BILL REQ. #:  S-5532.1 

Read first time 03/17/10.   Referred to Committee on Ways & Means.

     AN ACT Relating to delaying the implementation dates for long-term care worker training and certification; and amending RCW 74.39A.073, 74.39A.075, 74.39A.085, 74.39A.340, 18.88B.020, 18.88B.040, 18.88B.050, and 18.88A.115.

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

Sec. 1   RCW 74.39A.073 and 2009 c 580 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Effective ((January)) July 1, 2011, except as provided in RCW 18.88B.040, all persons employed as long-term care workers for the elderly or persons with disabilities must meet the minimum training requirements in this section within one hundred twenty calendar days of employment.
     (2) All persons employed as long-term care workers must obtain seventy-five hours of entry-level training approved by the department. A long-term care worker must accomplish five of these seventy-five hours before becoming eligible to provide care.
     (3) Training required by subsection (4)(c) of this section will be applied towards training required under RCW 18.20.270 or 70.128.230 as well as any statutory or regulatory training requirements for long-term care workers employed by supportive living providers.
     (4) Only training curriculum approved by the department may be used to fulfill the training requirements specified in this section. The seventy-five hours of entry-level training required shall be as follows:
     (a) Before a long-term care worker is eligible to provide care, he or she must complete two hours of orientation training regarding his or her role as caregiver and the applicable terms of employment;
     (b) Before a long-term care worker is eligible to provide care, he or she must complete three hours of safety training, including basic safety precautions, emergency procedures, and infection control; and
     (c) All long-term care workers must complete seventy hours of long-term care basic training, including training related to core competencies and population specific competencies.
     (5) The department shall only approve training curriculum that:
     (a) Has been developed with input from consumer and worker representatives; and
     (b) Requires comprehensive instruction by qualified instructors on the competencies and training topics in this section.
     (6) Individual providers under RCW 74.39A.270 shall be compensated for training time required by this section.
     (7) The department of health shall adopt rules by ((August 1, 2010)) January 1, 2011, to implement subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section.
     (8) The department shall adopt rules by ((August 1, 2010)) January 1, 2011, to implement subsections (4) and (5) of this section.

Sec. 2   RCW 74.39A.075 and 2009 c 580 s 11 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Effective ((January)) July 1, 2011, a biological, step, or adoptive parent who is the individual provider only for his or her developmentally disabled son or daughter must receive twelve hours of training relevant to the needs of adults with developmental disabilities within the first one hundred twenty days of becoming an individual provider.
     (2) Effective ((January)) July 1, 2011, individual providers identified in (a) and (b) of this subsection must complete thirty-five hours of training within the first one hundred twenty days of becoming an individual provider. Five of the thirty-five hours must be completed before becoming eligible to provide care. Two of these five hours shall be devoted to an orientation training regarding an individual provider's role as caregiver and the applicable terms of employment, and three hours shall be devoted to safety training, including basic safety precautions, emergency procedures, and infection control. Individual providers subject to this requirement include:
     (a) An individual provider caring only for his or her biological, step, or adoptive child or parent unless covered by subsection (1) of this section; and
     (b) Before January 1, 2014, a person hired as an individual provider who provides twenty hours or less of care for one person in any calendar month.
     (3) Only training curriculum approved by the department may be used to fulfill the training requirements specified in this section. The department shall only approve training curriculum that:
     (a) Has been developed with input from consumer and worker representatives; and
     (b) Requires comprehensive instruction by qualified instructors.
     (4) The department shall adopt rules by ((August 1, 2010)) January 1, 2011, to implement this section.

Sec. 3   RCW 74.39A.085 and 2009 c 580 s 14 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department shall deny payment to any individual provider of home care services who has not been certified by the department of health as a home care aide as required under chapter ((2, Laws of 2009)) 18.88B RCW or, if exempted from certification by RCW 18.88B.040, has not completed his or her required training pursuant to ((chapter 2, Laws of 2009)) RCW 74.39A.075.
     (2) The department may terminate the contract of any individual provider of home care services, or take any other enforcement measure deemed appropriate by the department if the individual provider's certification is revoked under chapter ((2, Laws of 2009)) 18.88B RCW or, if exempted from certification by RCW 18.88B.040, has not completed his or her required training pursuant to ((chapter 2, Laws of 2009)) RCW 74.39A.075.
     (3) The department shall take appropriate enforcement action related to the contract of a private agency or facility licensed by the state, to provide personal care services, other than an individual provider, who knowingly employs a long-term care worker who is not a certified home care aide as required under chapter ((2, Laws of 2009)) 18.88B RCW or, if exempted from certification by RCW 18.88B.040, has not completed his or her required training pursuant to ((chapter 2, Laws of 2009)) RCW 74.39A.075.
     (4) Chapter 34.05 RCW shall govern actions by the department under this section.
     (5) The department shall adopt rules by ((August 1, 2010)) January 1, 2011, to implement this section.

