BILL REQ. #:  H-1817.1 

Read first time 02/17/2005.   Referred to Committee on Health Care.

     AN ACT Relating to sanctions for adult family home providers; and amending RCW 70.128.160.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1   RCW 70.128.160 and 2001 c 193 s 5 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department is authorized to take one or more of the actions listed in subsection (2) of this section in any case in which the department finds that an adult family home provider has:
     (a) Failed or refused to comply with the requirements of this chapter or the rules adopted under this chapter;
     (b) Operated an adult family home without a license or under a revoked license;
     (c) Knowingly or with reason to know made a false statement of material fact on his or her application for license or any data attached thereto, or in any matter under investigation by the department; or
     (d) Willfully prevented or interfered with any inspection or investigation by the department.
     (2) When authorized by subsection (1) of this section, the department may take one or more of the following actions:
     (a) Refuse to issue a license;
     (b) Impose reasonable conditions on a license, such as correction within a specified time, training, and limits on the type of clients the provider may admit or serve;
     (c) Impose civil penalties of not more than one hundred dollars per day per violation;
     (d) Suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license; or
     (e) Suspend admissions to the adult family home by imposing stop placement.
     (3) If an employee is the cause of the problem identified under subsection (1) of this section, the department shall not suspend, revoke, or refuse to renew a license, and shall develop a corrective action plan to address the problem. When the department orders stop placement, the facility shall not admit any person until the stop placement order is terminated. The department may approve readmission of a resident to the facility from a hospital or nursing home during the stop placement. The department shall terminate the stop placement when: (a) The violations necessitating the stop placement have been corrected; and (b) the provider exhibits the capacity to maintain correction of the violations previously found deficient. However, if upon the revisit the department finds new violations that the department reasonably believes will result in a new stop placement, the previous stop placement shall remain in effect until the new stop placement is imposed.
     (4) After a department finding of a violation for which a stop placement has been imposed, the department shall make an on-site revisit of the provider within fifteen working days from the request for revisit, to ensure correction of the violation. For violations that are serious or recurring or uncorrected following a previous citation, and create actual or threatened harm to one or more residents' well-being, including violations of residents' rights, the department shall make an on-site revisit as soon as appropriate to ensure correction of the violation. Verification of correction of all other violations may be made by either a department on-site revisit or by written or photographic documentation found by the department to be credible. This subsection does not prevent the department from enforcing license suspensions or revocations. Nothing in this subsection shall interfere with or diminish the department's authority and duty to ensure that the provider adequately cares for residents, including to make departmental on-site revisits as needed to ensure that the provider protects residents, and to enforce compliance with this chapter.
     (5) Chapter 34.05 RCW applies to department actions under this section, except that orders of the department imposing license suspension, stop placement, or conditions for continuation of a license are effective immediately upon notice and shall continue in effect pending any hearing.