AGING AND DISABILITY SERVICES ADMINISTRATION
April 17, 2000
AASA: BH 2000-010
RE: RCW 18.20 CHANGE IN BH LICENSING STATUTE
Dear Boarding Home Provider:
The 1999-2000 legislature amended the boarding home licensing statute, Revised Code of Washington (RCW) 18.20. The most significant changes were the result of SHB 2380 and SSB 6502.
Effective July 1, 2000, SHB 2380:
- Changes the definition of a boarding home to a home providing services to seven or more aged persons, as opposed to three or more aged persons. (Boarding homes currently licensed to serve 3-6 persons may be “grandfathered” so they may retain their boarding home license, or if they meet adult family home licensing requirements, they could become licensed as adult family homes.)
- Permanently transfers the responsibility for regulating boarding homes exclusively to the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS).
- Deletes references to the “other authorized departments (local health departments) participating in the licensing process.
- Clarifies DSHS may impose sanctions on boarding homes and that notices of sanctions are governed by DSHS RCW 43.20A.205, not by Department of Health RCW 43.70.115.
- Establishes a boarding home advisory board for DSHS to discuss inspection, enforcement, and quality improvement activities and the development of rules, standards, implementation of provider programs, and methods are rates of payment.
Effective 6-8-2000*, SSB 6502:
- Requires basic training for boarding home administrators or their designees, and for caregivers, as a condition of licensure.
- Requires orientation training for staff in boarding homes.
- Requires specialty training for certain boarding home administrators or their designees, and for caregivers.
- Requires boarding homes to provide direct supervision for staff who have not passed the basic training competency test.
- Creates a steering committee to advise the DSHS on training matters for boarding homes, adult family homes, and home care.
* While SSB 6502 becomes effective 6-8-00, the rules to implement this bill do not go into effect until 3-1-2002.
Copies of SSB 6502 and SHB 2380 are enclosed for your reference. Please contact your area manager if you have any questions.
Sincerely,
Patricia K. Lashway, Director
Residential Care Services
Enclosures
cc: Pat Bossert, Acting Administrator, Community Services Quality Assurance
RCS Regional Administrators
CSQA Area Managers
