Informal Dispute Resolution For Adult Family Homes

For those Adult Family Home [AFH] Providers who have minor issues with Residential Care Services [RCS] imposing sanctions because of a misunderstanding or when rebuttal evidence was not properly before the inspector before any Statement of Deficiencies may have been issued, the Informal Dispute Resolution [IDR] process might be an affordable option. However, do not consider this route for significant actions or if there may be related findings made by Adult Protective Services that arise out of the same facts or circumstances—you will want to err on the side of requesting a hearing instead, of all the matters to be heard together for the efficiency of time and money, and where you can create a formal record that can be appealed if needed. As of September 29, 2020, RCS concluded that the AFH Pilot Project for IDR was a success, to be implemented permanently as of January 1, 2021. See the Dear Provider Letter here. The general guidelines are posted here but are being adjusted along the way to be consistent with relevant WAC and RCW. The panel IDR request appears to give the most benefit to the AFH provider, where the panel is composed of one AFH provider, one RCS staff, and one consumer advocate, but this option is only available if the AFH is challenging three or fewer citations. It will be interesting to see statistics on outcomes as they develop, to evaluate any benefits of participating. Regardless, AFH providers should seek the advice of counsel for their specific situation.