(1) The department shall provide assistance to consumers and prospective consumers in finding individual providers and prospective individual providers through the establishment of a referral registry of individual providers and prospective individual providers. Before placing an individual provider or prospective individual provider on the referral registry, the department shall determine that:

     (a) The individual provider or prospective individual provider has met the minimum requirements for training set forth in *RCW 74.39A.050;

     (b) The individual provider or prospective individual provider has satisfactorily undergone a criminal background check conducted within the prior twelve months; and

     (c) The individual provider or prospective individual provider is not listed on any long-term care abuse and neglect registry used by the department.

     (2) The department shall remove from the referral registry any individual provider or prospective individual provider that does not meet the qualifications set forth in subsection (1) of this section or to have committed misfeasance or malfeasance in the performance of his or her duties as an individual provider. The individual provider or prospective individual provider, or the consumer to which the individual provider is providing services, may request a fair hearing to contest the removal from the referral registry, as provided in chapter 34.05 RCW.

     (3) The department shall provide routine, emergency, and respite referrals of individual providers and prospective individual providers to consumers and prospective consumers who are authorized to receive long-term in-home care services through an individual provider.

     (4) The department shall give preference in the recruiting, training, referral, and employment of individual providers and prospective individual providers to recipients of public assistance or other low-income persons who would qualify for public assistance in the absence of such employment.

[2011 1st sp.s. c 21 § 8; 2002 c 3 § 4 (Initiative Measure No. 775, approved November 6, 2001).]

NOTES:

     *Reviser's note: RCW 74.39A.050 was repealed by 2012 c 1 § 115. A new section using identical language was enacted by 2012 c 1 § 106 and is codified as RCW 74.39A.051.

     Effective date -- 2011 1st sp.s. c 21: See note following RCW 72.23.025.

     Findings--Captions not law--Severability -- 2002 c 3 (Initiative Measure No. 775): See RCW 74.39A.220 and notes following.