Amended in Senate May 27, 2014

Amended in Senate April 23, 2014

Amended in Senate March 26, 2014

Amended in Senate February 14, 2014

Senate BillNo. 895


Introduced by Senator Corbett

January 13, 2014


An act to amend Section 1569.33 of the Health and Safety Code, relating to residential care facilities for the elderly.

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

SB 895, as amended, Corbett. Residential care facilities for the elderly: unannounced visits.

Existing law, the California Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Act, provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly by the State Department of Social Services. Existing law requires that every licensed residential care facility for the elderly be subject to unannounced visits by the department and requires the department to visit these facilities as often as necessary to ensure the quality of care provided, but no less often than once every 5 years. Existing law requires the department to conduct an annual unannounced visit under specified circumstances, including when a license is on probation, and to conduct annual unannounced visits to no less than 20% of the facilities not subject to an evaluation under specified circumstances. Existing law requires the department to notify the residential care facility for the elderly in writing of all deficiencies and to set a reasonable length of time for compliance by the facility. Existing law requires inspection reports, consultation reports, lists of deficiencies, and plans of correction to be open to public inspection.

This bill would instead require the department tobegin delete perform these unannounced inspections at leastend deletebegin insert ensure that each facility is inspected at least once every 3 years on or before July 1, 2016, and at least once every 2 years on or before July 1, 2017, and at leastend insert once each yearbegin delete andend deletebegin insert on or before July 1, 2018, and each year thereafter. The billend insert would authorize the department to conduct additional unannounced inspections under specified circumstances. The bill would delete the provisions requiring the department to conduct annual unannounced visits to no less than 20% of the facilities and the provisions requiring an unannounced visit no less often than once every 5 years. The bill would require the department, with eachbegin delete annualend delete inspection, to conductbegin delete a comprehensiveend deletebegin insert anend insert evaluation ofbegin delete aend deletebegin insert theend insert facility for compliance with the laws and regulations governing residential care facilities for the elderly. The bill would also require the department to verify that a facility is in compliance no later than 10 days after the notification of deficiencies in compliance and would require inspection reports, consultation reports, lists of deficiencies, and plans of correction to be open to public inspection on the department’s Internet Web site and in its district offices.

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

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

P2    1

SECTION 1.  

Section 1569.33 of the Health and Safety Code
2 is amended to read:

3

1569.33.  

(a) Every licensed residential care facility for the
4elderly shall be subject to unannounced inspections by the
5department. The department shall perform these unannounced
6inspectionsbegin delete at leastend deletebegin insert according to the following schedule:end insert

7begin insert (1)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertOn or before July 1, 2016, the department shall ensure that
8each facility is inspected at least once every three years and as
9 often as necessary to ensure the quality of care provided.end insert

10begin insert(2)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertOn or before July 1, 2017, the department shall ensure that
11each facility is inspected at least once every two years and as often
12as necessary to ensure the quality of care provided.end insert

13begin insert (3)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertOn or before July 1, 2018, and each year thereafter, the
14department shall ensure that each facility is inspected at leastend insert
once
P3    1each year and as often as necessary to ensure the quality of care
2provided.begin delete Withend delete

3begin insert(b)end insertbegin insertend insertbegin insertWith end inserteachbegin delete annualend delete inspection, the department shall conduct
4begin delete a comprehensiveend deletebegin insert anend insert evaluation ofbegin delete aend deletebegin insert theend insert facility for compliance
5with the laws and regulations governing residential care facilities
6for the elderly.

begin delete

11 7(b)

end delete

8begin insert(c)end insert The department may conduct additional unannounced
9inspections of a facility under any of the following circumstances:

10(1) When a license is on probation.

11(2) When the terms of agreement in a facility compliance plan
12require additional inspections.

13(3) When an accusation against a licensee is pending.

14(4) When a facility requires additional inspections as a condition
15of receiving federal financial participation.

16(5) In order to verify that a person who has been ordered out of
17the facility for the elderly by the department is no longer at the
18facility.

begin delete

4 19(c)

end delete

20begin insert(d)end insert The department shall notify the residential care facility for
21the elderly in writing of all deficiencies in its compliance with the
22provisions of this chapter and the rules and regulations adopted
23pursuant to this chapter, and shall verify that the facility is in
24compliance no later than 10 days after the notification. The 10-day
25compliance period may be extended up to an additional 30 days
26if the department determines that the delay will not adversely
27impact the health, safety, and security of facility residents.

begin delete

12 28(d)

end delete

29begin insert(e)end insert Reports on the results of each inspection, evaluation, or
30consultation shall be kept on file in the department, and all
31inspection reports, consultation reports, lists of deficiencies, and
32plans of correction shall be open to public inspection on the
33department’s Internet Web site and in its district offices.

begin delete

17 34(e)

end delete

35begin insert(f)end insert As a part of the department’s evaluation process, the
36department shall review the plan of operation, training logs, and
37marketing materials of any residential care facility for the elderly
38that advertises or promotes special care, special programming, or
P4    1a special environment for persons with dementia to monitor
2compliance with Sections 1569.626 and 1569.627.



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