The following definitions are for the purpose of this chapter and important to understanding these requirements:
"Abuse or neglect" means the same as defined in RCW 26.44.020.
"Agency" means the same as defined in RCW 74.15.020.
"Applicants" means individuals applying to receive a kinship license.
"Asexual" means the lack of a sexual attraction or desire for other individuals.
"Bisexual" means individuals who have an emotional or physical attraction to individuals of the same and different genders.
"Caregivers" means applicants for kinship licenses or licensed kinship caregivers.
"Case plans" means a written document followed by the children's or youth's parents, kinship caregivers, foster parents, and all other caregivers.
"Caseworkers" means primary agency workers assigned to children or youth through the department or another government agency including tribal governments.
"Certification" means:
(a) Kinship or foster homes supervised by a CPA that meet the licensing requirements; or
(b) Individuals approved by the department as certified respite providers.
"Chapter" means chapter 110-149 WAC.
"Child placing agency (CPA)" means agencies or tribes licensed to place children or youth for foster care or adoption and may be contracted by the department to provide professional therapeutic foster care (PTFC) services.
"Children" or "youth" means individuals who are one of the following:
(a) Younger than 18 years of age;
(b) Kindergarten to 18 years of age residing in a residential private school;
(c) Up to 21 years of age and enrolled in services through the department of social and health services developmental disabilities administration (DDA) the day prior to their 18th birthday and pursuing either a:
(i) High school or equivalency course of study; or
(ii) Vocational program;
(d) Up to 21 years of age and participating in the extended foster care (EFC) program;
(e) Up to 21 years of age with intellectual and developmental disabilities; or
(f) Up to 25 years of age and in the custody of the juvenile rehabilitation division.
"Child-specific license" means the same as defined in RCW 74.15.125.
"Cisgender" means an individual whose gender identity aligns with those typically associated with the sex assigned to them at birth.
"Department" means the Washington state department of children, youth, and families.
"Firearms" means a weapon or device designed to cause bodily harm or physical damage from which projectiles may be fired by an explosive such as gunpowder. These include, but are not limited to, handguns, rifles, and shotguns.
"Foster homes" or "foster parents" means individuals licensed through chapter 110-148 WAC to regularly provide 24-hour care in their home to children or youth.
"Gay" means a sexual orientation to describe individuals who are emotionally or physically attracted to someone of the same gender. Gay is sometimes an umbrella term for the LGBTQIA+ community.
"Gender expression" means individuals' outward communication of their gender through behavior or appearance. This may or may not conform to their sex assigned at birth or socially defined behaviors and characteristics typically associated with being either masculine or feminine.
"Gender fluid" means individuals whose gender identities are flexible, not permanent.
"Gender" or "gender identity" means an individual's inner sense of being a female, male, a blend of both or neither, or another gender. This may or may not correspond with an individual's sex assigned at birth.
"Guardians" means the same as defined in RCW 13.34.030.
"Hearings" means the same as defined in WAC 110-03-0020.
"Heterosexual" means an individual who is exclusively attracted to individuals of the opposite sex or gender.
"Household members" means anyone living in the licensed home or living on the licensed property who has unsupervised access to children or youth.
"Indian children" means the same as defined in WAC 110-110-0010.
"Infants" means a child from birth to one year old.
"Initial licenses" means the same as defined in RCW 74.15.120.
"Intersex" means an umbrella term used to describe a wide range of natural bodily variations when the body is born with a combination of chromosomes, internal organs, or external genitalia that do not develop as expected.
"Interstate Compact on the Placement of Children (ICPC)" means the agreement enacted into law in all 50 states, the District of Columbia, and the U.S. Virgin Islands that establishes processes and requirements to:
(a) Provide protection and services to children and youth placed across state lines; and
(b) Verify interstate placements remain safe, suitable, and in the children's or youth's best interest.
"Kinship licenses" means child-specific licenses as defined in RCW 74.15.125.
"Lesbians" means females or women who have an emotional or physical attraction for other females or women.
"LGBTQIA+" means lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual. The "+" represents identities not specifically named in the LGBTQIA acronym, e.g., pansexual, gender nonbinary, and two-spirit.
"License" means a permit issued by the department when a kinship caregiver and their home meet the licensing requirements established in this chapter.
