The Department of Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) oversees the foster care licensing process in Washington State. 

Foster Care Licensing. A person can apply to be a foster parent through DCYF's licensing division or through a Child Placing Agency (CPA) which are state-licensed private organizations that partner with DCYF to recruit, train, and support foster families. All future foster parents are required to participate in pre-service training—Caregiver Core Training, Mandatory Reporter, Bloodborne Pathogens, and First-Aid and Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR). If applying for a license through the state, a person is assigned a licensor once they turn in their foster home application. The licensor completes interviews with the applicants, both in-person and virtually. At least one interview happens in applicant's home and includes a home inspection. The licensor interviews household members, including the applicant's children and for couples, the Licensing Division staff completes at least one interview with both adults and another interview with each adult individually.  A background check will be completed on everyone age 16 and older who resides in the home as well as everyone age 16 or older who has unsupervised access to the child or youth. Each person age 18 and older needs to be fingerprinted, and age 16 or older if they have lived out-of-state within the last three years. 

Kinship License or Child-Specific License. If a person wants to care for a relative or friend's child in foster care and receive monthly foster care payments for that care, that person must obtain a kinship care license.  A person can be licensed through DCYF, or a private or tribal CPA. DCYF will inspect the applicant's home for major safety hazards. There are background checks and fingerprint requirements. The applicant also completes a home study and meets with the licensing workers. 

Both types of licenses are valid for three years.

The Department of Social and Health Services oversees licensing for adult family homes in Washington State.

Adult Family Home Licensing. Adult family homes (AFH) are residential homes licensed to care for up to six—and sometimes eight—unrelated residents and provide room, board, laundry, necessary supervision, and necessary help with activities of daily living, personal care, and social services.  AFH licensing process includes AFH administrator training, first aid and CPR training, basic and long-term care worker training, Home Care Aid Certification testing and certification by the Department of Health, potentially specialty training such as if the applicant plans to care for residents with developmental disabilities, a building inspection, meeting background check and fingerprinting requirements, as well as having a high school diploma or high school equivalency certificate or similar.

Personal care services means physical or verbal assistance with activities of daily living provided because of a person's functional disability. 

DSHS may exempt certain former foster care providers from AFH licensure when certain conditions are met.

Adult Family Home Licensing Exemption for Those with a Former Foster Care License.  An individual is exempt from AFH licensure when the individual:

• has had an active license to operate a foster family home in Washington for at least three years;
• provided personal care services for the former foster care youth in the individual's care for at least three years on the date the youth exited foster care; 
• does not have any founded or substantiated findings by Child Protective Services or final substantiated findings by Adult Protective Services; and
• is not the subject of a pending adverse licensing action at the time the youth in their care exits the foster care system, and the only unrelated adults the individual provides personal care to in the home are the former foster youth or youths that lived with the individual prior to exiting foster care.

Adult Family Home Licensing Exemption for Those with a Former Child-Specific Foster Care License.  An individual is exempt from AFH licensure when the individual:

• is or has previously been approved by DCYF for a child-specific license;
• does not have any founded or substantiated findings by Child Protective Services or Adult Protective Services; and
• is not the subject of a pending adverse licensing action at the time the youth in their care exits the foster care system, and the only unrelated adults the individual provides personal care to in the home are the former foster youth or youths for whom the individual received the child-specific license.

No public hearing was held. 

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