PDFWAC 110-145-1605

What are the requirements for sharing bedrooms?

(1) A provider must consider what bedroom placement is in the best interest of a foster child in consultation with the child's DCYF caseworker.
(2) Shared bedrooms must provide enough floor space for the safety and comfort of children.
(3) When a teen parent and their infant sleep in the same room, the room must contain at least 80 square feet of usable floor space. You must allow only one parent and infants to occupy a bedroom.
(4) No more than four children can sleep in the same room, with the exception of interim facilities. This includes foster children and any other children.
(5) Children over age one may share a bedroom with an adult who is not the child's parent only if necessary for close supervision due to the child's medical or developmental condition and the child's licensed health care provider recommends it in writing.
(6) An individual in the extended foster care program may share a bedroom with a younger child of the same gender. If the younger child is unrelated to the individual in the extended foster care program, the child must be at least 10 years of age. A provider may place a child who identifies as transgender, gender fluid, or both in a bedroom with a child of the same or similar gender identity.
(7) Foster children may not share the same bedroom with a child of another gender identity unless all children are under age six. In circumstances of transgender, gender fluidity, or both, a provider may place a child in a bedroom with another child of the same or similar gender identity.
(8) An exception may be granted to subsections (3) through (7) in this section with an administrative approval if it is supported by the LD licensor and the children's DCYF caseworker, if appropriate, and is in the best interest of the child.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.15.030. WSR 22-11-091, § 110-145-1605, filed 5/18/22, effective 6/18/22. WSR 18-14-078, recodified as § 110-145-1605, filed 6/29/18, effective 7/1/18. Statutory Authority: RCW 74.15.010, 74.15.030, 74.15.040, 74.15.090, 74.13.031, and P.L. 113-183. WSR 16-17-101, § 388-145-1605, filed 8/19/16, effective 9/19/16. Statutory Authority: Chapters 13.34 and 74.13 RCW, RCW 74.15.030(2), 74.15.311(2), 74.13.032, 13.04.011, 74.13.020, 13.34.030, 74.13.031, 13.34.145, 74.15.311, 74.15.030, and 2013 c 105. WSR 15-01-069, § 388-145-1605, filed 12/11/14, effective 1/11/15.]