Oppose House Bill 2027

In this proposed legislation DSHS would be required to speak to the neighbors of an adult family home. We are concerned that any such interview could unintentionally violate the privacy rights of the residents.

The Department’s role in an investigation is to ensure the safety of the residents and compliance with the licensing statute. It is out of scope for the department to regulate neighborhood related concerns, unless it adversely impacts the quality of care or safety of the residents.

Additionally, we want to note that WAC section 388-76 addresses the requirement of an adult family home to abide by all local laws and ordnances and remain homelike in nature.  WAC 388-76-10745 and 10750 addresses these requirements.

We are unaware of a clearly defined problem this legislation attempts to resolve.

We have read the city of Lakewood’s 2017 report about adult family homes and find many faulty assumptions about what an adult family home is.  We have reached out to both the city of Lakewood and the Association of Washington Cities in hopes of starting a dialogue to improve the understanding of what an adult family home is and how they can best fit into the communities they hope to serve. The Council is open to working with the City of Lakewood or any jurisdiction to ensure our members are able to work well with their neighbors to be a positive and successful addition to the community.

Please write you representatives and tell them to oppose HB 2027.

Here are the basic talking points:

  • DSHS does not have the authority to regulate neighborhood concerns
  • It is a potential violation of resident’s privacy
  • Statue already requires compliance with local codes and ordinances.

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