HCA Listening Session #1 – Overview of the bills and objectives of the rules project.

The Department of Health (department), Home Care Aide Program, has filed a CR-101 to announce the implementation of Senate Bill (SB) 5672 and Substitute House Bill (SHB) 1142. Both bills passed in the 2025 legislative session. The department will host three public workshops to collaborate and engage with interested parties on how best to implement the legislation into existing rules (chapter 246-980 WAC).

SHB 1142 clarifies terminology for workers providing in-home care for family members and defines specific standard training requirements for workers exempt from certification.

SB 5672 extends certification timelines for long-term care workers who have applied for certification. The department incorporates the emergency language enacted on August 25, 2025, into permanent rule. This rule extends the certification timeline from 200-days to 365-days, or 425-days if a provisional certification is granted, through December 2027.