Hello Adult Family Homes of Washington, This is such an important

Hello Adult Family Homes of Washington,
This is such an important time for adult family homes. The number of people seeking long term care services continues
to grow. It is anticipated that the number of people in long term care will more than double over the next 15 to 20
years. While the need grows, the number of available AFH beds are in decline. I believe this decline is related to the
high number of homes who are burdened with high percentage of underfunded Medicaid residents. The heavy handed
regulatory environment, rules that are inconsistently applied, and changes to rules that come with no training or
support from the department are also contributing to the reasons that long term care resources are shrinking.
While these facts may lead one to feel discouraged, this is also an important time because we have an opportunity to
improve these circumstances. In May, the Adult Family Home Council will begin negotiating a new contract with the
state. The contract as required under RCW 41.56.029, and covers all adult family homes receiving Medicaid payments.
The contract is an opportunity to reset Medicaid rates to more accurately cover the costs of services. Almost 60% of
available AFH beds are currently funded by Medicaid residents. This is an opportunity to look at the labor shortage in
adult family homes, and reduce the barriers to hiring and training qualified staff. We must also use this opportunity to
consider the rising costs of healthcare for AFH owners. We must also recognize that the state’s CARE classification
system does not take into account all of the costs of caring for adult family home residents. Residents who require
two-person assists, awake staff at night, transportations, or have complex behavioral issues requiring additional
attention and staffing. That staffing has a cost, and yet the state refuses to negotiate these costs.
The good news is that we have a forum to challenge the state on these issues. On page three there is information on
how AFH operators can contribute to fight for fair pay.
The best way you can support the effort is to be a member of the Adult Family Home Council. Membership dues are
invested into these advocacy efforts, including lawyer and court fees. If we
all stand together, we can improve the working conditions for AFH providers
and most importantly grow the individualized and compassionate care that
AFH owners offer to their residents.
All the best
John Ficker
Executive Director
Great News!!
Change of Ownership Reduced by More than $2000
The 2016 “1st Special” Legislative Session ended on Tuesday, March 29, 2016. With that ending the AFH
Council is happy to announce our success in getting a “Change of Ownership” fee established at $700.00 in the
state’s supplemental operating budget. Once the Governor signs the budget, providers will no longer be
charged $2,750 for submitting an application for a Change of Ownership. The AFHC was also instrumental in
securing an amendment to SSB 6327 - This amendment included Adult Family Homes in the list of the “health
care teams” for the purpose of discharge planning from hospitals back to the patients place of residence. If
you are able to get your residents and/or their families to designate you to receive the discharge planning
information, the hospitals will be required to release it to you. As always, our work is not done. The 2017
legislature will prove to be very challenging as once we are able to secure another win in collective bargaining
on Medicaid rates, we will then have to go to the legislature to make sure they fund it! Please make sure you
mark your calendars and plan to join us - TUESDAY, JANUARY 24, 2017 - AFHC’S LOBBY DAY!
Questions? Contact the office @ 360-754-3329
Legislator Visits to Your AFH and Chapter Meetings!
In this year’s interim between now and the next legislative session, we are looking to invite legislators to your
homes and to attend your chapter meetings. If you are interested in inviting legislators to your home and/or
your chapter meetings, please let me know asap. Currently, we have 9 legislators scheduled to attend the
Spokane Regional Chapter on Tuesday, April 19, 2016! Once we have dates set I will do my best to get them
in your homes and to your chapter meetings! We want to show our state legislators we are ONE and
together in our efforts to continue the wonderful work you do to keep our seniors and vulnerable adults
happy, healthy and safe. We anticipate these visits to be
approximately 1 hour long and will be an opportunity for questions
and answers. In these meetings we hope to educate your legislators
on the value and need of adult family homes in Washington and to
provide information on how you run your home, your successes and
your challenges. Please contact me @ 360-754-3329 or
maria@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org asap with questions and/or to
let me know what dates will work best this summer to host your
legislators.
Page 2
Take Action For Fair Pay!
In one month, the Adult Family Home Council and DSHS will begin negotiations for new contracted
Medicaid rates.
Adult family home providers have seen increased costs and demands upon their services while receiving
minimal increases to low wages. The state of Washington pays Medicaid rates to AFH providers that are
well below actual costs. Rates are as low as $49 a day to provide housing, food and assistance to vulnerable
adults. These rates are an insult to the needs of this population and the care that AFH providers offer. Help
us demonstrate what the true costs of care are.
