Streamlining the home care worker background check process.

 S-0598.1

SENATE BILL 5531

State of Washington

69th Legislature

2025 Regular Session

By Senators Chapman, Bateman, Conway, Frame, Krishnadasan, Lovelett, Nobles, Stanford, and Valdez

Read first time 01/28/25. Referred to Committee on Health & Long-Term Care.

AN ACT Relating to streamlining the home care worker background check process; and amending RCW 43.20A.715 and 74.39A.056 .

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON:

Sec. 1. RCW 43.20A.715 and 2023 c 470 s 3014 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Where the department is required to screen a long-term care worker, contracted provider, or licensee through a background check to determine whether the person has a history that would disqualify the person from having unsupervised access to, working with, or providing supervision, care, or treatment to vulnerable adults or children, the department may not automatically disqualify a person on the basis of a criminal record that includes a conviction of any of the following crimes once the specified amount of time has passed for the particular crime: