program have? |
| Amended | 388-148-0830 | What services must I provide for medically fragile children and children with severe developmental disabilities? |
| Amended | 388-148-0860 | Are there room requirements for group care facilities for medically fragile children under age six? |
| Amended | 388-148-0870 | What additional record-keeping requirements exist for medically fragile children and children with severe developmental disabilities? |
| Amended | 388-148-0875 | What types of crisis residential centers may be licensed? |
| Amended | 388-148-0880 | What levels of secure CRCs exist? |
| Amended | 388-148-0885 | What are the requirements for a level-one secure CRC? |
| Amended | 388-148-0890 | What are the requirements for a level-two secure CRC? |
| New | 388-148-0892 | What are the requirements for a level-three secure CRC? |
| Amended | 388-148-0895 | May a juvenile detention center operate a separate secure CRC program? |
| Amended | 388-148-0900 | What youth may a CRC serve? |
| Amended | 388-148-0905 | Can law enforcement officers place youth in secure CRC? |
| Amended | 388-148-0915 | What steps must be taken after a youth is admitted into a CRC? |
| Repealed | 388-148-0935 | How long may a youth stay at a CRC? |
| Amended | 388-148-0995 | What are the ratio requirements of youth care staff to youth in crisis residential centers? |
| Repealed | 388-148-1020 | Must a staffed residential home operate in conjunction with another program? |
| Amended | 388-148-1025 | What must be included in a written program description for a staffed residential home? |
| Amended | 388-148-1030 | What services must a staffed residential home provide? |
| Amended | 388-148-1035 | Who must be on the premises when children are under care at a staffed residential home? |
| Amended | 388-148-1045 | What is the ratio of child care staff to children in staffed residential homes? |
| Amended | 388-148-1050 | How many children may I serve in my staffed residential home? |
| Amended | 388-148-1060 | What services may a child-placing agency provide? |
| Repealed | 388-148-1065 | Do child-placing agency foster homes and group care facilities need to be licensed before placements? |
| New | 388-148-1066 | What written information is needed before a child is accepted for care by a child-placing agency? |
| Amended | 388-148-1070 | What health histories need to be provided to adoptive parents? |
| New | 388-148-1076 | What are the qualifications for an executive director, a program manager/social service staff, and a consultant for a child-placing agency? |
| New | 388-148-1077 | What are the qualifications for a case aide for a child-placing agency program? |
| New | 388-148-1078 | What are the qualifications for health care staff hired or contracted by a child-placing agency to provide services to children in care? |
| New | 388-148-1097 | What are the qualifications for a foster home licensor for a child-placing agency? |
| Amended | 388-148-1085 | How may my child-placing agency certify a foster home for licensing by the department? |
| Amended | 388-148-1115 | What are the requirements for adoptive services? |
| Amended | 388-148-1120 | What is the process for adoptions? |
| New | 388-148-1205 | What is a group receiving center? |
| New | 388-148-1210 | What age children may a center serve? |
| New | 388-148-1215 | What hours must a center be open? |
| New | 388-148-1220 | What services are provided or arranged for by a group receiving center? |
| New | 388-148-1225 | Is a center required to provide an orientation for a child placed? |
| New | 388-148-1230 | Does each child need space for personal items at the center? |
| New | 388-148-1235 | What staff training is required? |
| New | 388-148-1240 | What is the ratio of child care staff to children at a center? |
| New | 388-148-1245 | What are the requirements for supervision of children at a center? |
| New | 388-148-1250 | Who must be on the premises while children are in care at a center? |
| New | 388-148-1255 | What are the requirements for an activity program? |
| New | 388-148-1260 | What activities must I provide to children? |
| New | 388-148-1265 | What are the requirements for indoor recreation areas? |
| New | 388-148-1270 | What are the requirements for an outdoor recreation area? |
| New | 388-148-1275 | What are the size requirements for an outdoor recreation area? |
| New | 388-148-1280 | What are the requirements for playground equipment? |
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 74.15.030.
