SENATE BILL REPORT
SSB 5393
As Amended by House, April 26, 2025
Title: An act relating to closing the Rainier school by June 30, 2027.
Brief Description: Closing the Rainier school by June 30, 2027.
Sponsors: Senate Committee on Ways & Means (originally sponsored by Senators Robinson, Nobles and Wilson, C.; by request of Office of Financial Management).
Brief History:
Committee Activity: Human Services: 2/10/25 [w/oRec-WM].
Ways & Means: 3/13/25, 4/18/25 [DPS, DNP, w/oRec].
Floor Activity: Passed Senate: 4/19/25, 26-22.
Passed House: 4/26/25, 76-22.
Brief Summary of First Substitute Bill
  • Closes Rainier School by June 30, 2027.
  • Subject to appropriations, relocates Rainier School residents to other settings.
SENATE COMMITTEE ON WAYS & MEANS
Majority Report: That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5393 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.
Signed by Senators Robinson, Chair; Stanford, Vice Chair, Operating; Frame, Vice Chair, Finance; Braun, Cleveland, Dhingra, Hansen, Hasegawa, Pedersen, Riccelli, Saldaña, Wellman and Wilson, C..
Minority Report: Do not pass.
Signed by Senators Trudeau, Vice Chair, Capital; Schoesler, Ranking Member, Capital; Dozier, Assistant Ranking Member, Capital; Boehnke, Conway, Muzzall, Wagoner and Warnick.
Minority Report: That it be referred without recommendation.
Signed by Senators Gildon, Ranking Member, Operating; Torres, Assistant Ranking Member, Operating; Kauffman.
Staff: Maria Hovde (786-7474)
Background:

Rainier School. The Developmental Disabilities Administration (DDA) of the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) operates four Residential Habilitation Centers (RHCs), which provide 24-hour service and support for qualified individuals with developmental disabilities needing institutional care. The Rainier School, located in Buckley, is one of the RHCs.

 

Rainier School is an Intermediate Care Facility (ICF) for Individuals with Intellectual Disabilities Program certified by the United States Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS). In 2018, Rainier School was providing service to approximately 300 residents and was comprised of three separately certified program areas: Program Area Team (PAT) A, PAT C, and PAT E. In 2019, PAT A lost its certification with CMS, and by 2020 residents were relocated and PAT A was closed. In 2023, PAT C lots its certification with CMS, and by 2024 residents were relocated and PAT C was closed. Today, PAT E is fully certified and is supporting 75 residents.

 

In 2020, at the direction of the Governor and in response to the COVID-19 pandemic, Klamath Cottage was opened on the Rainier School campus to transition individuals that were medically stable out of acute care hospital beds to ensure hospital capacity was available. Klamath Cottage is not an ICF, is currently serving nine residents, and is funded entirely with state resources through June 2025.

 

Community Residential Programs. Community residential programs provide support for persons living in community living situations. These include supported living and non-facility based living situations such as State-Operated Living Alternatives (SOLAs), which are operated by the DDA with state employees providing instruction and support to clients.

 

Adult Family Homes. Adult Family Homes are community-based facilities licensed to care for up to eight individuals. These homes provide room, board, laundry, necessary supervision, and assistance with activities of daily living, personal care, and social services.
Summary of First Substitute Bill:

Upon the effective date of the act, DSHS shall not permit any new admissions to Rainier School. By June 30, 2027, DSHS shall relocate current residents and Rainier School shall cease to operate as an RHC.

 

Subject to appropriations, DSHS shall, in accordance with client preferences, transition residents to SOLAs, supported living facilities, adult family homes, and other RHCs. DSHS shall offer RHC employees opportunities to work in SOLAs or other state facilities or programs.

 

This bill contains severability clauses.
Appropriation: None.
Fiscal Note: Requested on March 7, 2025.
Creates Committee/Commission/Task Force that includes Legislative members: No.
Effective Date: The bill contains several effective dates. Please refer to the bill.
Staff Summary of Public Testimony on Proposed Substitute:

The committee recommended a different version of the bill than what was heard. PRO: The vast majority of individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) receive services in the community, including behavioral supports. These services are similar to what is provided in the RHC but cost less. Now is the time to close institutions. People deserve better and have the right to be in the community, which supports higher quality of life in the long run. We no longer believe in locking our loved ones with I/DD away. We want them living in the community where they have choices. People need to be with their families in the community and this is how you generate safety and well-being. Institutionalization causes trauma. Rainier School is dangerous and there have been instances of abuse and neglect. Significant portions have been shut down since 2019 due to repeated findings of abuse and neglect and the lack of adequate care and treatment. Closing Rainier School is fiscally responsible and aligned with best practices to discontinue outdated care. Our state is the last of the west coast states that does not have a plan to consolidate. Transferring this workforce into the community is very welcome and they can be accommodated at other RHCs.

