The secretary may produce and maintain an individual service plan for each eligible person. An individual service plan is a plan that identifies the needs of a person for services and determines what services will be in the best interests of the person and will meet the person's needs.

The secretary may provide a service to a person eligible under this title if funds are available. If there is an individual service plan, the secretary shall consider the need for services as provided in that plan.

An eligible person or the person's legal representative may reject an authorized service. Rejection of an authorized service shall not affect the person's eligibility for services and shall not eliminate the person from consideration for other services or for the same service at a different time or under different circumstances.

(1) A person who is receiving a service under this title or the person's legal representative may request the secretary to authorize a service that is available under this title in place of a service that the person is presently receiving.

(2) The secretary upon receiving a request for change of service shall consult in the manner provided in RCW 71A.10.070 and within ninety days shall determine whether the following criteria are met:

(a) The alternative plan proposes a less dependent program than the person is participating in under current service;

(b) The alternative service is appropriate under the goals and objectives of the person's individual service plan;

(c) The alternative service is not in violation of applicable state and federal law; and

(d) The service can reasonably be made available.

(3) If the requested alternative service meets all of the criteria of subsection (2) of this section, the service shall be authorized as soon as reasonable, but not later than one hundred twenty days after completion of the determination process, unless the secretary determines that:

(a) The alternative plan is more costly than the current plan;

(b) Current appropriations are not sufficient to implement the alternative service without reducing services to existing clients; or

(c) Providing alternative service would take precedence over other priorities for delivery of service.

(4) The secretary shall give notice as provided in RCW 71A.10.060 of the grant of a request for a change of service. The secretary shall give notice as provided in RCW 71A.10.060 of denial of a request for change of service and of the right to an adjudicative proceeding.

(5)(a) When the secretary has changed service from a residential habilitation center to a setting other than a residential habilitation center, the secretary shall reauthorize service at the residential habilitation center if the secretary in reevaluating the needs of the person finds that the person needs service in a residential habilitation center.

(b) A person who has moved from a residential habilitation center that has closed to a community-based setting shall be offered a right to return to a residential habilitation center during the first year following their move to the community.

(6) If the secretary determines that current appropriations are sufficient to deliver additional services without reducing services to persons who are presently receiving services, the secretary is authorized to give persons notice under RCW 71A.10.060 that they may request the services as new services or as changes of services under this section.

Findings—Intent—Conflict with federal requirements—2011 1st sp.s. c 30: See notes following RCW 71A.20.010.

Effective date—1989 c 175: See note following RCW 34.05.010.

(1) When considering the discontinuance of a service that is being provided to a person, the secretary shall consult as required in RCW 71A.10.070.

(2) The discontinuance of a service under this section does not affect the person's eligibility for services. Other services may be provided or the same service may be restored when it is again available or when it is again needed.

(3) Except when the service is discontinued at the request of the person receiving the service or that person's legal representative, the secretary shall give notice as required in RCW 71A.10.060.

(1) Expenditures for the individual and family services waiver and the basic plus waiver administered under Title 71A RCW must be considered by the governor and the legislature for inclusion in maintenance level budgets beginning with the governor's budget proposal submitted in December 2022 and funding for these expenditures are subject to amounts appropriated for this specific purpose. The department of social and health services must annually submit a budget request for these expenditures.

(2) Beginning with the governor's budget proposal submitted in December 2022 and within the department's existing appropriations, the department of social and health services must annually submit a budget request for expenditures for the number of individuals who are expected to reside in state-operated living alternatives administered by the developmental disabilities administration under Title 71A RCW.

Findings—Intent—2022 c 219: "(1) The legislature finds that the recommendations in the December 2019 report, "Rethinking Intellectual and Developmental Disability Policy to Empower Clients, Develop Providers, and Improve Services" and recommendations in the 2021 preliminary report of the joint executive and legislative task force established in chapter 317, Laws of 2020 are the product of deliberations among a diverse and dedicated group of stakeholders and are critical to advancing the continuum of care for individuals with developmental disabilities.

(2) The legislature intends to continue efforts to expand community residential settings and supports with the goals of reducing the risk of federal divestment from Washington's intermediate care facilities and delivering appropriate care to clients of the developmental disabilities administration. To that end, the legislature finds that a reliable network of community providers is critical to meeting these goals and that community residential rates must be established at appropriate levels to ensure that individuals with intellectual and developmental disabilities have community residential options that appropriately address their needs and ensure stable, permanent outcomes.

(3) The legislature also finds that it is imperative that internal processes within the department of social and health services, including those that guide eligibility determinations, assess hours of service delivery, and measure quality of providers, be examined to ensure that these systems function in the most streamlined and efficient manner with the goal of achieving a system that has greater consistency with regard to expectations and requirements of providers and that is structured to be more person-centered and user-friendly at interface." [ 2022 c 219 s 1.]