Statute Being Implemented: Chapter 74.15 RCW.
Summary: The changes to the chapter enhance health and safety for children and youth in homes and facilities licensed by Children's Administration, including a section on a new type of facility, group receiving centers, now available to provide emergency foster care to sibling groups. The other changes improve Children's Administration's ability to claim federal funding under the Social Security Act. These changes include amendments that provide clarification and flexibility to licensees regarding safety around swimming pools, respite care, fire safety, and minimum qualifications for health care staff in facilities.
Reasons Supporting Proposal: The addition of group receiving center licensing requirements, compliance with federal statutes, overall clarity of language, and efficacy of rules affecting homes and facilities licensed by Children's Administration.
Name of Agency Personnel Responsible for Drafting and Implementation: Jean L. Croisant, P.O. Box 45710, Olympia, WA 98504-5710, (360) 902-7992; and Enforcement: Children's Administration, Division of Licensed Resources, Office of Foster Care Licensing, P.O. Box 45700, Olympia, WA 98504-5700.
Name of Proponent: Department of Social and Health Services, governmental.
Rule is necessary because of federal law, 45 C.F.R. 1355.
Explanation of Rule, its Purpose, and Anticipated Effects: The purpose of the chapter is to define the minimum general and specific licensing requirements for foster homes, staffed residential homes, group care facilities, and child-placing agencies. These homes and facilities must be regulated to ensure that children and youth experience safe and health care while in out-of-home placement. The anticipated effect will be the overall clarification of the licensing requirements and compliance with federal statutes to increase funding and support for children and youth residing in out-of-home placements.
Proposal Changes the Following Existing Rules: See Purpose above for list of amended, repealed, and new rules.
Some of the changes include:
• Licensing requirements for group receiving centers.
• Added flexibility in meeting the safety requirements for supervision around swimming pools.
• Addition of two sections allowing foster children to be supervised, occasionally, by relatives or friends of the foster parents who are under the age of eighteen.
• Clarification on the fire safety requirements.
• Clarification of the fire safety requirements for staffed residential homes (SRH). Separation of the requirements for SRH licensed for six and those licensed for five or fewer.
• Addition of qualifications for health care staff working in group care facilities.
No small business economic impact statement has been prepared under chapter 19.85 RCW. Children's Administration conducted a survey of all group care providers, child-placing agencies, and a random sample of foster parents outlining proposed changes. It was determined from the survey results that their costs would be minor. Therefore, only minor costs will be imposed on small businesses affected by the changes. The preparation of a comprehensive small business economic impact statement is not required.
RCW 34.05.328 applies to this rule adoption. The proposed rule changes for chapter 388-148 WAC, Licensing requirements for foster homes, staffed residential homes, group care facilities, and child-placing agencies are "significant legislative rules" as defined in RCW 34.05.325 and require a cost-benefit analysis (CBA). A copy of the CBA may be requested by contacting Jean L. Croisant, at Children's Administration, Division of Program and Policy Development, P.O. Box 45710, Olympia, WA 98504-5710, (360) 902-7992, or loje300@dshs.wa.gov.
Hearing Location: Lacey Government Center, (public parking behind Sakura Japanese Restaurant), Room 104-B, 1009 College Street S.E., Lacey, WA 98503, on March 23, 2004, at 10:00 a.m.
Assistance for Persons with Disabilities: Contact Andy Fernando, DSHS Rules Coordinator, by March 16, 2004, phone (360) 664-6094, TTY (360) 664-6178 e-mail fernaax@dshs.wa.gov.
Submit Written Comments to: Identify WAC Numbers, DSHS Rules Coordinator, Rules and Policies Assistance Unit, P.O. Box 45850, Olympia, WA 98504-5850, fax (360) 664-6185, e-mail fernaax@dshs.wa.gov, by 5:00 p.m., March 23, 2004.
Date of Intended Adoption: No earlier than March 24, 2004.
January 15, 2004
Brian H. Lindgren, Manager
Rules and Policies Assistance Unit
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 04-05 issue of the Register.