WSR 19-14-066
PERMANENT RULES
DEPARTMENT OF
CHILDREN, YOUTH, AND FAMILIES
[Filed June 28, 2019, 11:38 a.m., effective July 29, 2019]
Effective Date of Rule: Thirty-one days after filing.
Purpose: The department of children, youth, and families is filing the permanent rules for extended foster care (EFC) WAC to implement chapter 34, Laws of 2018, that:
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| • | Eliminated the requirement for dependent youth to have been in foster care on their eighteenth birthday to be eligible for EFC services. Now to be eligible for EFC a youth only needs to be dependent on their eighteenth birthday; |
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| • | Allows nonminor dependents to unenroll and reenroll in and foster youth to reenter the EFC program through a voluntary placement agreement an unlimited number of times between the ages of eighteen through twenty, if certain criteria are met; and |
| • | Allows dependent youth who are eligible for EFC to enroll while incarcerated. |
In addition, technical changes were made after the decodification of sections from chapter 388-25 WAC to chapter 110-90 WAC and repealed duplicative sections.
Citation of Rules Affected by this Order: Repealing WAC 110-90-0030, 110-90-0041 and 110-90-0042; and amending WAC 110-90-0020, 110-90-0040, 110-90-0110, and 110-90-0140.
Adopted under notice filed as WSR 19-01-023 on January 24 [December 10], 2019.
Changes other than editing from proposed to adopted version: Revisions were made in WAC 110-90-0040 Who is eligible for extended foster care?, to reflect a dependent youth in the custody of juvenile rehabilitation, department of corrections, county detention, or jail may enroll in the extended foster care program.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Comply with Federal Statute: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Federal Rules or Standards: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Recently Enacted State Statutes: New 0, Amended 3, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted at the Request of a Nongovernmental Entity: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted on the Agency's own Initiative: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Number of Sections Adopted in Order to Clarify, Streamline, or Reform Agency Procedures: New 0, Amended 1, Repealed 3.
Number of Sections Adopted using Negotiated Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; Pilot Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0; or Other Alternative Rule Making: New 0, Amended 0, Repealed 0.
Date Adopted: June 28, 2019.
Brenda Villarreal
Rules Coordinator
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 18-14-078, filed 6/29/18, effective 7/1/18)
WAC 110-90-0020What is the purpose of the extended foster care program?
The extended foster care program provides an opportunity for young adults ((in foster care))who are dependent at age eighteen to voluntarily agree to continue receiving foster care services, including placement services, while the youth:
(1) Completes a high school or a high school equivalency program;
(2) Completes a secondary or post-secondary academic or vocational program;
(3) Participates in a program or activity designed to promote employment or remove barriers to employment;
(4) Is engaged in employment for eighty hours or more per month; or
(5) Is unable to engage in subsections (1) through (4) of this section due to a documented medical condition.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 18-14-078, filed 6/29/18, effective 7/1/18)
WAC 110-90-0040Who is eligible for extended foster care?
(1) To be eligible for the extended foster care program, a youth, on his or her eighteenth birthday must be dependent under chapter
13.34 RCW((
, placed in foster care as defined in WAC 388-25-0508 by CA,)) and:
(a) Enrolled in school as described in WAC ((388-25-0512))110-90-0050;
(b) Have applied for, or can demonstrate intent to timely enroll in a post-secondary academic or vocational education program as described in WAC ((388-25-0514))110-90-0060;
(c) Participating in a program or activity designed to promote employment or remove barriers to employment as described in WAC ((388-25-0515))110-90-0070;
(d) Engaged in employment for eighty hours or more per month;
(e) Unable to engage in subsection (1)(a) through (d) of this section due a documented medical condition as described in WAC ((388-25-0519))110-90-0100; or
(f) Did not enroll in the extended foster care program; and
(i) Had their dependency dismissed on their eighteenth birthday;
(ii) Is requesting to enroll in the extended foster care program through a voluntary placement agreement (VPA) prior to reaching the age of ((nineteen))twenty-one; and
(iii) Meets one of the criteria found in subsection (1)(a) through (e) of this section.
(2) A dependent youth in the custody of juvenile rehabilitation, the department of corrections, county detention, or jail who otherwise meets the eligibility criteria in subsection (1)(a) through (f) of this section may enroll in the extended foster care program.
(3) If the youth was in the extended foster care program but then unenrolled or lost their eligibility, the youth may reenroll in the extended foster care program through a VPA ((one time)) before the age of twenty-one. The youth must meet one of the criteria in subsection (1)(a) through (e) when requesting to reenroll in the extended foster care program.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 18-14-078, filed 6/29/18, effective 7/1/18)
WAC 110-90-0110How does a youth agree to participate in the extended foster care program?
(1) An eligible dependent youth can agree to participate by:
(a) Signing an extended foster care agreement; or
(b) For developmentally disabled youth, remaining in the foster care placement and continuing in an appropriate educational program.
(2) An eligible nondependent youth who did not elect to participate in the program on their eighteenth birthday can agree to participate by:
(a) Signing a voluntary placement agreement (VPA) before reaching age ((nineteen))twenty-one; or
(b) Establishing a nonminor dependency before reaching age ((nineteen))twenty-one if the department denied entry into the program.
(3) An eligible ((nondependent))nonminor dependent youth requesting to reenter the program may agree to participate by signing a VPA prior to reaching age twenty-one ((as long as the youth has not previously entered into a VPA for extended foster care services)).
(4) In order to continue receiving extended foster care services after entering into a VPA with the department, the youth must agree to the entry of an order of dependency within one hundred eighty days of the date that the youth is placed in foster care pursuant to a VPA.
AMENDATORY SECTION(Amending WSR 18-14-078, filed 6/29/18, effective 7/1/18)
WAC 110-90-0140If an extended foster care participant loses his or her eligibility before he or she turns twenty-one, may he or she reapply for extended foster care?
(((1))) Yes. If a youth was receiving extended foster care services and lost eligibility, he or she may reapply as long as the youth:
(((a)))(1) Has not turned twenty-one; and
(((b)))(2) Meets one of the conditions for eligibility in WAC ((388-25-0506))110-90-0040 (1)(a) through (e)((; and
(c) Has not entered into a prior voluntary placement agreement with the department for the purposes of participating in the extended foster care program.
(2) Youth may reenter the extended foster care program one time between the ages of eighteen to twenty-one)).
REPEALER
The following sections of the Washington Administrative Code are repealed:
WAC 110-90-0030 | What is extended foster care? |
WAC 110-90-0041 | When is a youth considered to be "in foster care"? |
WAC 110-90-0042 | When is a youth not "in foster care"? |