Over the last few days, I had the opportunity to participate in several town halls and speak directly with hundreds of Adult Family Home providers across Washington.

Many of you have asked: In light of the recent Supreme Court ruling, what can providers do right now?

Below is a list of immediate steps we are asking every provider to take.

1. Complete the Provider Survey

Please complete the Adult Family Home Council’s provider survey as soon as possible.

Do not assume your response does not matter. Do not assume another provider’s response reflects your circumstances. We need to understand how many homes use live-in caregiver arrangements, how many caregivers and residents may be affected, and what the potential financial impact could be for providers across Washington.

Without credible statewide data, decision-makers may underestimate the scope of this issue or view it as affecting only a small number of homes.

Your survey response gives the Council the information we need to demonstrate the real impact on Adult Family Homes, residents, caregivers, and communities.

Complete the survey here: https://adultfamilyhomecouncil.org/afhc/afh-live-in-care-impact-survey

After completing the survey, please share it with other providers in your network.

2. Prepare Your Provider Impact Statement

In the coming weeks, the Council will be asking Adult Family Home providers to submit impact statements describing what potential three-year back-pay liability could mean for their homes.

Data helps us demonstrate the size of the problem. Your story helps policymakers and decision-makers understand what that problem means in real life.

Please begin preparing a brief, specific impact statement describing what increased labor costs and possible retroactive liability could mean for your home.

Your statement does not need to be perfectly written. It needs to be honest, factual, and specific.

Tell us what policymakers cannot see in a spreadsheet. Tell us about the resident who has lived in your home for years. Tell us about the caregiver you are working hard to retain. Tell us what happens when reimbursement does not cover the cost of providing the care the state requires.

Please email impact statements to info@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org with the subject line: Impact Statement.

3. Join or Renew Your AFH Council Membership

The Adult Family Home Council is the statewide organization positioned to advocate for providers with DSHS, the Governor’s Office, the Attorney General’s Office, labor representatives, attorneys, and other decision-makers.

But meaningful advocacy requires resources.

Legal representation, employment-law analysis, lobbying, rate negotiations, collective bargaining, arbitration, provider education, media outreach, and policy development all require funding and capacity.

Every Adult Family Home benefits when the Council protects the industry—whether that provider is a member or not. But that is not sustainable.

We cannot expect a small number of providers to carry the full cost of protecting an entire industry.

If you are not currently a member, I am asking you to join. If you are already a member, I am asking you to renew your commitment and encourage at least one other provider to join.

More members mean more resources. More resources mean stronger legal support, stronger advocacy, more provider education, and a greater ability to respond to harmful policies before they reach your doorstep.

The cost of doing nothing will always be greater than the cost of getting involved.

Join or renew here: https://afhproduction.chargifypay.com/subscribe/v7ph74rh7qby/monthly

Or Contact Accounts@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org

4. Document, Document, Document

While the Council works on broader solutions, every provider should take immediate steps to protect their own business.

Please review and organize your:

• Caregiver schedules and staffing rosters;
• Timesheets and time records;
• Payroll records;
• Job descriptions and employment agreements;
• Live-in caregiver and lodging arrangements;
• Documentation showing working and nonworking time, etc

Make sure the services you bill are supported by accurate documentation and that your records reflect what actually occurred.

Do not wait until an audit, inquiry, or wage claim begins to organize your records. Preserve your existing records, correct practices going forward, and seek individualized legal or professional advice regarding your specific staffing, payroll, and live-in caregiver arrangements.

Document every shift. Document every payment. Document every service. Document every employment arrangement.

5. Sign Our Letter To The Governor

The Council is preparing coordinated communications to the Governor’s Office, Attorney General’s Office, DSHS, and the media.

When the provider sign-on letter is released, please add your home to the letter promptly. Then encourage other providers to do the same.

A letter signed by a small number of providers can be treated as an isolated concern. A letter signed by hundreds or thousands of providers becomes a statewide call to action.

We will share more information at the Lakewood Chapter meeting on August 18, 2026, and we encourage you to attend. The Council will also provide updates through its regular communication channels following that meeting.

For too long, Adult Family Home providers have quietly done more with less.

You have accepted residents with increasingly complex needs. You have absorbed rising labor, food, insurance, housing, and regulatory costs. You have navigated constant policy changes while working to maintain stable homes and quality care for the people who rely on you.

If the state requires the care, the state must fund the true cost of providing it.

If the state changes the rules, it cannot leave providers, caregivers, and residents to carry the burden alone.

Before you close this message, please don’t forget to take these three steps:

1. Complete the survey.
2. Join or renew your Council membership.
3. Send this message to another provider.

Then begin preparing your impact statement, organize your records, and be ready to sign the statewide advocacy letter.