WSR 16-09-004
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
[Filed April 7, 2016, 11:19 a.m., effective May 8, 2016]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: WAC 246-980-065, the amended rule implements HB 1531 (chapter 152, Laws of 2015), removing the end date for issuing provisional certifications for certain long-term care workers.
Citation of Existing Rules Affected by this Order: Amending WAC 246-980-065.
Statutory Authority for Adoption: RCW 18.88B.060.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 15-24-091 on November 30, 2015.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's Own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted Using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: February 12, 2016.
John Wiesman, DrPH, MPH
Secretary
AMENDATORY SECTION (Amending WSR 14-09-002, filed 4/3/14, effective 5/4/14)
WAC 246-980-065 Home care aide provisional certification.
(1) The department may issue a provisional certification to a long-term care worker who is limited-English proficient and submits:
(a) A request for a provisional certification; and
(b) Verification of his or her date of hire as a long-term care worker, as follows:
(i) For individual providers, verification of the applicant's date of hire submitted directly by the department of social and health services; or
(ii) For all other applicants, a form supplied by the department and completed by the employer who hired the applicant as a long-term care worker, verifying the applicant's date of hire.
(2) A provisional certification will be issued only once.
(3) A provisional certification will take effect two hundred days from the applicant's date of hire as a long-term care worker, as defined in WAC 246-980-010(2).
(4) A provisional certification will expire two hundred sixty days from the applicant's date of hire as a long-term care worker. The applicant must stop working on the two hundred sixtieth day of employment if the certification has not been granted for any reason.
(5) A request for provisional certification may be denied pursuant to chapter 18.130 RCW, the Uniform Disciplinary Act, or based on RCW 18.88B.080.
(6) For the purposes of this section, "limited-English proficient" means that an individual is limited in his or her ability to read, write, or speak English.
(((7) Provisional certifications will not be issued after March 1, 2016.))