Sponsored by Rep. Carolyn Eslick, R-Sultan, House Bill 2505 addresses a gap in state law that can require foster parents to obtain an adult family home license if they continue caring for young adults with daily living needs after age 18.
House Bill 2505 was approved 96-0. It now moves to the Senate for further consideration.
The adult family home licensing system is designed for commercial care facilities, not family homes, and can be costly or impractical to meet, a news release from Eslick stated.
The bill, requested by the Washington state Department of Social and Health Services, creates a narrow exemption from adult family home licensure for long-term foster parents and child-specific caregivers who already meet existing safety and licensing standards, according to the release.
The exemption applies only when care is provided exclusively to former foster youth, the caregiver has no substantiated findings from child or adult protective services, and there is no pending or prior adverse licensing action.
“When a young person is aging out of foster care and wants to stay with the family who raised them, the law shouldn’t stand in the way,” Eslick said. “These foster parents have already met rigorous standards and done everything right. Requiring them to become a licensed adult family home just to keep caring for a young person they love is unnecessary. This bill fixes that and keeps families together.”
