PDFWAC 110-148-1475

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 and all other children in the household.
(2) Shared bedrooms must provide enough floor space for the safety and comfort of children.
(3) Foster teen parents may sleep in the same room with their children. When a teen parent and their children sleep in the same room, the room must contain at least 80 square feet of usable floor space. Only one parent and their children may occupy a bedroom.
(4) No more than four children may sleep in the same room. This includes foster children and any other children.
(5) Children under the age of two may share a bedroom with an adult, if it is in the best interest of the child and approved by the caseworker.
(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 younger child must be at least 10 years of age. A provider may place a child who identifies as transgender or gender fluid 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 or gender fluidity, 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 (6) of this section with an administrative approval if it is supported by the licensor and the child(ren)'s DCYF caseworker, and is in the best interest of the child.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 74.15.030. WSR 22-11-091, § 110-148-1475, filed 5/18/22, effective 6/18/22. WSR 18-14-078, recodified as § 110-148-1475, 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, § 388-148-1475, 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, § 388-148-1475, filed 12/11/14, effective 1/11/15.]