The legislature finds that:

Washington's chronically functionally disabled population is growing at a rapid pace. This growth, along with economic and social changes and the coming age wave, presents opportunities for the development of long-term care community services networks and enhanced volunteer participation in those networks, and creates a need for different approaches to currently fragmented long-term care programs. The legislature further recognizes that persons with functional disabilities should receive long-term care services that encourage individual dignity, autonomy, and development of their fullest human potential.