CERTIFICATION OF ENROLLMENT
SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5774
Chapter 300, Laws of 2024
68th Legislature
2024 Regular Session
FINGERPRINT-BASED BACKGROUND CHECKS—AVAILABILITY
EFFECTIVE DATE: March 26, 2024
Passed by the Senate March 4, 2024 CERTIFICATE
Yeas 48 Nays 0
I, Sarah Bannister, Secretary of
the Senate of the State of
DENNY HECK Washington, do hereby certify that
President of the Senate the attached is SUBSTITUTE SENATE
BILL 5774 as passed by the Senate
and the House of Representatives on
the dates hereon set forth.
Passed by the House February 28, 2024
Yeas 95 Nays 0
SARAH BANNISTER
LAURIE JINKINS Secretary
Speaker of the House of
Representatives
Approved March 26, 2024 1:49 PM FILED
March 27, 2024
Secretary of State
JAY INSLEE State of Washington
Governor of the State of Washington
 SUBSTITUTE SENATE BILL 5774
AS AMENDED BY THE HOUSE
Passed Legislature - 2024 Regular Session
State of Washington 68th Legislature 2024 Regular Session
By Senate Early Learning & K-12 Education (originally sponsored by
Senators Billig, Hawkins, C. Wilson, Wellman, Dozier, Frame, Kuderer,
Lovick, Mullet, Nguyen, Nobles, Padden, Salomon, and Shewmake)
READ FIRST TIME 01/17/24.
1 AN ACT Relating to increasing the capacity to conduct timely
2 fingerprint-based background checks for prospective child care
3 employees and other programs; amending RCW 43.216.270 and 74.15.030;
4 creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.
5 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:
6 NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. The legislature finds that accurate
7 background checks play an important role in ensuring the safety of
8 Washington families seeking child care services and for those
9 involved in the child welfare system. The legislature finds that many
10 areas of the state lack convenient access to fingerprinting services,
11 thereby significantly delaying or inhibiting hiring and approval
12 processes. The legislature finds that completing background checks
13 more quickly will help address child care workforce shortfalls by
14 allowing providers to hire, train, and employ new staff. The
15 legislature therefore intends to improve workforce stability by
16 reducing processing times for background checks and directing the
17 department of children, youth, and families to make fingerprinting
18 services available at selected early learning and child welfare
19 offices as provided in this act.
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 1 Sec. 2. RCW 43.216.270 and 2023 c 437 s 2 are each amended to
2 read as follows:
3 (1)(a) In determining whether an individual is of appropriate
4 character, suitability, and competence to provide child care and
5 early learning services to children, the department may consider the
6 history of past involvement of child protective services or law
7 enforcement agencies with the individual for the purpose of
8 establishing a pattern of conduct, behavior, or inaction with regard
9 to the health, safety, or welfare of a child. No report of child
10 abuse or neglect that has been destroyed or expunged under RCW
11 26.44.031 may be used for such purposes. No unfounded or inconclusive
12 allegation of child abuse or neglect as defined in RCW 26.44.020 may
13 be disclosed to a provider licensed under this chapter.
14 (b) The department may not deny or delay a license to provide
15 child care and early learning services under this chapter to an
16 individual solely because of a founded finding of physical abuse or
17 negligent treatment or maltreatment involving the individual revealed
18 in the background check process or solely because the individual's
19 child was found by a court to be dependent as a result of a finding
20 that the individual abused or neglected their child pursuant to RCW
21 13.34.030(6)(b) when that founded finding or court finding is
22 accompanied by a certificate of parental improvement as defined in
23 chapter 74.13 RCW related to the same incident.
24 (2) In order to determine the suitability of individuals newly
25 applying for an agency license, new licensees, their new employees,
26 and other persons who newly have unsupervised access to children in
27 child care, shall be fingerprinted.
28 (a) The fingerprints shall be forwarded to the Washington state
29 patrol and federal bureau of investigation for a criminal history
30 record check.
31 (b) All individuals applying for first-time agency licenses, all
32 new employees, and other persons who have not been previously
33 qualified by the department to have unsupervised access to children
34 in child care must be fingerprinted and obtain a criminal history
35 record check pursuant to this section.
36 (c) The secretary shall use the fingerprint criminal history
37 record check information solely for the purpose of determining
38 eligibility for a license and for determining the character,
39 suitability, and competence of those persons or agencies, excluding
p. 2 SSB 5774.SL
 1 parents, not required to be licensed who are authorized to care for
2 children.
