Washington Relative Placements
Washington conducts the following types of home studies:
- Relative Care
- Foster Care
- Parent Care
- Foster- Adopt
- Adoption
- Other
Non-relative/kinship families must be foster licensed.
Relative Home Study
Define Relative:
Any blood relative, including those of half-blood, and including first cousins, second cousins, nephews or nieces, and persons of preceding generations as denoted by prefixes of grand, great, or great-great;
(ii) Stepfather, stepmother, stepbrother, and stepsister;
(iii) A person who legally adopts a child or the child's parent as well as the natural and other legally adopted children of such persons, and other relatives of the adoptive parents in accordance with state law;
(iv) Spouses of any persons named in (i), (ii), or (iii) of this subsection (2)(a), even after the marriage is terminated;
(v) Relatives, as named in (i), (ii), (iii), or (iv) of this subsection (2)(a), of any half sibling of the child; or
(vi) Extended family members, as defined by the law or custom of the Indian child's tribe or, in the absence of such law or custom, a person who has reached the age of eighteen and who is the Indian child's grandparent, aunt or uncle, brother or sister, brother-in-law or sister-in-law, niece or nephew, first or second cousin, or stepparent who provides care in the family abode on a twenty-four-hour basis to an Indian child as defined in 25 U.S.C. Sec. 1903(4);
Relatives must be licensed:
Proof of Paternity Required for Placement with Paternal Relative:
Washington considers the following types and degrees of relation as relative placements. Individuals related in the 1st degree, 2nd degree, 3rd degree and 4th degree (You may need to refer to your state's consanguinity chart or state statute to determine relations or relative status.):
- 1st Degree (mother, father, sister, brother, son, daughter)
- 2nd Degree (grandmother, grandfather, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, first cousin)
- 3rd Degree (great grandmother, great grandfather, great aunt, great uncle, grand-niece, grand nephew, second cousin)
- 4th Degree (great, great-grandmother, great, great-grandfather, great, great aunt, great, great aunt, great, great uncle, great grand-niece, great grand nephew, third cousin)
- Godmother, Godfather
- Other
Regulation 7 Priority Placement
Washington performs priority placements:
Wait Time (ICPC Interstate Home Study)
Average length of time to process and complete a home study with criminal background checks for an interstate placement (Not including completion of education training):
Wait time to complete Home Study, only (without criminal records check):
Washington determines the "Date of Receipt" for an interstate home study as:
Method of requesting, sending, and/or reporting an interstate home study
|
Regular Mail |
Express Mail |
Overnight Mail |
Electronic Mail |
| Send request for a home study to Receiving State |
y |
|
|
|
| Send home study request to Local office |
y |
|
|
y |
| Send home study report to Sending State |
y |
|
|
y |
Criminal Records Checks
Washington requires criminal background checks for the following home studies:
- Foster Care
- Relative Care
- Relative-Foster Care
- Foster-Adopt
- Adoption
- Parent
Types of Checks (Crim. & Abuse Neglect Registry)
Washington requires the following types of criminal background and perpetrator checks (Federal (F), State (S), Local (L), Abuse and Neglect Registry (ANR), Not Required (NR))
|
Federal |
State |
Local |
ANR |
NR |
| Parent |
|
y |
y |
y |
|
| Relative |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
| Foster Care |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
| Adoption |
y |
y |
y |
y |
|
Wait Time for Criminal Records Checks
Wait time for fingerprint results are:
Live Scan or other technology
- State: 15-30 days
- Local/County: 15-30 days
Manually - Fingerprint Card
- State: 15-30 days
- Local/County: 15-30 days
Average length of time to process and complete a home study with criminal background checks for an interstate placement (Not including completion of education training):
Verification of Criminal Records Results
- Signature verifying background check completed
Wait Time - (License/ Certification/ Approval - Education and Training)
Average Length of time it takes for a home to be licensed/approved/certified:
Length of time a license is valid before renewal required:
Washington offers classes (education and training) for placement resources' homes to become licensed/certified/approved:
- Other: Orientation, Caregiver Core Training classes and ongoing training are offered by geographical location around the state.
