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Dear Foster Parents and Kinship Caregivers,
In order to ensure the health and safety of children, families, parents, and caregivers, DCYF is providing this COVID-19-related travel guidance. The links contained in this memo provide the most current information from Washington State and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Caregivers are encouraged to check these resources when planning travel, so they have the most current information. There are no changes to the process for caseworker notification or travel approval requirements.
- Caregivers are expected to observe the Healthy Washington Roadmap to Recovery activity-based restrictions. Counties will be individually evaluated every three weeks to determine their phase. Caregivers need to be aware of and follow directives related to the current phase and allowable activities for their county and any county they wish to visit.
- Governor Inslee rescinded the November 2020 Travel Advisory, and he has modified the COVID-19 Travel Advisory to advise Washingtonians and those visiting Washington to comply with the CDC's current COVID-19 travel advisory guidance. Note that there are different travel recommendations for unvaccinated people. Vaccines are currently not available for anyone under the age of 16.
- Caregivers are expected to comply with requirements for the use of face coverings, consistent with their vaccination status and that of the children in their care. More information about face coverings is available on the Washington State Coronavirus Response webpage.
For all travel in-state and out-of-state
- Caregivers are encouraged to review the CDC's travel guidance and resources available here. Caregivers must be aware of all state and local restrictions, directives, and permissible activities that apply to their destination and any locales they will be traveling through to arrive at their destination.
- Caregivers must be prepared to isolate and quarantine[i] if they or a child becomes ill.
- Before traveling, caregivers are encouraged to consider the isolation and quarantine requirements should someone in their family or someone they are traveling with becomes ill:
- A person with COVID-19 needs to isolate for a minimum of 10 days after the onset of symptoms and until they have been fever-free for three days.
- Anyone who has been in close contact with someone who tested positive for COVID-19 needs to quarantine for 14 days after the last exposure.
- Caregivers who travel by plane to a destination cannot fly home until the isolation and quarantine periods are over.
- All air passengers coming to the United States, including U.S. citizens and fully vaccinated people, are required to have a negative COVID-19 test result or documentation of recovery from COVID-19 before they board a flight to the United States.
If you have any questions, contact Deanna Morrison at deanna.morrison@dcyf.wa.gov or 360-999-8248.
Additional Resources
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