1. (1) Caregivers must provide children and youth the right to privacy including, but not limited to, personal mail, electronic mail, and phone calls unless the:

   1. (a) Children's or youth's caseworkers ask caregivers to provide monitoring; or
   2. (b) Court approves monitoring as part of the child's or youth's case plan.

2. (2) Caregivers:

   1. (a) Are prohibited from using video and audio to monitor children or youth in care inside licensed kinship caregiver's homes, unless the criteria in (b) of this subsection or the following conditions are met:

      1. (i) The LD senior administrator approves the use of electronic monitoring devices; or
      2. (ii) The court approves the implementation of video or audio monitoring as part of the children's or youth's case plan;

   2. (b) May use:

      1. (i) Audio or visual monitoring of children or youth in care inside the licensed kinship caregiver's home for the following:

         1. (A) Children, birth through four years of age;
         2. (B) Medically fragile or sick children or youth;
         3. (C) To document actions of children or youth directed in writing by their licensed health care provider using video recording equipment; and
         4. (D) Door or window alarms or motion detectors; and

      2. (ii) Recording for children's or youth's normal childhood events inside or outside of the licensed kinship caregiver's home including, but not limited to:

         1. (A) Birthdays;
         2. (B) Vacations;
         3. (C) Extracurricular activities; and
         4. (D) First day of school.

[Statutory Authority: Chapters 13.34, 74.13, 74.15 RCW, and 45 C.F.R. ss 1355 and 1356. WSR 25-12-071, s 110-149-0240, filed 5/30/25, effective 6/30/25.]