Before providing care
5 hours orientation + safety (RCW 74.39A.074)
Basic training
70 hours within 120 days — supported living: 40-hr DDA curriculum + 30 population-specific
Before working alone
Client plans, emergency procedures, abuse reporting, confidentiality (WAC 388-101D-0095)
First aid & CPR
Within 60 days of hire; CPR kept current (WAC 388-829-0015)
Every year
12 hours of continuing education (RCW 74.39A.341)
Abuse reporting
Mandated reporter — END HARM 1-866-363-4276 (RCW 74.34)
Washington treats DSPs as long-term care workers with a statutory training clock: 2 hours of orientation and 3 hours of safety training before being eligible to provide care, then 70 hours of basic training within 120 calendar days of hire (RCW 74.39A.074). For certified community residential programs — supported living — the 70 hours are specific: a 40-hour DDA-developed residential services curriculum plus 30 hours of population-specific training (WAC 388-829). After that, 12 hours of continuing education every year. RNs, LPNs, and CNAs are among the exempt categories.
Most Washington long-term care workers need the DOH Home Care Aide credential — but RCW 18.88B.041 exempts long-term care workers employed by community residential service businesses. Supported living DSPs complete the 75-hour pathway instead of the HCA exam. Staff in DDA group homes licensed as adult family homes or assisted living facilities generally do need HCA certification, and AFH caregivers follow the WAC 388-112A training track with developmental disabilities specialty training. Which lane your agency is in — certified or licensed — decides your staff's entire training map.
Washington makes readiness a regulatory gate: before working alone with clients, supported living staff must be trained on the current individual instruction and support plans of each client they support, each client's emergency procedures, abuse and neglect reporting under RCW 74.34, and client confidentiality (WAC 388-101D-0095). First aid and CPR follow on a 60-day clock, with CPR kept current.
Every residential employee is a mandated reporter under the Abuse of Vulnerable Adults Act (RCW 74.34). Abandonment, abuse, neglect, or financial exploitation → report immediately to DSHS via END HARM, 1-866-363-4276. Sexual assault → law enforcement AND DSHS, immediately. Physical assault generally requires law enforcement too. Suspected child abuse goes to law enforcement or DCYF within 48 hours (RCW 26.44.030) — and provider incident reports to DDA under Policy 6.12 are a separate, additional lane.
Unlicensed staff may provide medication assistance — reminding, opening, handing — while the client places the medication in their own mouth (WAC 246-945-710 through -718). Actual administration requires RN nurse delegation to a certified nursing assistant or home care aide with core delegation training (RCW 18.79.260), and the law is explicit about the ceiling: other than delegated insulin injections, medication administration by injection, sterile procedures, and central line maintenance may never be delegated.
New to Washington's system? See our guide to becoming a supported living provider in Washington.
DSPlife™ TrainingHub is built for DSHS/DDA, DDS, IDHS/DDD, OPWDD, MDHHS, DDD, DBHDD, APD, DODD, DMH/DD/SUS, ODP, HHSC, and DBHDS providers. Its Washington library ships with courses your staff can complete on their own schedule — the DDA system and the PCSP, vulnerable-adult mandated reporting, incident reporting, client rights, positive behavior support, the medication ladder, and a full orientation to the 75-hour pathway — logs completion, tracks the 120-day, 60-day, and annual CE clocks with automatic alerts, and generates audit-ready records for certification evaluations. See the full compliance overview.
Most DDA residential DSPs are long-term care workers under RCW 74.39A: 5 hours of orientation and safety before providing care, then 70 hours of basic training within 120 calendar days of hire — for supported living, that is a 40-hour DDA-developed residential curriculum plus 30 hours of population-specific training (WAC 388-829). First aid and CPR are due within 60 days, and every year brings 12 hours of continuing education. Supported living staff must also be trained on each client’s plans, emergency procedures, abuse reporting, and confidentiality before ever working alone (WAC 388-101D-0095).
Usually not in supported living: RCW 18.88B.041 exempts long-term care workers employed by community residential service businesses from Home Care Aide certification — they complete the 75-hour pathway instead. Staff in DDA group homes licensed as adult family homes or assisted living facilities generally do need the HCA credential, as do most other long-term care workers. The certification deadline was recently extended by 2025 legislation, so verify the current DOH timeline.
Washington uses a three-rung ladder. Staff may provide medication assistance without delegation — reminding, opening containers, handing medication — as long as the client places it in their own mouth and knows they are receiving medication (WAC 246-945-710 through -718, which replaced the former chapter 246-888; for insulin, assistance includes handing the injectable and setting up a diabetic device for self-administration). Actual administration requires RN nurse delegation to a certified nursing assistant or home care aide with core delegation training (RCW 18.79.260) — and non-insulin injections, sterile procedures, and central line maintenance may never be delegated.
Immediately to DSHS via END HARM, 1-866-363-4276 — every supported living and residential employee is a mandated reporter under RCW 74.34. Sexual assault must also be reported immediately to law enforcement, and physical assault generally requires a law-enforcement report as well. Suspected child abuse goes to law enforcement or DCYF within 48 hours (RCW 26.44.030). Provider incident reports to DDA under Policy 6.12 are a separate, additional duty.
Yes — long-term care workers complete 12 hours of continuing education every year (RCW 74.39A.341), and CPR certification must be kept current. Nurse-delegated staff also need delegation-specific training before performing any delegated task, plus a diabetes-focused course before delegated insulin tasks.
General information, not legal advice. DSPlife™ TrainingHub is not affiliated with the Washington State Department of Social and Health Services. Confirm current requirements at dshs.wa.gov, doh.wa.gov, and the RCW/WAC at app.leg.wa.gov.
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