 

CON: Many residents of Rainier School view it as their home and family. The idea that closing the school will save money simply is not true. We do not have the infrastructure in the state to deal with complex behavioral needs. The transition timeframes in the bill seem undoable and it is questionable whether there is sufficient capacity at other RHCs and whether there are sufficient SOLAs and supported living settings. Rainier School is a safety net for these individuals and helps to stabilize individuals who are in crisis in order to successfully transition them back to the community. Many of these individuals have come from jails, hospitals, and the streets because the community cannot support them. We cannot afford to squander the resources and capacity that Rainier School offers. Rainier School provides safe and comprehensive care that is not available in a one size fits all community setting. The commitment to care cannot be duplicated in a community setting and includes onsite medical and dental care among others.  The staff are well trained to assist those with higher complex needs. Closing Rainier School would be devastating to the citizens that it serves and those who are waiting to receive services. The system must remain a full continuum of care because community providers cannot meet the needs of every individual. Any savings would be at the cost of displacing vulnerable individuals.
Persons Testifying:

PRO: Shawn Latham, Serlf Advocates In Leadership; Kyle Matheson, Self Advocate; Julie Clark, Washington State Developmental Disabilities Council; Robert Wardell, self advocate; Krista Milhofer, People First of Washington; Stacy Dym, The Arc of Washington State; Kieran Chojnowski, State Board President of People First of Washington and person with a disability; Christopher Strader, Region 3 Representative on the People First of Washington State Board; Tanika Aden, State Board Advisor for People First of Washington; Tracy Turner, Sail; Todd H Carlisle, Disability Rights Washington; Jennifer Maxwell; ARZU FOROUGH, Washington Autism Alliance; Michael Raymond, Former resident of Rainier School.

CON: Mike Yestramski; Terri Anderson, Action DD; Jeff Carter, Friends of Rainier; Mark Von Walter, Friends of Rainier; Sher Kirkpatrick; Brittney Barber, WFSE Member; Nicole Gomez, Washington Federation of State Employees (WFSE)/Lobbyist; Bobbie Appleton.
Persons Signed In To Testify But Not Testifying: No one.
EFFECT OF HOUSE AMENDMENT(S):
  •  Prohibits new long-term admissions at Rainier School beginning on the effective date of the bill and prohibits any admissions on June 30, 2027 except that former long-term residents of the Rainier School have a right to return once after transitioning to the community within one year of their transition to the community.
  • Specifies that if a former resident of the Rainier School exercises the right to return, any additional request to return to the Rainier School after a second move to the community shall be reviewed by DSHS and must be approved by the Secretary of DSHS, based on the recommendation from a multi-disciplinary care team.
  • Specifies that Rainier School will cease to operate as a RHC when the census of long-term residents has reached zero persons.
  • Requires sufficient funding to be appropriated to DSHS to offer specified alternative living arrangements to residents of the Rainier School, and to offer employees of the Rainier School specified work opportunities.
  • Defines "closure" for purposes of the act as prohibiting new admissions to Rainier School on June 30, 2027.
  • Outlines requirements for DSHS related to transitioning individuals from the Rainier School to other settings. Provides, specifically, requirements for DSHS to: offer each individual resident a meaningful choice of appropriate alternative placements; prioritize certain factors in transitioning individuals; develop individualized transition plans for transitioning residents; coordinate with other agencies, entities, providers, and stakeholders; provide or contract for necessary transition related activities and supports; and implement robust oversight and accountability measures related to transitions and regularly monitor outcomes.
  • Requires DSHS to provide regular reports to the Legislature until June 1, 2030, detailing information regarding: (1) residential capacity for individuals with developmental disabilities, (2) the number of people who have transitioned out of the Rainier School and the settings that they transition to, (3) the number of deaths of former residents who have transitioned out of the Rainier School and into other residential settings supported by DSHS, (4) the geographic distribution of residential placements for individuals with developmental disabilities, and (5) information regarding former employees of the Rainier School.
  • Requires the Office of the Developmental Disability Ombuds to submit a report by November 1, 2028 to the appropriate committees of the Legislature that includes summaries of resident, parent, and guardian feedback regarding transition of residents out of the Rainier School.
  • Requires DSHS to hold a 90-day public comment period to solicit public feedback to identify strategies to mitigate the impact on the communities affected by the prohibition on new admissions at the Rainier School.