On April 5th or 6th WIPFLI an accounting firm out of Spokane sent emails to all adult family home council
members inviting them to participate in a cost sharing exercise. The Subject line reads: “Washington State
Adult Family Home Feedback Request.” Once we gather these costs, we can present this information to the
policy and lawmakers in Olympia and demand fair pay for AFH providers.
If we stand together we can make a change in the current system. Complete the survey as soon as is
possible. If you did not get an email with instructions and a link to complete the online survey, please
contact Melanie Mick with Wipfli at 1‐866-766-1340.
The vulnerable adults of Washington deserve quality care, and those who provide care deserve fair wages.
In addition to increases in the daily rates, we will be seeking support for the costs of training and
healthcare. We will be seeking reimbursement for the many services not considered in the development of
the daily rate, such as mileage reimbursement, trip fees, two person assists, awake staff at night, and
staffing to manage residents who exhibit challenging behaviors.
Take Action and Support the Fight For Fair Pay!
Are You Supporting The Fight For Fair Pay?
These negotiations help every adult family home serving Medicaid residents now and in the future. These
negotiations are likely to end up in arbitration. Some parts of our efforts have us engaging DSHS in Superior
Court. These efforts to hold the state accountable are expensive. If you are not a dues paying member,
please consider joining. Can you pay $40 a month to help ensure support for fair pay of the hard work that
adult family home owners do? Click here to join!
Page 3
Washingtonians For A Responsible Future
The Adult Family Home Council is proud to be part of the Washingtonians for a Responsible Future (WRF), a
coalition of long term care providers and others interested in addressing the concerns of how long term
care will be financed in the future. WRF just launched a very informative cartoon explainer video and will
be working hard this year to educate the public and elected officials about the financial hardship of
providing long term care.
The problem: Only 8% of our population has insurance to cover the costs of long term care. Very few
people have prepared and saved for the expense of long term care. Our system relies largely on unpaid
family caregivers and the Medicaid system to fund the cost of care. Long term care Medicaid payments
make up nearly 6% of the state budget or 3.3 billion dollars.
The number of individuals over 65 is growing. 70% of those over 65 will need long term care at some point
in their life. As this population increases there will be fewer family caregivers, and a potential to more than
double the demand for Medicaid services. I once heard the former DSHS secretary describe the long term
care system as a three step process. He said, “First you need help, second you impoverish yourself, third,
you go on Medicaid.” That is our unfortunate reality. Our current system cannot sustain the likely growth
in demand.
The solution: WRF is working with the state legislature to fund a study of our long term care system’s
financing. The study will consider solutions such as saving programs or insurance options that help
individuals avoid impoverishing themselves in order to get access to needed services like adult family
homes and other long term care.
One important step in this process is to educate the public about the challenges the long term system
faces. I encourage you all to look at the information at www.responsiblefuture.org. There you can see and
share experiences of the challenges in the long term care system. You can sign up to receive emails and
follow WRF’s efforts at our Facebook page.
Together, we can build a system that will meet the needs of our population and provide access to quality
care with dignity for our fellow citizens. Please, take the time to look into this important work, spread the
word, and join us! If you have additional questions about the Washingtonians for a Responsible Future you
can also email our WRF organizer directly at courtney@responsiblefuture.org.
Page 4
New Home Care Aide Application Process & Simplified Exam
By Susan Zarenski, Adult Family Home Council Member Services/Education Specialist
For more than a year, your Education Specialist has been part of a work group with the
Department of Health (DOH) and other stakeholders, developing ideas that will help
applicants with limited-English proficiency to pass the Home Care Aide (HCA) certification
exam. Early this year, bilingual focus groups reviewed and analyzed every exam question.
The bilingual members of the focus groups had taken and passed the earlier exam and
brought their real experiences to the table about difficulties in understanding the exam
questions. As a result, both the wording and the type of questions were changed to make it
easier to understand what is being asked. These changes were made with a great deal of thought towards not making
the content of the exam just plain easier, but that the exam will focus on the subject matter, instead of literacy or finely
honed test-taking skills.
As a result, the majority of the questions on the new HCA exam will be true/false. The majority of the questions were
formerly multiple choice, which have a reputation for being confusing. The very few multiple choice questions on the
new exam will have either pictures or numbers to choose from as answers, so it will be clear there is only one correct
answer.
The application process for HCA certification is also changing. Instead of the current method of a separate application to
DOH for licensure, and an application to Prometric for an exam date, there will be only 1 application submitted to DOH
that serves both purposes. This new application will be available on April 25—very soon! The two fees will both need
to be paid up front with the new application, and they
are increasing from $60 to $85 (DOH fee) and from
$115 to $127 (Prometric fee). There is no extra charge
to listen to the exam questions orally, using
headphones that will be provided.
