3.20.100 Licensed Foster Family Home Required Training

Applies to:  This policy applies to Licensing Division (LD) workers. 

Chapter Number & Title:  20. Foster Care

Policy Number & Title: 3.20.100. Licensed Foster Family Home Required Training

Effective Date:  October 15, 2024

Purpose

The purpose of this policy is to provide guidance to LD workers on the required training for licensed caregivers.

Authority

RCW 74.13.075  Sexually aggressive youth-Defined-Services-Expenditure of treatment funds-Tribal jurisdiction-Information sharing and confidentiality
RCW 74.13.310  Foster Parent Training
RCW 74.13B.020  Family support and related services - Performance-based contracting

Policy

LD workers:

1. Must verify: 
   1. Foster home license applicants complete the following trainings prior to licensing: 
      1. Caregiver Core Training (CCT), by a least one applicant residing in the home.
      2. First Aid, Cardiopulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), and Blood Borne Pathogen (BBP) training by all individuals over the age of 18 providing care to children or youth in the home. 
   2. All licensed foster parents in the home who take placement of Sexually Aggressive Youth or Physically Assaultive/Aggressive Youth (SAY/PAAY), as defined in RCW 74.13.075, complete SAY/PAAY online or in-person training prior placement, per the following child welfare policies:
      1. Sexually Aggressive Youth
      2. Physically Assaultive/Aggressive Youth
   3. Licensed foster parents complete 24 hours of caregiver continuing education every three years.
   4. Any training required in a foster parents’ compliance plan, if applicable, has been completed.
2. May: 
   1. Accept:
      1. Previously completed CCT for foster homes that had a break in service but were licensed within the previous five years.
      2. Up to 12 hours of training that foster parents completed prior to becoming licensed, but the training: 
         1. Cannot include CCT, First Aid, CPR, or BBP.
         2. Must have been completed within the last 12 months of LD receiving the Home Study or Reassessment Application DCYF 13-354 form. 
      3. Ongoing training completed by one or both foster parents on a license, in any combination.
   2. Allow licensed foster parents to carry up to 12 hours of training into the next three-year licensing cycle if they exceed the required training hours. 
   3. Require specific and additional training for foster parents as part of a compliance plan using a Compliance Agreement 10-248. 

Forms

Compliance Agreement DCYF 10-248

Home Study or Reassessment Application DCYF 10-354

Resources

Child Welfare Sexually Aggressive Youth policy 

Child Welfare Physically Assaultive/Aggressive Youth policy 

Original Date:  September 27, 1974

Revised Date:  October 15, 2024

Review Date:  October 31, 2028

Approved by:  Ruben Reeves, Assistant Secretary of Licensing Division