Home care aides

AN ACT Relating to training and testing of home care aides; 1
amending RCW 18.88B.021 and 18.88B.031; adding new sections to 2
chapter 18.88B RCW; and making appropriations. 3
NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. A new section is added to chapter 18.88B 4
RCW to read as follows: 5
By September 1, 2026, the department shall prepare a report in 6
compliance with RCW 43.01.036 on home care aide certification testing 7
and make a recommendation to the legislature on moving home care aide 8
certification testing to approved home care aide training programs. 9
The report must include: 10
(1) A review of the home care aide knowledge and skills tests to 11
ensure the test is aligned with learning outcomes and objectives in 12
the department of social and health services basic training 13
curriculum and is available in localized languages;14
(2) A survey that includes stakeholder engagement with training 15
entities contracted with the department of social and health 16
services, including an entity that is already providing benefits to 17
no fewer than 20,000 long-term care workers in the state of 18
Washington and has at least five years of experience in administering 19
benefits to that workforce, and facility and community-based 20
instructors to determine additional training program hours required 21
for administering skills and knowledge tests; and 22
H-1123.3
HOUSE BILL 1926
State of Washington 69th Legislature 2025 Regular Session
By Representatives Timmons, Schmick, Pollet, Shavers, and Macri
Read first time 02/10/25. Referred to Committee on Postsecondary
Education & Workforce.
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(3) A review of all home care aide application-related materials 1
and processes utilized by consumers, with recommendations to simplify 2
and further develop these materials and methods as necessary to 3
improve consumer ease of use. 4
Sec. 2. RCW 18.88B.021 and 2023 c 424 s 2 are each amended to 5
read as follows: 6
(1) ((Beginning January 7, 2012, except )) Except as provided in 7
RCW 18.88B.041, any person hired as a long-term care worker must be 8
certified as a home care aide as provided in ((this chapter within 9
200 calendar days after the date of hire )) rules established by the 10
department in consultation with the department of social and health 11
services. A long-term care worker who is not currently certified or 12
eligible to reactivate an expired credential shall receive a new date 13
of hire when beginning work with either a new employer or returning 14
to a former employer after prior employment has ended.15
(2)(a) No person may practice or, by use of any title or 16
description, represent himself or herself as a certified home care 17
aide without being certified as provided in this chapter.18
(b) This section does not prohibit a person: (i) From practicing 19
a profession for which the person has been issued a license or which 20
is specifically authorized under this state's laws; or (ii) who is 21
exempt from certification under RCW 18.88B.041 from providing 22
services as a long-term care worker. 23
(c) In consultation with consumer and worker representatives, the 24
department shall, by January 1, 2013, establish by rule a single 25
scope of practice that encompasses both long-term care workers who 26
are certified home care aides and long-term care workers who are 27
exempted from certification under RCW 18.88B.041. 28
(3) If a pandemic, natural disaster, or other declared state of 29
emergency impacts the ability of long-term care workers to complete 30
certification as required by this section, the department may adopt 31
rules to allow long-term care workers additional time to become 32
certified. 33
(a) Rules adopted under this subsection (3) are effective until 34
the termination of the pandemic, natural disaster, or other declared 35
state of emergency or until the department determines that additional 36
time for long-term care workers to become certified is no longer 37
necessary, whichever is later. Once the department determines a rule 38
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adopted under this subsection (3) is no longer necessary, it must 1
repeal the rule under RCW 34.05.353. 2
(b) Within 12 months of the termination of the pandemic, natural 3
disaster, or other declared state of emergency, the department shall 4
conduct a review of certification compliance with subsection (1) of 5
this section and rules adopted under this subsection (3) and provide 6
the legislature with a report. 7
(4) The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.8
Sec. 3. RCW 18.88B.031 and 2023 c 323 s 2 are each amended to 9
read as follows: 10
(1) Except as provided in RCW 18.88B.041 and subject to the other 11
requirements of this chapter, to be certified as a home care aide, a 12
long-term care worker must successfully complete the training 13
required under RCW 74.39A.074(1) and a certification examination. Any 14
long-term care worker failing to make the required grade for the 15
examination may not be certified as a home care aide.16
(2) The department, in consultation with consumer and worker 17
representatives, shall develop a home care aide certification 18
examination to evaluate whether an applicant possesses the skills and 19
knowledge necessary to practice competently. 20
(3) The examination or series of examinations shall include both 21
a skills demonstration and a written or oral knowledge test. The 22
department shall establish rules governing the number of times and 23
under what circumstances individuals who have failed the examination 24
may sit for the examination, including whether any intermediate 25
remedial steps should be required. The skills demonstration, the 26
knowledge test, or both, may be administered throughout training, on 27
the last day of training, or after a student's formal training. An 28
applicant may apply to take the examination during or after training. 29
An applicant may not sit for any part of the examination prior to 30
completing the part of the training associated with that part of the 31
examination. The examination or series of examinations may be 32
conducted at local training or testing sites around the state. For 33
the purpose of reducing the travel time for applicants, the 34
department shall explore alternative testing options such as remote 35
testing. 36
(4)(a) All examinations shall be conducted by fair and wholly 37
impartial methods. All examinations shall be available to be 38
administered in the preferred language for the applicant taking the 39
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examination. The certification examination shall be administered and 1
evaluated by: 2
(i) The department; 3
(ii) A contractor to the department that is not an employer of 4
long-term care workers unless the employer is a department of social 5
and health services approved instructor and has met the department 6
standards for administering the examination; or 7
(iii) A high school or community college that has met department 8
standards for administering the examination. 9
(b) The department shall conduct an annual evaluation of the 10
examination results of applicants who complete the examination in ((a 11
language other than English )) all languages. If the department finds 12
that applicants taking the examination in a particular language fail 13
at a disproportionately higher rate than other examination takers, 14
the department shall conduct a review of the translation to ensure 15
that it is accurate and understandable. 16
(5) Subject to the availability of amounts appropriated for this 17
specific purpose, home care aide testing shall be available in 18
qualified facility and community-based home care aide training 19
programs by July 1, 2028, with testing conducted by facility and 20
community trainers contracted with the department of social and 21
health services or a training partnership affiliate.22
(6) The department shall adopt rules to implement this section.23
(7) For purposes of this section, "training partnership 24
affiliate" means a Washington nonprofit corporation that will 25
contract with the department of social and health services or its 26
designee to provide home care aide testing required under this 27
chapter.28
NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. A new section is added to chapter 18.88B 29
RCW to read as follows: 30
(1) If the department has any contracts for personal care 31
services with any individual providers represented by an exclusive 32
bargaining representative, all home care aide testing required under 33
this chapter for those individual providers must be provided by a 34
training partnership affiliate. 35
(2) For purposes of this section, "training partnership 36
affiliate" means a Washington nonprofit corporation that will 37
contract with the department of social and health services or its 38
p. 4 HB 1926
designee to provide home care aide testing required under this 1
chapter. 2
NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. (1) The sum of $2,000,000, or as much 3
thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year 4
ending June 30, 2026, from the general fund to a training partnership 5
affiliate for the purposes of the implementation of this act.6
(2) The sum of $4,500,000, or as much thereof as may be 7
necessary, is appropriated for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2027, 8
from the general fund to a training partnership affiliate for the 9
purposes of the implementation of this act. 10
(3) For purposes of this section, "training partnership 11
affiliate" means a Washington nonprofit corporation that will 12
contract with the department of social and health services or its 13
designee to provide home care aide testing required under chapter 14
18.88B RCW. 15
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