WA HB2253

Expands child-specific foster care licensing to include relatives or close family friends caring for children placed through the interstate compact on placement of children from other states

Removes "licensed physicians or lawyers" from the list of entities exempt from agency licensing requirements under child welfare statutes

Authorizes the department to close inactive licenses and requires development of rules defining "inactive" status, with such closures not subject to appeal

Updates staffing ratios for crisis residential centers from a fixed "four adult staff members to every eight children" to "one staff member to every four children during working hours and one staff member to every six children during sleeping hours"

Removes sex/gender as a specified category that licenses must include when authorizing care, leaving only the category of care, ages, and number of persons to be served