The following definitions apply to the long-term care worker training requirements:

(1) "Activities of daily living" means self-care abilities related to personal care such as bathing, eating, using the toilet, medication assistance, dressing, and transfer. Instrumental activities of daily living may also be used to assess a person's functional abilities in the home and the community such as cooking, shopping, house cleaning, doing laundry, working, and managing personal finances.

(2) "Care team" means the client and everyone involved in his or her care. The care team may include family, friends, doctors, nurses, long-term care workers, social workers, and case managers. The role of the care team is to support the client's well-being. However, the client directs the care plan.

(3) "Challenge test" means a competency test taken for specialty training without first taking the class for which the test is designed and may only be used when basic training is not required.

(4) "Client" means an individual receiving in-home services.

(5) "Competency" means the integrated knowledge, skills, or behavior expected of a long-term care worker after completing training in a required topic area. Learning objectives are associated with each competency.

(6) "Competency testing" means evaluating a student to determine if he or she can demonstrate the required level of skill, knowledge, and behavior with respect to the identified learning objectives of a particular course. The department only requires competency testing for nurse delegation core and specialized diabetes training, and the specialty and expanded specialty trainings. Training programs may integrate competency testing within their approved curricula.

(7) "Core basic training" means the portion of the 70-hour home care aide basic training that covers the core competencies and skills that long-term care workers need in order to provide personal care services efficiently and safely. The core basic training hours also includes hours devoted to student practice and demonstration of skills.

(8) "Date of hire" for determining time frames related to training and certification, means the date of hire as described in chapter 246-980 WAC.

(9) "DDA" refers to the developmental disabilities administration.

(10) "Direct care worker" means a paid individual who provides direct, personal care services to persons with disabilities or the elderly requiring long-term care (see also the definition of long-term care worker, which includes client care workers).

(11) "Department" or "DSHS" means the department of social and health services.

(12) "Enhancement" means additional time provided for skills practice and additional training materials or classroom activities that help a long-term care worker to thoroughly learn the course content and skills. Enhancements can include new student materials, videos or DVDs, online materials, and additional student activities.

(13) "Expanded specialty training" means optional curricula that provide caregivers with advanced knowledge and skills to provide person-centered care to clients or residents living with conditions other than developmental disabilities, dementia, and mental health. The optional expanded specialty training may include such topics as traumatic brain injury, diabetes care, and bariatric care. The optional expanded specialty training curricula must be DSHS developed and based on competencies and learning objectives established by the department.

(14) "Guardian" means an individual as defined in chapter 11.88 RCW.

(15) "Home care aide" or "certified home care aide" means a long-term care worker who has obtained and maintains a home care aide certification through the department of health.

(16) "Hybrid" means a combination of online training and in-person, remote or virtual classroom instruction.

(17) "Individual provider" or "IP" means a person who has contracted with the department to provide personal care or respite care services to persons with functional disabilities under a medicaid state plan program, such as the medicaid personal care or community first choice programs or under a federal medicaid waiver program.

(18) "Learning objectives" means measurable, written statements that clearly describe what a long-term care worker must minimally learn to meet each competency. Learning objectives are identified for each competency. Learning objectives provide consistent, common language and a framework for curriculum designers, the curriculum approval process, and testing. Curriculum developers have the flexibility to determine how learning objectives are met and may include additional content deemed necessary to best meet the competency in a particular setting.

(19) "Long-term care worker" means:

(a) All persons who provide paid, personal care services for the elderly or persons with disabilities, including but not limited to individual providers of home care services, direct care workers employed by home care agencies, providers of home care services to persons with developmental disabilities under Title 71A RCW, all direct care workers in state-licensed assisted living facilities, adult family homes, respite care providers, community residential service providers, and any other direct care staff who provide home or community-based services to the elderly or persons with functional disabilities or developmental disabilities.

(b) Long-term care workers do not include:

(i) Persons employed by the following facilities or agencies: Nursing homes subject to chapter 18.51 RCW, hospitals or other acute care settings, residential habilitation centers under chapter 71A.20 RCW, facilities certified under 42 C.F.R., Part 483, hospice agencies subject to chapter 70.127 RCW, adult day care centers; or

(ii) Persons who are not paid by the state, by a private agency, or facility licensed by the state to provide personal care services.

(20) "Online training" means a course taken through an automated, asynchronous learning management system or other technology that conforms to the online training standards posted on the DSHS website at https://bit.ly/dshs-online-standards.

(21) "Personal care services" means physical or verbal assistance with activities of daily living, or activities of daily living and instrumental activities of daily living that are provided to the client.

(22) "Remote skills training" means training conducted in a virtual classroom environment, or online when a student either demonstrates a skill live or provides a video recorded file of themselves performing a skill that is forwarded for feedback to an approved instructor or a proctor trained by an approved instructor, or both. A training program must be approved by DSHS to provide remote skills training.

(23) "70-hour home care aide training" means the 70 hours of required training that a new long-term care worker must complete within 120 days of hire. It has three components: Core competencies, practice of skills, and population specific topics, which may include specialty and nurse delegation training.

(24) "Specialty training" means curricula that meets the requirements of RCW 18.20.270 and 70.128.230 to provide basic core knowledge and skills that caregivers need to learn and understand to effectively and safely provide care to residents living with mental illness, dementia, or developmental disabilities. The specialty training curricula may be DSHS developed or DSHS approved and must be based on the competencies and learning objectives in WAC 388-112A-0430, 388-112A-0440, or 388-112A-0450.

(25) "Training entity" means an organization, including an independent contractor, who provides or may provide training under this chapter using approved curriculum. Training entities may only deliver approved curriculum.

(26) "Training partnership" means a joint partnership or trust that includes the office of the governor, and the exclusive bargaining representative of individual providers under RCW 74.39A.270 with the capacity to provide training, peer mentoring, and workforce development, or other services to individual providers.

(27) "Virtual classroom" means a synchronous, instructor-led, remote learning environment conducted in real time that conforms to the virtual classroom standards posted on the DSHS website at https://bit.ly/dshs-online-standards. A training program must be approved by DSHS to provide virtual classroom instruction.