DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL AND HEALTH SERVICES (DSHS)
The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) regulates facilities and individuals who care for vulnerable adults. The Department investigates allegations of abuse, neglect, and financial exploitation of vulnerable adults by their caregivers. A finding of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult results in a prohibition on working in the care of and having unsupervised access to vulnerable adults and children. Such a finding can destroy not only one’s prospects for a career working in licensed facilities, but also one’s ability to become a foster parent or even volunteer at their child’s school.
Sometimes, a caregiver or a facility might be unaware that it is regulated by DSHS because it has only interacted with the Department’s sub-agencies, which include Adult Protective Services (APS), Residential Care Services (RCS), Resident and Client Protection Program (RCPP), Home and Community Services (HCS), Child Protective Services (CPS), and the Aging and Disability Services Administration (ADSA). These bodies and the people they regulate are all governed by DSHS regulations. Few Washington attorneys are very familiar with this complex regulatory scheme. Attorney Adam Scott has successfully defended many clients against negative actions by DSHS. If DSHS (or any of its sub-agencies) notifies you that you are under investigation or that it has made an adverse finding against you, please contact Adam Scott right away.
The Department of Social and Health Services (DSHS) regulates caregivers working in the facilities it licenses, which include:
o Adult Family Homes (AFH)
o Assisted Living Facilities
o Nursing Homes
Individuals who contract with the state to care for DSHS clients, such as Registered Nurse Delegators and Individual Providers, are also required to comply with DSHS regulations.
Regulation of Healthcare Providers by DSHS
Although DSHS does not license healthcare professionals or determine standard of medical care, certain negative actions by DSHS are of particular concern to professionals licensed by the Department of Health (DOH). DOH is responsible for ensuring that healthcare providers are able to practice with a reasonable amount of skill and safety. And, DOH rules direct the Department to summarily suspend the license of any healthcare provider who is prohibited from having unsupervised access to or working in the care of vulnerable adults based on a finding of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation of a vulnerable adult.
Many negative actions by DSHS have no bearing on a healthcare provider’s ability to skillfully and safely practice his or her profession. But, once DSHS enters a final finding of abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation against an individual who happens to hold a healthcare license, that license will be suspended pending proceedings by the body designated by DOH as the “disciplinary authority” for their profession. Attorney Adam Scott helps healthcare providers keep their licenses in spite of DSHS action against them.