3 (d) Criminal justice agencies shall provide the secretary such
4 information as they may have and that the secretary may require for
5 such purpose.
6 (e) No later than July 1, 2013, all agency licensees holding
7 licenses prior to July 1, 2012, persons who were employees before
8 July 1, 2012, and persons who have been qualified by the department
9 before July 1, 2012, to have unsupervised access to children in child
10 care, must submit a new background application to the department.
11 (f) The department shall issue a background check clearance card
12 or certificate to the applicant if after the completion of a
13 background check the department concludes the applicant is qualified
14 for unsupervised access to children in child care. The background
15 check clearance card or certificate is valid for five years from the
16 date of issuance. A valid card or certificate must be accepted by a
17 potential employer as proof that the applicant has successfully
18 completed a background check as required under this chapter. For
19 purposes of renewal of the background clearance card or certificate,
20 all agency licensees holding a license, persons who are employees,
21 and persons who have been previously qualified by the department,
22 must submit a new background application to the department on a date
23 to be determined by the department.
24 (g) The original applicant for an agency license, licensees,
25 their employees, and other persons who have unsupervised access to
26 children in child care shall submit a new background check
27 application to the department, on a form and by a date as determined
28 by the department.
29 (h) The applicant and agency shall maintain on-site for
30 inspection a copy of the background check clearance card or
31 certificate.
32 (i) Individuals who have been issued a background check clearance
33 card or certificate shall report nonconviction and conviction
34 information to the department within twenty-four hours of the event
35 constituting the nonconviction or conviction information.
36 (j) The department shall investigate and conduct a
37 redetermination of an applicant's or licensee's background clearance
38 if the department receives a complaint or information from
39 individuals, a law enforcement agency, or other federal, state, or
40 local government agency. Subject to the requirements contained in RCW
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 1 43.216.325 and 43.216.327 and based on a determination that an
2 individual lacks the appropriate character, suitability, or
3 competence to provide child care or early learning services to
4 children, the department may: (i) Invalidate the background card or
5 certificate; or (ii) suspend, modify, or revoke any license
6 authorized by this chapter.
7 (3) To satisfy the shared background check requirements of the
8 department of children, youth, and families, the office of the
9 superintendent of public instruction, and the department of social
10 and health services, each department shall share federal fingerprint-
11 based background check results as permitted under the law. The
12 purpose of this provision is to allow these departments to fulfill
13 their joint background check responsibility of checking any
14 individual who may have unsupervised access to vulnerable adults,
15 children, or juveniles. These departments may not share the federal
16 background check results with any other state agency or person.
17 (4) Individuals who have completed a fingerprint background check
18 as required by the office of the superintendent of public
19 instruction, consistent with RCW 28A.400.303, and have been
20 continuously employed by the same school district or educational
21 service district, can meet the requirements in subsection (2) of this
22 section by providing a true and accurate copy of their Washington
23 state patrol and federal bureau of investigation background check
24 report results to the department or if the school district or the
25 educational service district provides an affidavit to the department
26 that the individual has been authorized to work by the school
27 district or educational service district after completing a record
28 check consistent with RCW 28A.400.303. The department may require
29 that additional background checks be completed that do not require
30 additional fingerprinting.
31 (5) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this
32 specific purpose and to help satisfy the background check
33 requirements in this section, the department shall maintain the
34 capacity to roll, print, or scan fingerprints in at least seven of
35 the department's early learning and child welfare offices for the
36 purposes of Washington state patrol and federal bureau of
37 investigation fingerprint-based background checks. Office locations
38 must:
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 1 (a) Be prioritized based on proximity to existing fingerprinting
2 service capacity, regional demand, and criteria to enhance timely
3 access;
4 (b) Provide staff support of a minimum of 0.5 full-time
5 equivalent employees per office location; and
6 (c) Provide fingerprinting services solely for prospective and
7 current child care employees, licensed group care employees,
8 families, and relatives involved in child welfare.
9 Sec. 3. RCW 74.15.030 and 2019 c 470 s 20 are each amended to
10 read as follows:
11 The secretary shall have the power and it shall be the
12 secretary's duty:
13 (1) In consultation with the children's services advisory
14 committee, and with the advice and assistance of persons
15 representative of the various type agencies to be licensed, to
16 designate categories of facilities for which separate or different
17 requirements shall be developed as may be appropriate whether because
18 of variations in the ages, sex and other characteristics of persons
19 served, variations in the purposes and services offered or size or
20 structure of the agencies to be licensed hereunder, or because of any
21 other factor relevant thereto;
22 (2) In consultation with the children's services advisory
23 committee, and with the advice and assistance of persons
24 representative of the various type agencies to be licensed, to adopt
25 and publish minimum requirements for licensing applicable to each of
26 the various categories of agencies to be licensed.
