(1) An application for license shall be made to the department upon forms provided by it and shall contain such information as the department reasonably requires.

(2) Subject to the provisions of this section, the department shall issue a license to an adult family home if the department finds that the applicant and the home are in compliance with this chapter and the rules adopted under this chapter. The department may not issue a license if (a) the applicant or a person affiliated with the applicant has prior violations of this chapter relating to the adult family home subject to the application or any other adult family home, or of any other law regulating residential care facilities within the past ten years that resulted in revocation, suspension, or nonrenewal of a license or contract with the department; or (b) the applicant or a person affiliated with the applicant has a history of significant noncompliance with federal, state, or local laws, rules, or regulations relating to the provision of care or services to vulnerable adults or to children. A person is considered affiliated with an applicant if the person is listed on the license application as a partner, officer, director, resident manager, or majority owner of the applying entity, or is the spouse of the applicant.

(3) The license fee shall be submitted with the application.

(4) Proof of financial solvency must be submitted when requested by the department.

(5) The department shall serve upon the applicant a copy of the decision granting or denying an application for a license. An applicant shall have the right to contest denial of his or her application for a license as provided in chapter 34.05 RCW by requesting a hearing in writing within twenty-eight days after receipt of the notice of denial.

(6) The department shall not issue a license to a provider if the department finds that the provider or spouse of the provider or any partner, officer, director, managerial employee, or majority owner has a history of significant noncompliance with federal or state regulations, rules, or laws in providing care or services to vulnerable adults or to children.

(7) The department shall license an adult family home for the maximum level of care that the adult family home may provide. The department shall define, in rule, license levels based upon the education, training, and caregiving experience of the licensed provider or staff.

(8) For adult family homes that serve residents with special needs such as dementia, developmental disabilities, or mental illness, specialty training is required of providers and resident managers consistent with RCW 70.128.230, and also is required for caregivers, with standardized competency testing for caregivers hired after July 28, 2013, as set forth by the department in rule. The department shall examine, with input from experts, providers, consumers, and advocates, whether the existing specialty training courses are adequate for providers, resident managers, and caregivers to meet these residents' special needs, are sufficiently standardized in curricula and instructional techniques, and are accompanied by effective tools to fairly evaluate successful student completion. The department may enhance the existing specialty training requirements by rule, and may update curricula, instructional techniques, and competency testing based upon its review and stakeholder input. In addition, the department shall examine, with input from experts, providers, consumers, and advocates, whether additional specialty training categories should be created for adult family homes serving residents with other special needs, such as traumatic brain injury, skilled nursing, or bariatric care. The department may establish, by rule, additional specialty training categories and requirements for providers, resident managers, and caregivers, if needed to better serve residents with such special needs.

(9) The department shall establish, by rule, standards used to license nonresident providers and multiple facility operators.

(10) The department shall establish, by rule, for multiple facility operators educational standards substantially equivalent to recognized national certification standards for residential care administrators.

(11)(a)(i) At the time of an application for an adult family home license and upon the annual fee renewal date set by the department, the licensee shall pay a license fee. Beginning July 1, 2011, the per bed license fee and any processing fees, including the initial license fee, must be established in the omnibus appropriations act and any amendment or additions made to that act. The license fees established in the omnibus appropriations act and any amendment or additions made to that act may not exceed the department's annual licensing and oversight activity costs and must include the department's cost of paying providers for the amount of the license fee attributed to medicaid clients.

(ii) In addition to the fees established in (a)(i) of this subsection, the department shall charge the licensee a nonrefundable fee in the event of a change in ownership of the adult family home. The fee must be established in the omnibus appropriations act and any amendment or additions made to that act.

(b) The department may authorize a one-time waiver of all or any portion of the licensing, processing, or change of ownership fees required under this subsection (11) in any case in which the department determines that an adult family home is being relicensed because of exceptional circumstances, such as death or incapacity of a provider, and that to require the full payment of the licensing, processing, or change of ownership fees would present a hardship to the applicant.

(12) A provider who receives notification of the department's initiation of a denial, suspension, nonrenewal, or revocation of an adult family home license may, in lieu of appealing the department's action, surrender or relinquish the license. The department shall not issue a new license to or contract with the provider, for the purposes of providing care to vulnerable adults or children, for a period of twenty years following the surrendering or relinquishment of the former license. The licensing record shall indicate that the provider relinquished or surrendered the license, without admitting the violations, after receiving notice of the department's initiation of a denial, suspension, nonrenewal, or revocation of a license.

(13) The department shall establish, by rule, the circumstances requiring a change in the licensed provider, which include, but are not limited to, a change in ownership or control of the adult family home or provider, a change in the provider's form of legal organization, such as from sole proprietorship to partnership or corporation, and a dissolution or merger of the licensed entity with another legal organization. The new provider is subject to the provisions of this chapter, the rules adopted under this chapter, and other applicable law. In order to ensure that the safety of residents is not compromised by a change in provider, the new provider is responsible for correction of all violations that may exist at the time of the new license.

[2015 c 66 § 1; 2013 c 300 § 2; 2011 1st sp.s. c 3 § 403; 2009 c 530 § 5; 2004 c 140 § 3; 2001 c 193 § 9; 1995 c 260 § 4; 1989 c 427 § 20.]

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