Washington Reestablishes Fingerprinting Requirements, Holds Listening Sessions for Home Care Aide Date of Hire Proposals

​The Washington Department of Health (DOH) and the Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) will be jointly hosting two virtual listening sessions on Wednesday June 22, 9-10:30 a.m. and Wednesday July 20, 10-11:30 a.m. to receive feedback on the below date of hire proposals for Home Care Aides.

Option 1  
2nd reset: no wait
3rd reset: min 12 months after 2nd hire date

Option 2
2nd reset: no wait
3rd reset: min 12 months after 2nd hire date

Option 3
2nd reset: min 12 months after 1st hire date
  
Comments on the above proposed options, or to request additional virtual listening sessions, may also be sent to Stacey.Saunders@doh.wa.gov.

In other news, the Washington State Aging and Long-Term Support Administration announced that it is reestablishing fingerprinting requirements effective May 1, 2022, for long-term care workers, which includes home care aides. 

All providers who began working between November 1, 2019 and April 30, 2022 have 120 days from May 1, 2022 to obtain non-disqualifying fingerprint results from the Background Check Central Unit (BCCU). This means that providers must have non-disqualifying results dated no later than August 28, 2022. New providers who started providing care on or after May 1, 2022 will have 120 days to get their results from BCCU.

Click here for details.