Washington Revised Code Title 74. Public Assistance § 74.13B.030. Selection of service providers

(1) For those services included in contracts under RCW 74.13B.020, the service providers must be chosen by the department caseworker from among those in the network administrator's provider network.  The criteria for provider selection must include the geographic proximity of the provider to the child or family, and the performance of the provider based upon data collected and provided by the network administrator.  If a reasonably qualified provider is not available through the network administrator's provider network, at the request of a department caseworker, a provider who is not currently under contract with the network administrator may be offered a provisional contract by the network administrator, pending that provider demonstrating that he or she meets applicable provider qualifications to participate in the administrator's provider network.

(2) The department shall develop a dispute resolution process to be used when the network administrator disagrees with the department caseworker's choice of a service provider due to factors such as the service provider's performance history or ability to serve culturally diverse families.  The mediator or decision maker must be a neutral employee of the department who has not been previously involved in the case.  The dispute resolution process must not result in a delay of more than two business days in the receipt of needed services by the child or family.

(3) The department and network administrator shall collaborate to identify and respond to patterns or trends in service utilization that may indicate overutilization or underutilization of family support and related services, or may indicate a need to enhance service capacity.