27 The minimum requirements shall be limited to:
28 (a) The size and suitability of a facility and the plan of
29 operation for carrying out the purpose for which an applicant seeks a
30 license;
31 (b) Obtaining background information and any out-of-state
32 equivalent, to determine whether the applicant or service provider is
33 disqualified and to determine the character, competence, and
34 suitability of an agency, the agency's employees, volunteers, and
35 other persons associated with an agency;
36 (c) Conducting background checks for those who will or may have
37 unsupervised access to children or expectant mothers; however, a
38 background check is not required if a caregiver approves an activity
39 pursuant to the prudent parent standard contained in RCW 74.13.710;
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 1 (d) Obtaining child protective services information or records
2 maintained in the department case management information system. No
3 unfounded allegation of child abuse or neglect as defined in RCW
4 26.44.020 may be disclosed to a child-placing agency, private
5 adoption agency, or any other provider licensed under this chapter;
6 (e) Submitting a fingerprint-based background check through the
7 Washington state patrol under chapter 10.97 RCW and through the
8 federal bureau of investigation for:
9 (i) Agencies and their staff, volunteers, students, and interns
10 when the agency is seeking license or relicense;
11 (ii) Foster care and adoption placements; and
12 (iii) Any adult living in a home where a child may be placed;
13 (f) If any adult living in the home has not resided in the state
14 of Washington for the preceding five years, the department shall
15 review any child abuse and neglect registries maintained by any state
16 where the adult has resided over the preceding five years;
17 (g) The cost of fingerprint background check fees will be paid as
18 required in RCW 43.43.837;
19 (h) The capacity to roll, print, or scan fingerprints in the
20 department's early learning and child welfare offices for the
21 purposes of Washington state patrol and federal bureau of
22 investigation fingerprint-based background checks as provided in RCW
23 43.216.270(5);
24 (i) National and state background information must be used solely
25 for the purpose of determining eligibility for a license and for
26 determining the character, suitability, and competence of those
27 persons or agencies, excluding parents, not required to be licensed
28 who are authorized to care for children or expectant mothers;
29 (((i))) (j) The number of qualified persons required to render
30 the type of care and treatment for which an agency seeks a license;
31 (((j))) (k) The safety, cleanliness, and general adequacy of the
32 premises to provide for the comfort, care and well-being of children
33 or expectant mothers;
34 (((k))) (l) The provision of necessary care, including food,
35 clothing, supervision and discipline; physical, mental and social
36 well-being; and educational, recreational and spiritual opportunities
37 for those served;
38 (((l))) (m) The financial ability of an agency to comply with
39 minimum requirements established pursuant to this chapter and RCW
40 74.13.031; and
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 1 (((m))) (n) The maintenance of records pertaining to the
2 admission, progress, health and discharge of persons served;
3 (3) To investigate any person, including relatives by blood or
4 marriage except for parents, for character, suitability, and
5 competence in the care and treatment of children or expectant mothers
6 prior to authorizing that person to care for children or expectant
7 mothers. However, if a child is placed with a relative under RCW
8 13.34.065 or 13.34.130, and if such relative appears otherwise
9 suitable and competent to provide care and treatment the criminal
10 history background check required by this section need not be
11 completed before placement, but shall be completed as soon as
12 possible after placement;
13 (4) On reports of alleged child abuse and neglect, to investigate
14 agencies in accordance with chapter 26.44 RCW, including agencies or
15 facilities operated by the department of social and health services
16 that receive children for care outside their own homes, child day-
17 care centers, and family day-care homes, to determine whether the
18 alleged abuse or neglect has occurred, and whether child protective
19 services or referral to a law enforcement agency is appropriate;
20 (5) To issue, revoke, or deny licenses to agencies pursuant to
21 this chapter and RCW 74.13.031. Licenses shall specify the category
22 of care which an agency is authorized to render and the ages, sex and
23 number of persons to be served;
24 (6) To prescribe the procedures and the form and contents of
25 reports necessary for the administration of this chapter and RCW
26 74.13.031 and to require regular reports from