(1) The
department of social and health services shall review, in
coordination with the department of health, the nursing care
quality assurance commission, adult family home providers,
boarding home providers, in-home personal care providers, and
long-term care consumers and advocates, training standards for
providers, resident managers, and resident caregiving staff. The
departments and the commission shall submit to the appropriate
committees of the house of representatives and the senate by
December 1, 1998, specific recommendations on training standards
and the delivery system, including necessary statutory changes
and funding requirements. Any proposed enhancements shall be
consistent with this section, shall take into account and not
duplicate other training requirements applicable to adult family
homes and staff, and shall be developed with the input of adult
family home and resident representatives, health care
professionals, and other vested interest groups. Training
standards and the delivery system shall be relevant to the needs
of residents served by the adult family home and recipients of
long-term in-home personal care services and shall be sufficient
to ensure that providers, resident managers, and caregiving staff
have the skills and knowledge necessary to provide high quality,
appropriate care.
(2) The recommendations on training standards and the
delivery system developed under subsection (1) of this section
shall be based on a review and consideration of the following:
Quality of care; availability of training; affordability,
including the training costs incurred by the department of social
and health services and private providers; portability of
existing training requirements; competency testing; practical and
clinical coursework; methods of delivery of training; standards
for management; uniform caregiving staff training; necessary
enhancements for special needs populations; and resident rights
training. Residents with special needs include, but are not
limited to, residents with a diagnosis of mental illness,
dementia, or developmental disability. Development of training
recommendations for developmental disabilities services shall be
coordinated with the study requirements in section 6, chapter
272, Laws of 1998.
(3) The department of social and health services shall
report to the appropriate committees of the house of
representatives and the senate by December 1, 1998, on the cost
of implementing the proposed training standards for state-funded
residents, and on the extent to which that cost is covered by
existing state payment rates.
[1998 c 272 § 3.]
NOTES:
Findings -- Severability -- Effective date -- 1998 c 272: See notes following RCW 18.20.230.