The bill seeks to improve the background check process for home care workers in Washington State by modifying existing laws governing the screening of long-term care workers. It stipulates that the Department of Social and Health Services cannot automatically disqualify individuals with certain criminal convictions after a designated period, such as three years for selling cannabis to a minor or ten years for first-degree theft. The bill clarifies that these provisions do not apply to background checks for the Department of Children, Youth, and Families or its employees, except under specific circumstances. Additionally, it introduces new language that grants authorized entities discretion in assessing the suitability of applicants based on their criminal history.

Moreover, the bill establishes guidelines for character, competence, and suitability reviews, allowing individual and home care agency providers to have unsupervised access to vulnerable adults for up to 30 days while their background checks are pending, provided they have not been disqualified by prior checks. It mandates that clients receiving services from individual providers be informed of the background check results and their rights regarding those results. The bill also requires the creation of a state registry for long-term care workers with substantiated abuse or neglect findings, enhancing transparency and safety for vulnerable populations. Additionally, it expands definitions related to long-term care services and tasks the department with adopting rules to implement these changes, thereby updating the legal framework for background checks in this sector.

Statutes affected:
Original Bill: 43.20A.715, 74.39A.056