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WASHINGTON · CARE PROGRAM

Adult Family Homes

Caregivers, entity representatives and resident managers; volunteers, students, noncaregiving staff and household members over 11 with unsupervised access get the state check only (chapter 388-76 WAC).

AFH · ON FILE
Registries named
6
Required
1
Expected
5
Screened by ezOIG
4 of 6
Rules checked
October 16, 2026

Required checks

Named by a regulation, a statute or the state's Medicaid agency

  1. DSHS background check (Background Check Central Unit)

    Department of Social and Health Services, Background Check Central Unit

    NOT SCREENED YET Requires an employer account
    WHEN
    AT HIRE Before employment, then every two years; FBI fingerprint check at hire for caregivers, entity representatives and resident managers
    BASIS
    WAC 388-76-10161, 388-76-10165, 388-76-10180; RCW 74.39A.056(2)(a)

    (1) A Washington state name and date of birth background check is valid for two years from the initial date it is conducted. The adult family home must ensure: (a) A new DSHS background authorization form is submitted to the department's background check central unit every two years for each individual listed in WAC 388-76-10161;

    Read the source app.leg.wa.gov

Expected checks

Standard practice, or implied by a provider's enrollment duties; no rule names them outright

  1. List of Excluded Individuals/Entities

    HHS Office of Inspector General

    SCREENED BY EZOIG Federal exclusion check against the HHS-OIG list
    WHEN
    MONTHLY At hire and monthly
    BASIS
    CMS State Medicaid Director Letter #09-001; no Washington rule found for adult family homes

  2. Provider Termination and Exclusion List

    Washington State Health Care Authority and Department of Social and Health Services

    SCREENED BY EZOIG State Medicaid exclusion list check
    WHEN
    MONTHLY At hire and monthly
    BASIS
    Standard practice for homes serving Medicaid residents; the DSHS social services listing covers terminated adult family homes

  3. Provider Credential Search

    Washington State Department of Health

    SCREENED BY EZOIG License verification
    WHEN
    AT HIRE At hire, home care aide certification or the exempting nursing credential
    BASIS
    Implied by WAC 388-76-10146(3), (5): caregivers must hold home care aide certification unless an RN, LPN or certified nursing assistant

  4. Washington State Registered Sex and Kidnapping Offender website

    Washington Association of Sheriffs and Police Chiefs

    NOT SCREENED YET The registry blocks automated access
    WHEN
    AT HIRE At hire
    BASIS
    Implied by WAC 388-76-10180(1)(c)(ii): a registered sex offender may not be employed

  5. SAM.gov exclusions

    General Services Administration

    SCREENED BY EZOIG Federal exclusion check against SAM.gov
    WHEN
    MONTHLY At hire and monthly
    BASIS
    Standard practice for Medicaid providers; no Washington rule names it

Also required

Not registry lookups; ezOIG doesn't run these
  • National fingerprint background check through BCCU for caregivers, entity representatives and resident managers hired after 7 January 2012 (WAC 388-76-10161(2)(b), 388-76-10165(2))
  • Training and home care aide certification (WAC 388-76-10146; chapter 388-112A WAC)
  • Current first aid and CPR cards (WAC 388-76-10135(7), (8))
  • Tuberculosis screening (WAC 388-76-10135(9))

Why some registries are not screened yet

The registry blocks automated access
The registry's website turns away automated lookups. We don't work around that, so for now your staff search it themselves.
Requires an employer account
Searches go through the employer's own account with the agency, so ezOIG doesn't run them for you.

Guidance, not legal advice

This page summarizes ezOIG's research into Washington's rules for this program, checked against the regulations as of October 16, 2026. Rules change, and an agency's own contract or license can add to them. Confirm what applies to you with Washington State Health Care Authority (Apple Health) or your own counsel before relying on it.

Screen for Washington AFH.

Choose this program when you set up your organization, and ezOIG runs the registries it screens on your schedule.

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