VS Tax and Accounting
A MANDATORY item for the new application materials
is to give an EMAIL ADDRESS. If an applicant does not
have their own, they must give the email of a friend or
their employer. The only way Prometric will schedule
an exam is via email, and important messages from
DOH will also come via email. If the applicant needs to
use another person’s email, that person must check
their inbox and junk inbox often so messages are not
overlooked.
Folks who are currently in the middle of the process
(DOH application submitted, but Prometric test
application not submitted) will be contacted with
instructions to get through this transition, as they will
need to submit a special new form called “Home Care
Aide Examination Request Form.” Details provided by
DOH, are posted on AFH Council’s website, here:
NEW HCA EXAM & APPLICATION PROCESS-AS OF 5/1/16
We are an Enrolled, IRS Tax Agent, authorized by
the US Treasury, as well as, Business Consultants,
with MBA and PhD. Degrees. We prepare Tax
Returns for Individuals, the Self-Employed and
Corporations.
We specialize in Foster Care Homes
We offer a free ½ hour consultation
We have over 35 years’ experience in taxes,
bookkeeping and payroll preparation.
Cell: 503-806-7276
Cell: 360-936-0669
Email address:
vioricaconsulting@gmail.com
Page 5
RCS Seeking AFH Providers to Undergo “Mock Re-licensing Visits
Residential Care Services Training Unit is seeking Adult Family Home providers who would be interested in allowing
our students time in their home to practice the licensing process. As a part of our training process with new Adult
Family Home (AFH) Licensors in RCS, we like to have our students practice their learning in a real life setting. We refer
to this portion of the training as a “Mock Re-licensing visit”.
While we do conduct portions of a licensing visit during this process, we do not cite facilities on our findings. We do
inform the facility of any issues that come to our attention and allow the facility to decide what to do with this
information. This can be a good chance for a facility to learn about and fix any issues prior to a regular licensing visit.
This also allows the facility staff to practice a licensing visit, letting them become more familiar with the process.
Please note that RCS staff are mandated reporters and by law required to call the Complaint unit with any reportable
findings.
We conduct our new employee trainings approximately once every 3 months. Our average class size ranges from 1-6.
With larger classes, we will divide the group and utilize more than one home. The training unit always coordinates our
Mock visits with the field office to ensure you are not asked to participate in a Mock just before a scheduled relicensing visit or just after a re-licensing visit. We
hope to have a list of interested facilities we can
rotate, ensuring we are not using the same
facility numerous times a year. This will help
eliminate the possibility of burnout for the
provider, staff, and residents.
If you have any questions or know of any
facilities who would be interested in
participating this, please feel free to contact me
at (360) 725-2584.
Thank you,
M Christine Cornell, Program Manager, RCS
Training Unit
Department of Social and Health Services
PO BOX 45600 Olympia WA 98504-5600
Phone: 360-725-2584
CORNEMC@dshs.wa.gov
Page 6
EC Computers - AFHC’s Affiliate Business Partner Profile
Mention this Ad and Receive a 20% Discount From Our Services!
Page 7
RCS Background Check Slideshow, and Ideas for Completing a Meaningful
Character, Competence and Suitability Review
By Susan Zarenski, Adult Family Home Council Member Services/Education Specialist
Name and Date of Birth (NDOB) and Fingerprint Background Checks involve very specific steps that must be
done by certain days of hire, and in the case of NDOB, checks must be done every 2 years. These important
steps are missed or done incorrectly often enough that many calls come in each month asking for help to get
it right, or asking for citations to be explained when a part of the process went wrong. To help with your
understanding and implementation of Background Check compliance, Residential Care Services (RCS) has put
together a comprehensive slideshow, which you can get to on their website by clicking here: Background
Checks and Fingerprint Checks Slideshow.
It is important to remember the NDOB Background Checks must be redone every 2 years, for all staff,
volunteers, household members over the age of 11 (that means 11 years plus 1 day!), and for providers
themselves. If any non-disqualifying convictions, pending charges, or negative actions are on the record in
any initial or follow-up background checks, the provider must conduct a Character, Competence, and
Suitability (CCS) Review. When a provider has a non-disqualifying item on their own record, they themselves
must complete a CCS Review to determine whether unsupervised access to vulnerable adults is going to be
allowed.
