Room & Care Training for AFHs
June 3  |  10:00am — 11:30am
June 4  |  1:30pm — 3:00pm

Room & Care and DSHS will be hosting training webinars next week for AFH providers. They’ll cover how the new referral system works, how to customize the type of referrals you receive, tricks to get more referrals, and more! Register at the link below to get your questions answered on June 3 from 10am-11:30am or June 4 from 1:30pm-3pm.

Temporary Leadership Shifts at HCLA and DSHS

DSHS released an email newsletter on May 27 with details about a temporary shift in leadership at Home and Community Living and the Department of Social and Health Services. Get an update on the latest changes at our AFH News post.

Long-Term Care Foundation Summer Conferences

Theme: The Care Equation: Recruit + Train + Retain

Empowering adult family homes with practical tools to hire with intention, educate with purpose and lead with heart.

Topics:

• Building Your Professional Care Team with Intention: How We Can Help

• Onboarding vs Orientation: Establishing Your System

• Creating Your AFH Culture and Sustaining a Successful TEAM

• Q&A

4.0 CEU’s available to all who attend.

There’s a WAC for That!

Medication Systems in AFHs

The #2 citation noted from the RCS Spring Forum is related to medication systems. AFHs receive residents from all kinds of settings – homes, hospitals, other facilities – that all may handle medications differently. Other potential barriers include multiple or various prescribers and/or pharmacies. However, none of these can be a barrier to having a medication system in place. Learn what’s required for your medication system in our newsletter linked below!

Licensing Fee Increase Effective July 1, 2025

On May 22, a Dear Provider Letter was sent from the Department of Social and Health Services outlining an increase to AFH license fees. This was enacted as part of the 2025 State Budget. Please review our AFH News update for details on the legislative change impacting your licensing fees and contact information for questions regarding your renewal date. We are in communication with DSHS and will share additional information on this process as we receive updates.

There’s a WAC for That!

Resident Rights: Notice of Rights and Services

During the Spring RCS Forum, it was disclosed that the #1 citation issued this quarter was related to WAC 388-76-10530 Resident rights – Notice of rights and services. Learn more about how often you are required to review rights with your residents and get an acknowledgment template at our newsletter linked below!

Death with Dignity Rule Making Meeting for AFHs

July 8  |  10:30am — 12:00pm

A Dear Provider Letter was released on May 16 to share that there will be upcoming rulemaking meetings regarding Death with Dignity (DWD) proposed rules. Register with the link below to share your feedback on language for DWD medications for the rule making session dedicated to AFHs.

Your Feedback Could Shape Healthcare in Washington

Whether you’re an AFH owner, administrator, or manage hiring and staffing for an AFH, your experience is essential to shaping Washington’s healthcare workforce policies. Join the Health Workforce Sentinel Network, a collaborative effort by the Washington Workforce Board and the University of Washington Center for Health Workforce Studies. By taking just 15 minutes to complete a short confidential survey, you’ll contribute to smarter, more responsive healthcare planning in your region.

LTCF Summer 2025 Survey

We Want to Help You Build Your Care Team!

Our mission is to champion the adult family home community and the best way for us to do that is by helping you build and support your team! Our programs are designed to provide funding for required training and to provide education to help you develop your workforce and retain great caregivers!

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Please take a few moments to answer our short survey in order to help us provide you and your care team with the best trainings, resources and support possible!

Older Americans Month 2025

Celebrated every May, Older Americans Month (OAM) is led by the Administration for Community Living (ACL). Established in 1963, OAM is a time to recognize older Americans’ contributions, highlight aging trends, and reaffirm commitments to serving the older adults in our communities. This year’s theme, “Flip the Script on Aging,” focuses on the importance of combating ageism to transform how society perceives, talks about, and approaches aging by challenging stereotypes and highlighting the benefits of healthy aging.

2025 Legislative Session Overview

As the 2025 legislative session draws to a close, we want to take a moment to reflect — with gratitude, pride, and determination. This legislative session was not easy. In fact, it is the toughest we’ve seen in over a decade. Programs were cut, services were slashed, and every line item was on the chopping block. Yet, you showed up. You stood together. And because of that, we made meaningful progress that would not have been possible without your advocacy, your passion, and your voice. Get the update on what we’ve gained, what to expect, and the obstacles we’ll be facing as we position ourselves for the next session in our update.

Upcoming Webinar:

Supported Employment for Your Residents

June 11, 2025 @ 2pm

This training will demonstrate the benefits of employment for individuals with disabilities living at your facility who have a desire to work. It will cover the myths and misconceptions around our clients who would like to work. We are going to dispel those myths and explain how our clients can work, enrich their lives from community engagement, improve their health, yet maintain services with us and not lose their important benefits.

Updated ProviderOne Billing Guides — Coming Soon

DSHS and the Health Care Authority (HCA) have been updating and consolidating ProviderOne billing guides. The new guides will be published to the ProviderOne for Social Services webpage within the next couple of months. Providers will be notified via email when the new guides are available. After the guides are published, DSHS & HCA will also host trainings for AFH providers to review the new guides, and review ProviderOne basics. More information about these trainings soon!

Real ID Travel Requirements Effective May 7

Starting May 7, 2025, all travelers flying within the United States or visiting certain federal facilities must present a REAL ID-compliant form of identification. Standard Washington driver licenses and ID cards will no longer be accepted to board domestic flights or enter some federal buildings. This is part of the federal REAL ID Act, which sets minimum security standards for state-issued IDs and driver licenses. Please review the information at our AFH News post to ensure you are prepared and have appropriate travel documents.

Get updates on critical dear provider letters below. To see all letters, visit ALTSA’s page.

Guidance on Immigration Enforcement Operations in Long-Term Care Settings Revised
March 10, 2025

This Dear Provider Letter clarified that RCS does not require knowledge of citizenship status for clients or staff in AFHs. The letter also shares links to immigration resources. Read the letter here.

Investigation And Referral Process For Allegations

Unrelated To Physical Or Sexual Abuse
December 6, 2024

This Dear Provider Letter shares an update to APS’s policy: they will now only investigate allegations of sexual abuse and physical abuse with substantial injury.  The letter also explains what is classified as a “substantial injury.” Read the letter here.

Updated Community Behavioral
Health Support (CBHS) Guidance

The guidance for Community Behavioral Health Support (CBHS) Supervision services was updated in February 2025. Please review the guidance published by the Health Care Authority and DSHS for more information on claims submissions deadlines and documentation requirements. Please note: the AFH Council is working to understand the full scope of CBHS changes and is engaging in conversations with the Health Care Authority and DSHS. We will provide additional updates as soon as we have them.

Changes to Residential Support Waiver (RSW)

DSHS recently released a Dear Provider letter outlining changes to the Residential Support Waiver (RSW) scheduled to start July 1, 2025. Services under RSW include Expanded Community Support (ECS) and Specialized Behavior Support (SBS). The state is shifting how it pays for behavioral health support to leverage better federal participation and reduce state costs, which means that SBS and ECS will no longer be the primary program for serving residents needing behavioral or mental health support.

The AFH Council was specifically told that current RSW clients would remain on RSW, and only new residents would begin CBHS— but this letter states they intend to begin converting all eligible residents now. Read our latest AFH News post to learn more about the impact and how we are working to address this information.

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