The following definitions are for the purpose of this chapter and are important to understanding these requirements:
"Abuse or neglect" means the injury, sexual abuse, sexual exploitation, negligent treatment or maltreatment of a child as defined in RCW
26.44.020.
"Adult" means a person 18 years of age and older, not in the care of the department.
"Asexual" means the lack of a sexual attraction or desire for other individuals.
"Bisexual" means individuals who have an emotional or physical attraction to individuals of the same and different genders.
"Capacity" means the age range and maximum number of children on your current license.
"Care provider" means any person who is licensed or authorized to provide care for children, and cleared to have unsupervised access to children under the authority of a license.
"Case manager" means the private agency employee who coordinates the planning efforts of all the persons working on behalf of a child.
"Case plan" means a written document adhered to and followed by a foster child's parent or parents, foster parent or parents, the department, and all other caregivers. A case plan may include, but is not limited to:
(a) A description of the type of home or facility in which a child is to be placed, including a discussion of the safety and appropriateness of the placement and how the department plans to carry out the voluntary placement agreement entered into or judicial determination made with respect to the child;
(b) A plan for assuring that the child receives safe and proper care and that services are provided to the parents, child, and foster parents in order to improve the conditions in the parents' home, facilitate return of the child to their own safe home or the permanent placement of the child, and address the needs of the child while in foster care, including a discussion of the appropriateness of the services that have been provided to the child under the plan;
(c) The health and education records of the child, including the most recent information available regarding:
(i) The names and addresses of the child's health and educational providers;
(ii) The child's grade level performance;
(iii) The child's school record;
(iv) A record of the child's immunizations;
(v) The child's known medical conditions;
(vi) The child's medications; and
(vii) Any other relevant health and education information concerning the child determined to be appropriate by the department;
(d) Relevant professional assessments of the child;
(e) Court orders concerning the child; and
(f) Any other relevant plan, assessment, knowledge, material, or information concerning the child determined to be appropriate by the department.
"Caseworker" means the primary agency worker assigned to the child through DCYF or another government agency.
"Certification" means either:
(a) Our review of whether you meet the licensing requirements, even though you do not need to be licensed; or
(b) A licensed child placing agency (CPA) representing that a foster home being supervised by that CPA meets licensing requirements. The final decision for licensing is the responsibility of DCYF.
"Chapter" means chapter
110-148 WAC.
"Child," "children," or "youth" for this chapter, means a person who is one of the following:
(a) Under 18 years of age;
(b) Up to 21 years of age and enrolled in services through department of social and health services, developmental disabilities administration (DDA) the day prior to his or her 18th birthday and pursuing either a high school or equivalency course of study (GED/HSEC), or vocational program;
(c) Up to 21 years of age and participates in the extended foster care program;
(d) Up to 21 years of age with intellectual and developmental disabilities;
(e) Up to 25 years of age and under the custody of juvenile rehabilitation.
"Child placing agency (CPA)" means an agency or tribe licensed to place children for foster care or adoption and may be contracted by the department to provide professional therapeutic foster care (PTFC) services.
"Child welfare" or "CW" means the division of child welfare within DCYF. CW provides case management to children and families involved in the child welfare system.
"Compliance agreement" means a written improvement plan to address the changes needed to meet licensing requirements.
"DDA" means the department of social and health services, developmental disabilities administration.
"Department of children, youth, and families (DCYF)" or "department" means the Washington state department of children, youth, and families.
"Developmental disability" is a disability as defined in RCW
71A.10.020.
"FBI" means the Federal Bureau of Investigation.
"Foster home or foster family home" means a person(s) licensed to regularly provide 24-hour care in their home to children.
"Gay" means a sexual orientation to describe individuals who are emotionally or physically attracted to someone of the same gender. Gay is sometimes an umbrella term for the LGBTQIA+ community.
"Gender" or "gender identity" means an individual's inner sense of being a female, male, a blend of both or neither, or another gender. This may or may not correspond with an individual's sex assigned at birth.
"Gender expression" means individuals' outward communication of their gender through behavior or appearance. This may or may not conform to their sex assigned at birth or socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine.
"Gender fluid" means individuals whose gender identities are flexible, not permanent.
"Guardian" has the same meaning in this chapter as defined in RCW
26.33.020(11).
"Guns or weapons" means any device intended to shoot projectiles under pressure or that can be used to attack. These include but are not limited to BB guns, pellet guns, air rifles, stun guns, antique guns, handguns, rifles, shotguns and archery equipment.
"Hearing" means the administrative review process conducted by an administrative law judge.
