When must a long-term care worker or certified home care aide complete continuing education?
(1) All long-term care workers who are certified home care aides must comply with the continuing education requirements under chapter
246-980 WAC.
(2) Long-term care workers, who are exempt from home care aide certification as described in RCW
18.88B.041, unless exempt from continuing education as described under WAC
388-71-1001 must complete and provide documentation of 12 hours of continuing education within 45 calendar days of being hired or by the long-term care worker's birthday in the calendar year hired, whichever is later; and
(a) Must complete 12 hours of continuing education by the long-term care worker's birthday each calendar year worked thereafter; or
(b) If the 45 calendar day time period allows the long-term care worker to complete continuing education in January or February of the following year, the credit hours earned will be applied to the calendar year in which the long-term care worker was hired.
(3) If the renewal period following initial certification as a home care aide or nursing assistant (NA-C), is less than a full year from the date of certification, no continuing education will be due for the first renewal period.
(4) For long-term care workers who are caring for a biological, step, or adoptive parent, continuing education must be completed on or before their birthday in the year after basic training was completed. If these long-term care workers have not worked in long-term care for a calendar year or longer, the worker can complete the continuing education requirement as provided in subsection (2) of this section.
[Statutory Authority: RCW
18.20.270,
70.128.230,
74.08.090,
74.39A.070, and
74.39A.074. WSR 23-01-022, § 388-71-0991, filed 12/9/22, effective 1/9/23. Statutory Authority: RCW
74.08.090,
74.09.520,
43.43.832,
74.39A.270,
74.39A.056,
74.39A.074,
43.20A.710,
74.39A.525,
43.43.842,
74.39A.326,
74.39A.515,
74.39A.505,
18.88B.021,
43.43.837 and 2018 c 278. WSR 21-18-081, § 388-71-0991, filed 8/30/21, effective 10/1/21. Statutory Authority: RCW
74.08.090,
74.09.520. WSR 13-02-023, § 388-71-0991, filed 12/20/12, effective 1/20/13.]