Documentation of a CCS Review must be kept on file at the AFH, and although it is optional, a helpful form to
use is the DSHS Form 15-456 for Character.Competence.Suitability. Section 3 of this form is called,
“Suggested factors to consider when making a determination.” Analyzing the factors in Section 3 can be a
good way to start thinking about what is important. Critical thinking must be done here; this decision of
whether to allow access to vulnerable adults may be a factor in whether or not your residents experience
abuse or exploitation.
Not every person who undergoes a CCS Review will end up being a good choice as a person who has
unsupervised access to your residents. This is a decision to take seriously. A few other direct questions to
ask yourself or the person who is the subject of the CCS Review are:
1. Do you see a pattern of repeated offenses, or is this a one-time offense?
2. Is the person honestly interested in caring for others and do you believe they
will promote well-being, resident rights, and safety, or do you suspect they
are looking for easy targets to victimize?
3. Can the person talk about the offense in a way that shows they have learned
from their mistake?
4. What can the person tell you about why they won’t repeat the offense in the
future?
Page 8
Save the Date!
Legal Issues and Liabilities
Conference
The Adult Family Home Council has been
working with attorneys and human resources
professionals to create a one day event that
will travel to multiple locations around the
state. Attorneys and human resource
professionals will be onsite to answer
questions.
The Event will be FREE to all Adult Family
Home Council members
The one day event will cover human resources
issues such as:
 Hiring Staff
 Employee Policies
 Training Requirements
 Discipline and termination of staff
 More
The day will also include common legal issues
and questions such as:
 Disclosure of services
 Disclosure of charges
 Citations/WAC Violations
 Appeal rights
 Discharging residents
 More
If interested please watch our Events Page for
registration details. In the meantime save the
date:
 May 17 Spokane
 May 24 & June 21 Renton
 May 26 and June 23 Lynwood
 June 1 Ellensburg
Page 9
Have You Seen What Is Available at www.adultfamilyhomecouncil.org?
Page 10
Exceptions to the Rule
New Notifications to Adult Family Homes
In accordance with the collective bargaining agreement signed between the council and the state of Washington,
when a case managers with DDA, HCS or AAA discuss the possibility of an ETR with an adult family home operator,
they have an obligation to provide them with this postcard.
The purpose of the card is to ensure adult family home owners are aware of their rights under collective bargaining.
The Council can review with you an ETR request, help you to understand the process, and support you in presenting
the information to your case manager.
Exceptions make up between 4-6% of the total authorizations in AFHs. However , we believe that many providers
serve clients, just like those with ETRs for lower rates. It is not fair that the rate is dependent on an ETR process that
may or may not get completed based on a single case manager. Letting the council know about a proposed ETR also
allows us to identify gaps in services and potentially work with DSHS to ensure that resources and rates reflect the
complicated nature of what adult family homes do.
More information on ETRs and the ETR process is available in the CARE guide in the Document Library on our website.
Page 11
Page 12
Page 13
Caring For Persons With Dementia
Page 14
Free CE Courses in April 2016
Page 15
Free CE Courses in May & June 2016
Page 16
Administrator Training Available
North Seattle College will be offering the AFH
Administrator course on the dates below:
Highline College will be offering the AFH
Administrator course on the dates below:
DSHS Adult Family Home Administrator Course $561.00 - Spring Quarter 2016 NUR155
July 5 - August 9, 2016
May 3-June 14, 2016 Tuesday and Thursday 5:30pm9:30pm or
May 7-June 5, 2016 Saturday and Sunday 9:00am3:30pm (no class on 5/28 & 5/29)
Classes are held on Tuesdays from 6:00P-9:00P &
Saturdays from 8:00A-3:00P
Class is located at Highline College, Building 99/Room
132
Class is located at:
9600 College Way North
Seattle, WA 98103
206-934-3600
https://northseattle.edu/afh-certificate
Questions? Contact - Cathy Hakola
Cathy.hakola@seattlecolleges.edu
206-934-3920
Highline College Outreach Building
Bldg 99, Suite101
23835 Pacific Hwy S.
Kent, WA 98032
Students can register online at ce.highline.edu or call
206-870-3785
Thank you,
Vicky L Montgomery
Program Assistant ~Continuing Education
vimontgomery@highline.edu
To best serve you, please notify us
of any changes to your contact
information. If you have new
telephone number, license or name
changes, emails, additions or
closures of homes or moved from
one location to another, please call
our office @ 360-754-3329 or
info@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org.
Page 17
Buy * Sell * Trade
Adult Family Home Council Members Marketplace Page
Place an ad on this page in our next issue
AFH For Sale
Caring Comfort Adult Family Home for
sale. $75,000.00. 2256 39th St.