Sec. 4   RCW 74.39A.340 and 2009 c 580 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The department of health shall ensure that all long-term care workers shall complete twelve hours of continuing education training in advanced training topics each year. This requirement applies beginning on ((July 1, 2011)) January 1, 2012.
     (2) Completion of continuing education as required in this section is a prerequisite to maintaining home care aide certification under chapter ((2, Laws of 2009)) 18.88B RCW.
     (3) Unless voluntarily certified as a home care aide under chapter ((2, Laws of 2009)) 18.88B RCW, subsection (1) of this section does not apply to:
     (a) An individual provider caring only for his or her biological, step, or adoptive child; and
     (b) Before June 30, 2014, a person hired as an individual provider who provides twenty hours or less of care for one person in any calendar month.
     (4) Only training curriculum approved by the department may be used to fulfill the training requirements specified in this section. The department shall only approve training curriculum that:
     (a) Has been developed with input from consumer and worker representatives; and
     (b) Requires comprehensive instruction by qualified instructors.
     (5) Individual providers under RCW 74.39A.270 shall be compensated for training time required by this section.
     (6) The department of health shall adopt rules by ((August 1, 2010)) January 1, 2011, to implement subsections (1), (2), and (3) of this section.
     (7) The department shall adopt rules by ((August 1, 2010)) January 1, 2011, to implement subsection (4) of this section.

Sec. 5   RCW 18.88B.020 and 2009 c 580 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) Effective ((January)) July 1, 2011, except as provided in RCW 18.88B.040, the department of health shall require that any person hired as a long-term care worker for the elderly or persons with disabilities must be certified as a home care aide within one hundred fifty days from the date of being hired.
     (2) Except as provided in RCW 18.88B.040, certification as a home care aide requires both completion of seventy-five hours of training and successful completion of a certification examination pursuant to RCW 74.39A.073 and 18.88B.030.
     (3) No person may practice or, by use of any title or description, represent himself or herself as a certified home care aide without being certified pursuant to this chapter.
     (4) The department of health shall adopt rules by ((August 1, 2010)) January 1, 2011, to implement this section.

Sec. 6   RCW 18.88B.040 and 2009 c 580 s 15 are each amended to read as follows:
     The following long-term care workers are not required to become a certified home care aide pursuant to this chapter.
     (1) Registered nurses, licensed practical nurses, certified nursing assistants, medicare-certified home health aides, or other persons who hold a similar health credential, as determined by the secretary of health, or persons with special education training and an endorsement granted by the superintendent of public instruction, as described in RCW 28A.300.010, if the secretary of health determines that the circumstances do not require certification. Individuals exempted by this subsection may obtain certification as a home care aide from the department of health without fulfilling the training requirements in RCW 74.39A.073 but must successfully complete a certification examination pursuant to RCW 18.88B.030.
     (2) A person already employed as a long-term care worker prior to ((January)) July 1, 2011, who completes all of his or her training requirements in effect as of the date he or she was hired, is not required to obtain certification. Individuals exempted by this subsection may obtain certification as a home care aide from the department of health without fulfilling the training requirements in RCW 74.39A.073 but must successfully complete a certification examination pursuant to RCW 18.88B.030.
     (3) All long-term care workers employed by supported living providers are not required to obtain certification under this chapter.
     (4) An individual provider caring only for his or her biological, step, or adoptive child or parent is not required to obtain certification under this chapter.
     (5) Prior to June 30, 2014, a person hired as an individual provider who provides twenty hours or less of care for one person in any calendar month is not required to obtain certification under this chapter.
     (6) A long-term care worker exempted by this section from the training requirements contained in RCW 74.39A.073 may not be prohibited from enrolling in training pursuant to that section.
     (7) The department of health shall adopt rules by ((August 1, 2010)) January 1, 2011, to implement this section.

Sec. 7   RCW 18.88B.050 and 2009 c 580 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:
     (1) The uniform disciplinary act, chapter 18.130 RCW, governs uncertified practice, issuance of certificates, and the discipline of persons with certificates under this chapter. The secretary of health shall be the disciplinary authority under this chapter.
     (2) The secretary of health may take action to immediately suspend the certification of a long-term care worker upon finding that conduct of the long-term care worker has caused or presents an imminent threat of harm to a functionally disabled person in his or her care.
     (3) If the secretary of health imposes suspension or conditions for continuation of certification, the suspension or conditions for continuation are effective immediately upon notice and shall continue in effect pending the outcome of any hearing.
     (4) The department of health shall take appropriate enforcement action related to the licensure of a private agency or facility licensed by the state, to provide personal care services, other than an individual provider, who knowingly employs a long-term care worker who is not a certified home care aide as required under this chapter or, if exempted from certification by RCW 18.88B.040, has not completed his or her required training pursuant to this chapter.
     (5) Chapter 34.05 RCW shall govern actions by the department of health under this section.
     (6) The department of health shall adopt rules by ((August 1, 2010)) January 1, 2011, to implement this section.

Sec. 8   RCW 18.88A.115 and 2009 c 580 s 16 are each amended to read as follows:
     By ((August 1, 2010)) January 1, 2011, the department of health shall develop, in consultation with the nursing care quality assurance commission and consumer and worker representatives, rules permitting reciprocity to the maximum extent possible under federal law between home care aide certification and nursing assistant certification.