"I, my, you, and your" refers to an applicant for a license issued under this chapter, and to any party holding a license under this chapter.
"Infant" means a child less than 12 months of age.
"Intellectual and developmental disability" means children with deficits in general mental abilities and impairment in everyday adaptive functioning.
"Intersex" is an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural bodily variations when the body is born with a combination of chromosomes, internal organs, or external genitalia that do not develop as expected.
"Lesbian" means females or women who have an emotional or physical attraction for other females or women.
"LGBTQIA+" means lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual. The "+" represents identities not specifically named in the LGBTQIA acronym, e.g., pansexual, gender nonbinary, and Two-Spirit.
"License" means a permit issued by us confirming that you and your home meet the licensing standards established in this chapter.
"Licensed health care provider" means a medical doctor (MD), doctor of osteopathy (DO), doctor of naturopathy (ND), physician's assistant (PA), or an advanced registered nurse practitioner (ARNP).
"Licensing division (LD)" means the division within DCYF that licenses and monitors foster homes, child placing agencies, and licensed group care facilities.
"Licensor" means either:
(a) A LD employee who recommends approvals for, or monitors licenses or certifications for facilities and agencies established under this chapter; or
(b) An employee of a CPA who certifies or monitors foster homes supervised by the CPA.
"Maternity services" as defined in RCW
74.15.020. These are also referred to as pregnant and parenting youth programs.
"Medically fragile" means the condition of a child who requires the availability of 24-hour skilled care from a health care professional or specially trained family or foster family member. These conditions may be present all the time or frequently occurring. If the technology, support, and services being received by the medically fragile children are interrupted or denied, the child may, without immediate health care intervention, experience death.
"Missing child" means any child less than 18 years of age in licensed care or under the care, custody, and authority of DCYF and the child's whereabouts are unknown or the child has left care without the permission of the child's caregiver or DCYF. This does not include children in dependency guardianship.
"Nonambulatory" means not able to walk or exit to safety without the physical assistance of another individual.
"Nonbinary" is a term of self-identification for individuals who do not identify within the limited and binary terms that have described gender identity, e.g., female and male. Nonbinary is also an umbrella term for many identities such as gender expansive, gender fluid, and genderqueer.
"Out-of-home placement" means a child's placement in a home or facility other than the home of a child's parent, guardian, or legal custodian.
"Parent" has the same meaning in this chapter as defined in RCW
26.26A.010(15).
"Probationary license" means a license issued as part of a corrective action to an individual or agency that has previously been issued a full license but is out of compliance with minimum licensing requirements and has entered into an agreement aimed at correcting deficiencies.
"Professional therapeutic foster care (PTFC)" means a foster home that is certified by a CPA to provide PTFC services.
"Property or premises" means your buildings and grounds adjacent to your residential property that are owned or managed by you.
"Psychotropic medication" means a type of medicine prescribed to affect or alter thought processes, mood, sleep, or behavior. These include anti-psychotic, anti-depressant, and anti-anxiety medications.
"Queer" is a term used to express LGBTQIA+ identities and orientations. The term is sometimes used as an umbrella term for all LGBTQIA+ individuals.
"Questioning" means individuals who are exploring their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression at any age.
"Relative" means a person who is related to a child as defined in RCW
74.15.020.
"Respite" means brief, temporary relief care provided by an in-home or out-of-home provider paid by the department. The respite provider fulfills some or all of the care provider responsibilities for a short time.
"Sexual orientation" means an individual's emotional or physical attraction to other individuals.
"SOGIE" is an acronym for sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression which are distinct identifiers everyone has. LGBTQIA+ is a subdistinction within SOGIE self-identifiers. SOGIE includes LGBTQIA+ as well as heterosexual, cisgender, and nonquestioning individuals.
"Transgender" is an umbrella term for individuals whose gender identity or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender-affirming medical care is not a prerequisite to identify as transgender. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation.
"Treatment plan" means individual plans that identify the service needs of the child, including the child's parent or guardian, and identifies the treatment goals and strategies for achieving those goals.
"Two-Spirit" means a modern, pan-indigenous umbrella term used by some indigenous North Americans to describe Native people in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender or other gender-variant, ceremonial, and social role in their cultures. Being Two-Spirit does not imply any specific sexual orientation.
"Washington state patrol fire protection bureau or WSP/FPB" means the state fire marshal.
"We, our, and us" refers to the department of children, youth, and families, including LD and CW staff.
"Young child" refers to a child age 12 months through eight years old.