"Licensed health care providers" means medical doctors, doctors of osteopathy, doctors of naturopathy, physician assistants, or advanced registered nurse practitioners.
"Licensed kinship care" or "licensed kinship caregivers" means the full-time care of children or youth by licensed relatives, suitable persons, or relatives defined by tribal code or custom.
"Licensing division (LD)" means the division within the department that licenses and monitors foster homes, licensed kinship homes, residential private schools, CPAs, and licensed group care facilities.
"Licensors" means either:
(a) LD employees who recommend approvals for or monitor licenses or certifications for foster homes, licensed kinship homes, residential private schools, facilities, and agencies established under this chapter; or
(b) CPA employees who certify or monitor foster homes supervised by the CPA.
"Medically fragile" means the condition of a child or youth who requires the availability of 24-hour skilled care from a health care professional or specially trained family or foster family member. If the technology, support, and services being received by the medically fragile children or youth are interrupted or denied, they may, without immediate health care intervention, experience death. These conditions may be present all the time or frequently occurring.
"Missing children" means any child or youth under the placement, care, and authority of the department whose whereabouts are unknown or who have left care without the permission of their caregiver or the department. This does not include children or youth in dependency guardianships.
"Nonbinary" is a term of self-identification for individuals who do not identify within the limited and binary terms that have described gender identity, e.g., female and male. Nonbinary is also an umbrella term for many identities such as gender expansive, gender fluid, and genderqueer.
"Other weapons" means instruments other than firearms intentionally designed to cause bodily harm or physical damage. These include, but are not limited to, BB guns, pellet guns, air rifles, stun guns, and archery equipment.
"Out-of-home care" means the same as defined in RCW 13.34.030.
"Over-the-counter medications" means drugs that can be obtained without a prescription and their use is not restricted by a licensed health care provider. For the purpose of this chapter this includes, but is not limited to, herbal supplements, vitamins, eye drops, ointments, and pain relievers.
"Parents" means the same as defined in RCW 26.26A.010.
"Permanency plan" means the decision regarding the placement of children or youth resulting from a permanency hearing as defined in RCW 13.34.136.
"Property" or "premises" means homes, buildings, and grounds, including those adjacent to the residential property that are owned, rented, or managed by the applicant or licensee.
"Provisional expedited kinship license" means a license issued to kinship caregivers who meet the requirements outlined in RCW 74.15.127 and WAC 110-149-0390.
"Prudent parent" means the same as defined in RCW 74.13.710, or as defined by the tribe.
"Psychotropic medications" means a type of medicine prescribed to affect or alter thought processes, mood, sleep, or behavior. These include antipsychotic, antidepressant, and antianxiety medications.
"Queer" means LGBTQIA+ identities and orientations. The term is sometimes used as an umbrella term for all LGBTQIA+ individuals.
"Questioning" means individuals who are exploring their sexual orientation, gender identity, or gender expression at any age.
"Relatives" means the same as defined in RCW 13.36.020(5), described in RCW 74.15.020(2) and 11.130.010(32), or caregivers of Indian children or youth who are defined by their tribal code or custom as relatives or extended family.
"Respite" means the same as defined in RCW 74.13.270 including, but not limited to, appropriate, temporary, short-term care provided by an in-home or out-of-home provider paid by the department.
"Sexual orientation" means an individual's emotional or physical attraction to other individuals.
"Sexual orientation, gender identity, and expression (SOGIE)" means distinct identifiers everyone has. LGBTQIA+ is a sub-distinction within SOGIE self-identifiers. SOGIE includes LGBTQIA+ as well as heterosexual, cisgender, and nonquestioning individuals.
"Suitable persons" means nonrelatives with whom the child or youth, or the child's or youth's family, has a preexisting relationship; who have completed all required criminal history background checks and otherwise appear to be suitable and competent to provide care for the child or youth, and with whom they have been placed, per RCW 13.34.130.
"Transgender" means an umbrella term for individuals whose gender identity or expression is different from cultural expectations based on the sex they were assigned at birth. Gender-affirming medical care is not a prerequisite to identify as transgender. Being transgender does not imply any specific sexual orientation.
"Two-spirit" means a modern umbrella term used by some Native Americans to describe Native American individuals in their communities who fulfill a traditional third-gender or other gender-variant, ceremonial, and social role in their cultures. Being two-spirit does not imply any specific sexual orientation.