Amended in Senate July 1, 2014

Amended in Assembly May 6, 2014

Amended in Assembly April 8, 2014

California Legislature—2013–14 Regular Session

Assembly Bill No. 2374

Introduced by Assembly Member Mansoor

February 21, 2014

An act to amend Section 11833 of, and to add Section 11830.01 to, the Health and Safety Code, relating to substance abuse treatment.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

AB 2374, as amended, Mansoor. Substance abuse: recovery and treatment services.

(1) Existing law grants the Department of Health Care Services the sole authority in state government to license adult alcoholism or drug abuse recovery or treatment facilities. The department is authorized to issue a license to specified types of facilities if certain criteria are met. Existing regulations require licensees to report specified events and incidents to the department, including, among others, the death of a resident at a licensed facility.

This bill would require the department to design its death investigation policy to ensure that the death of a resident of a licensed facility is begin delete reported by the licensee and end delete addressed begin insert and investigated end insert by the department in a timely manner. The bill would specify the content of telephonic and written reports of begin delete events or incidents end delete begin insert resident deaths end insert occurring in a licensed facility that are required to be reported to the department.

(2) Existing law grants the department the sole authority in state government to determine the qualifications, including the appropriate skills, education, training, and experience of personnel working within alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment programs licensed, certified, or funded under state law. The department, by regulation, requires that a person who will provide counseling services to those programs to register with, and be certified by, a nationally accredited certifying organization approved by the department.

This bill would prohibit the department from approving begin delete an end delete begin insert a certifying end insert organization for those purposes that does not, prior to registering or certifying begin delete a counselor, consult with the available electronic databases of certain end delete begin insert an individual, contact end insert other begin delete approved counselor end delete begin insert department-approved end insert certifying organizations to determine whether the begin delete person end delete begin insert individual end insert has ever had his or her registration or certification begin delete as a counselor end delete revoked.

Vote: majority. Appropriation: no. Fiscal committee: yes. State-mandated local program: no.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.  

Section 11830.01 is added to the Health and
Safety Code, to read:

11830.01.  

(a) The begin insert department’s end insert death investigation policy begin delete of
the department end delete shall be designed to ensure that a resident’s death
is begin delete reported by the licensee and end delete addressed begin insert and investigated end insert by the
department in a timely manner.

(b) The telephonic and written reports of begin delete events or incidents end delete
begin insert resident deaths end insert occurring in a licensed facility that are required to
be reported to the department shall include, but not be limited to,
a description of the event or incident, including the time, location,
and nature of the event or incident, a list of immediate actions that
were taken, including persons contacted, and a description of the
followup action that is planned, including, but not limited to, steps
taken to prevent a begin delete recurrence of the event or incident end delete begin insert future death end insert .

SEC. 2.  

Section 11833 of the Health and Safety Code is
amended to read:

11833.  

(a) The department shall have the sole authority in
state government to determine the qualifications, including the
appropriate skills, education, training, and experience of personnel
working within alcoholism or drug abuse recovery and treatment
programs licensed, certified, or funded under this part.

(b)  begin delete The end delete begin insert Except for licensed professionals, as defined by the
department, the end insert begin insert end insert department shall require that a counselor working
within a program described in subdivision (a) be registered with
or certified by begin delete an end delete begin insert a certifying end insert organization approved by the
department to register and certify counselors. The department shall
not approve begin delete an end delete begin insert a certifying end insert organization that does not, prior to
registering or certifying begin delete a counselor, end delete begin insert an individual, end insert begin delete consult with
the available electronic databases of the end delete begin insert contact end insert other
department-approved begin delete counselor registration and certification end delete
begin insert certifying end insert organizations to determine whether the begin delete person end delete begin insert individual end insert
has ever had his or her registration or certification begin delete as a counselor end delete
revoked.