Residential care facilities for the elderly.

(1) 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. Violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. 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 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 require residential care facilities for the elderly to remedy the deficiencies within 10 days of the notification, except as specified. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The bill would require the department to post on its Internet Web site information on how to obtain an inspection report, and would state the intent of the Legislature that the department make inspection reports available on its Internet Web site by January 1, 2020. The bill would also require the department to design, or cause to be designed, a poster that contains information on the appropriate reporting agency in case of a complaint or emergency. The bill would require a residential care facility for the elderly to post this poster in the main entryway of its facility. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. (2) Existing law states the intent of the Legislature that increased staffing and funding resources for the State Department of Social Services Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) appropriated in the Budget Act of 2014 be used to enhance the CCLD's structure and improve its operations. Existing law also states the intent of the Legislature to increase the frequency of facility inspections resulting in annual inspections for some or all facility types, including residential care facilities for the elderly. Existing law requires the State Department of Social Services, during the 2015–16 legislative budget subcommittee hearings, to update the Legislature on the status of the structural and quality enhancement improvements. This bill would require the department to also report the projected costs of conducting annual inspections of residential care facilities for the elderly beginning January 1, 2018. (3) Existing law requires the department to notify affected placement agencies and the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman whenever the department substantiates that a violation has occurred that poses a serious threat to the health and safety of any resident when the violation results in the assessment of any penalty or causes an accusation to be filed for the revocation of a license. This bill would additionally require the department to provide the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman with a precautionary notification if the department begins to prepare to issue a temporary suspension or revocation of any license. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.