Residential care facilities for the elderly: excluded persons.

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. A person who violates the act, or who willfully or repeatedly violates any rule or regulation adopted under the act, is guilty of a misdemeanor. Among other things, the act authorizes the department to prohibit a licensee from employing, or continuing the employment of, or allowing in a licensed facility, or allowing contact with clients of a licensed facility by, any employee, prospective employee, or person who is not a client who has engaged in specified behavior, including violating the act or engaging in conduct inimical to the health or safety of a person in a facility. The act requires that the excluded person, the facility, and the licensee be given written notice of the basis of the department's action and of the excluded person's right to an appeal. The act requires a licensed residential care facility for the elderly to provide written notice to a resident, the resident's responsible party, if any, and the local long-term care ombudsman, within 10 days from the occurrence of specified events, including when the department commences proceedings to suspend or revoke the license of the facility. The act also requires a placement agency, as defined, to notify the appropriate licensing agency of any known or suspected incidents that would jeopardize the health or safety of residents in a residential care facility for the elderly and describes reportable incidents for that purpose. The act also authorizes the department to levy a civil penalty for a violation of the act, as specified, and to assess an immediate civil penalty of $150 per day per violation for certain violations that the act deems to be serious violations. This bill would require the department, by January 1, 2017, to prominently display on the left side of its main Internet Web site a link to the comprehensive list of all individuals, and associated information, who have been the subject of an administrative action since January 1, 1990, resulting in a license revocation or denial, or probation, or an individual exclusion or probation, as specified. The list would be known as the Excluded Persons Administrative Action List (EPAAL) and would contain specified information, including the name of the individual and of the associated facility, and the status and effective date of each administrative action taken. The bill would require the list to be updated every 30 days. This bill would require a licensee to provide written notice to a resident, the resident's responsible party, if any, and the local long-term care ombudsman, within 10 days of receiving a served notice from the department identifying an excluded person pursuant to an administrative action, and would make a related change. The bill would provide that the presence of an individual who is listed on the EPAAL is a reportable incident for purposes of the provision requiring a placement agency to notify the appropriate licensing agency of any known or suspected incidents that would jeopardize the health or safety of residents in a residential care facility for the elderly. The bill would require a licensee, within 24 hours after receiving notice of the department's action to exclude a person, to post next to the facility license the department's unredacted letter, and would make a related change. The bill would also provide that the failure of the licensee to check the EPAAL or post the department's served notice of an excluded person would be a serious violation and subject to an immediate civil penalty of $150 per day per violation. By creating new crimes, the bill would impose a state-mandated local program. 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.