By Eugene May and Patricia Hunter

LAST year, The Seattle Times ran an investigative series detailing systemic problems in Washington state’s adult family homes, much of it caused by inadequately trained caregivers. The series, called “Seniors for Sale,” came two years after voters in this state overwhelmingly supported increased training and federal background checks for long-term caregivers, passing Initiative 1029 in 2008 with more yes votes that any initiative in state history.

Yet today, because I-1029′s reforms have not been implemented, the situation has grown only worse. Citations for abuse and neglect in adult family homes have risen by 15 percent since then. Since many caregivers work in isolated settings with our elderly and vulnerable, the need for adequate training is even more critical.

It is not easy to care for frail, disabled adults. Yet the current state training standard for caregivers — 34 hours — is less than half of what is required for the same work in a nursing home. I-1029 was meant to change that, requiring 75 training hours followed by a certification exam. The state twice punted on implementing I-1029, citing budget reasons that are penny-wise and pound-foolish.
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Three years ago, more than two million voters in Washington State supported common sense protections for vulnerable seniors and people with disabilities. More than 72 percent of voters cast a “yes” vote for I-1029, calling for increased training and federal background checks for home care workers, who do the difficult, yet highly important job of caring for our parents and grandparents.

Yet, despite the overwhelming support, that 2008 vote has only led to delays by the state legislature, pushing the implementation of these protections back to 2014. During that time, citations for abuse and neglect in adult family homes has increased by 15 percent, with more than 20,000 such citations handed out in 2010. Not only has the risk to our most vulnerable not been addressed, their situation has gotten worse.

That is why public safety officials like Pierce County Prosecutor Mark Lindquist and Snohomish County Sheriff John Lovick have endorsed I-1163, calling for these common sense protections to be implemented now. Writing in their local papers, these two leaders, who see the threats to our seniors everyday through law enforcement and prosecution, said it is time we took our responsibility to our seniors and people with disabilities seriously.
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Congressman Jay Inslee, the representative from Washington’s 1st District and candidate for governor, announced yesterday that he has endorsed and will vote for I-1163 in November.

Said Congressman Inslee: “Given the importance of protecting the least among us, I will be voting in support of this measure. Initiatives with budgetary impacts pose unique problems, and the Legislature will still have to balance funding this with other priorities.”

Rep. Inslee joins a bipartisan coalition of elected officials from Washington State who have supported common sense protections for our seniors and people with disabilities.
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Broad, bi-partisan support for restoring common sense protections includes local officials from across Washington State

Seattle (Oct. 9) – A bipartisan group of local elected officials have stepped forward to protect seniors and people with disabilities by endorsing Initiative 1163.

Officials from across Washington are lending their names and voices to ensuring that our state’s most vulnerable receive safe, quality care, by restoring basic minimum training standards and requiring federal background checks for home care workers.

Endorsers include leaders such as King County Executive Dow Constantine, Snohomish County Executive Aaron Reardon, Spokane Mayor Mary Verner, and eight of the nine Seattle City Council members.
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