(1) The department may issue a provisional certification to a long-term care worker who is limited-English proficient and submits:
- (a) A request for a provisional certification; and
(b) Verification of his or her date of hire as a long-term care worker, as follows:
- (i) For individual providers, verification of the applicant's date of hire submitted directly by the department of social and health services; or
- (ii) For all other applicants, a form supplied by the department and completed by the employer who hired the applicant as a long-term care worker, verifying the applicant's date of hire.
- (2) A provisional certification will be issued only once.
- (3) A provisional certification will take effect 365 calendar days from the applicant's date of hire as a long-term care worker, as defined in WAC 246-980-010(2).
- (4) A provisional certification will expire 425 calendar days from the applicant's date of hire as a long-term care worker. The applicant must stop working after 425 days of employment if the certification has not been granted for any reason. This timeline goes into effect August 25, 2025, through December 31, 2027. This timeline applies to a pending applicant or a new applicant who has submitted an original application for certification as a home care aide by December 31, 2027.
- (5) A request for provisional certification may be denied pursuant to chapter 18.130 RCW, the Uniform Disciplinary Act, or based on RCW 18.88B.080.
- (6) For the purposes of this section, "limited-English proficient" means that an individual is limited in his or her ability to read, write, or speak English.
[Statutory Authority: RCW 18.88B.021, 18.88B.022, 18.88B.035, 18.88B.041, 18.88B.060, 2025 c 18, and 2025 c 341. WSR 26-12-065, s 246-980-065, filed 6/2/26, effective 7/3/26. Statutory Authority: RCW 18.88B.060. WSR 16-09-004, § 246-980-065, filed 4/7/16, effective 5/8/16. Statutory Authority: 2013 c 259 and RCW 18.88B.035. WSR 14-09-002, § 246-980-065, filed 4/3/14, effective 5/4/14.]