Washougal WA.
This home is licensed for 4 residents
and currently generates $13,700.00 per
month. Main floor features 3 bedrooms
and two baths. Master has an on suite
with large shower and double sinks with
lots of storage. 2 private rooms. Second
bath has new step in Jacuzzi tub
shower. Home is for lease and/or for
sale. Beautiful panoramic views of
Columbia River and Portland lights.
3,264 square feet, 3 bay garage with
storage room. 1,632 square feet of
private living quarters in day light
basement for provider or resident
manager. 10,000 sf. Full 1/4 acre
lot. Contact Marsha Ervin @
marshaervin@aol.com or call at 360835-0120 for pictures and information.
Opportunity to Lease/Purchase
Is it time to Expand your Business? This
is your opportunity! Investment
with immediate income CHOW
ready. Bring your passion and skill to
our industry.
Established AFH For Sale in
Yakima, WA
Adult Family Home For Sale in
Yakima, WA
Licensed for 6 clients, currently full.
Business up and running nicely.
Asking $175,000 for business and
take over lease on house of $1,500 a
month. For pictures and more details
email me at bogwon1961@q.com
or call me at 509-833-0748.
AFH For Sale in
Rural Port Orchard, WA
6 Bed AFH Established 2006, Dementia
Specialty, Business up
and running nicely. For Sale $250,000 /
Lease options or $300,000 Owner to
Carry Contract.
The Home is AMAZING! Built for Street
of Dreams, home is upscale to say the
least. 4,750 sq ft, plus 1,100 sq ft
garage. radiate heat, 2 laundry
rooms, Garment Kitchen: granite,
Sub Zero, Wolf. Home has Anderson
windows, 50 yr roof, fire resistant
siding, hardwood, carpet
and Italian tile Kitchenette for residents
and families. Live in Caregiver room, roll
in showers for residents, automatic Gen
-set Generator all on shy 5 acres that
has a panoramic skyview of the
Cascades. Court yard, Trex decks
for outdoor activities and plenty of
room for entertainment. Home has
alarm system and master suite has
amazing luxury bathroom. This home
has it all! Willing to do long term lease
$5,000 mo/purchase $925,000.
Contact: mariamzinn@paths-afh.com
Licensed for 5 beds (space to grow) sits
on 2.2 acres, large gambrel roof garage
completely finished inside. Home in
business 15 years with mainly DD
Specialty. Call Richard for details @ cell #
360.981.3271.
Not getting Adult Family Home
Council’s newsletters in your email
inbox?
Please let us know and we will get you
started right away!
Register for email newsletters and
alerts by contacting us at
info@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org
Page 18
Your Adult Family Home Council Team
Del Miles ~ Board President
w2godiving@charter.net - (509) 728-1484
John Ficker ~ Executive Director
john@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org - (360) 754-3329
Maria Chiechi ~ Executive Assistant & Legislative Coordinator
maria@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org - (360) 754-3329
SAVE THE DATE!
2016 Annual Conference!
OCTOBER 20 & 21, 2016
TULALIP RESORT & CASINO
Susan Zarenski ~ Member Services/Education Specialist
susan@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org - (360) 754-3329
Bryon Dahl ~ Office Manager
bryon@adultfamilyhomecouncil.org - (360) 754-3329
523 Pear Street SE, Olympia, WA 98501
Toll Free - 1-888-439-8999
Fax - 360-943-6653
www.adultfamilyhomecouncil.org
Code of Ethics for Adult Family Home Providers
This Code of Ethics for Adult Family Home Providers has been developed as a guide for carrying out provider
responsibilities in a manner consistent with professional values and moral standards which define the essentials of
honorable behavior for the Adult Family Home Provider.
As Adult Family Home Providers we want the public to acknowledge us as professionals. Part of this process is to
develop a system of ethical codes of conduct and standards of practice that incorporate our principles and values
regarding quality care. Through their Associations and working with fellow members:

An Adult Family Home Provider recognizes and respects the dignity of residents without consideration for race,
religion, gender, sexual orientation, social or economic status.

An Adult Family Home Provider, while honoring the residents’ rights to self determination, will promote and
protect the rights of all their residents.

An Adult Family Home Provider is responsible and accountable for their individual practice and determining how
they deliver optimum care to their residents.

An Adult Family Home Provider acknowledges the responsibility to protect their own integrity, maintain
competence in their field, and continue their personal and professional growth.

An Adult Family Home Providers will promote their profession with continued education and political action in
shaping the WACs and rules that govern their profession.