Rep. Pete Schwartzkopf

This Act removes the requirement that a juvenile can only be referred to the the Juvenile Offender Civil Citation Program a second or subsequent time if the juvenile’s prior referral was for a different offense than the second referral, allowing a juvenile to be referred for the same offense if the juvenile is otherwise qualified. This Act also makes technical changes to comply with the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

This is a clean-up bill that moves certain workers’ compensation-related provisions in Chapter 25 of Title 18 to Chapter 26 of Title 18, the latter of which shall exclusively govern workers’ compensation filings. The bill also makes technical corrections to conform with the Legislative Drafting Manual.

This Act increases the civil penalties for violations of the statutes in Title 16, Chapter 11 related to Long Term Care Facilities and the regulations adopted pursuant to it. For violations that the Department determines pose a serious threat to the health and safety of a resident, the minimum penalty in Section 1109 of Title 16 is increased from $1,000 per violation to $2,000, and the maximum penalty is increased from $10,000 to $20,000 per violation. Each day of a continuing violation constitutes a separate violation. For violations that do not constitute a serious threat to the health and safety of a resident, the maximum penalty is increased from $5,000 to $10,000 per violation. The civil penalties in Section 1109(a)(2) for violations that pose a serious threat to the health and safety of a resident were established in 1998 and have not been increased since then. The maximum civil penalty in Section 1109(c) for violations that do not constitute a serious threat to the health and safety of a resident was set at $10,000 in 1998, but was later reduced to $5,000 in 2000, and has not been increased since then. This Act also repeals the provision which places a cap on the civil penalties for continuing violations.

This Substitute Bill requires the Department of Health and Social Services to maintain a public registry of assisted living facilities that are accredited and/or certified to provide memory care services by an approved independent accrediting organization. This Act also authorizes DHSS to promulgate rules and regulations to carry out these provisions, and it defines memory care services and secured memory care unit. Violations of this Act are subject to enforcement actions under Chapter 11 of Title 16 and are a basis for the nonrenewal of a facility’s license. This bill also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

Maddy summaryThis bill updates Delaware's rules for inspecting long-term care facilities, requiring the Department of Health and Social Services to examine each facility at least once every 15 months. To maintain a statewide average inspection frequency of every 12 months, the department can charge extra fees to cover the costs of additional inspections needed when violations are found. Inspectors have the authority to enter facilities without prior notice, interview residents and staff, review records, and verify that previous issues have been fixed. The law also prohibits former employees or relatives of facility staff from participating in inspections of their former or current workplaces to ensure impartiality.

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 150. Like Senate Bill No. 150, this Act requires included facilities have sufficient staff to meet the needs of each resident and requires dementia care services training for staff. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 150 in the following ways: (1) it removes the definition of activity services; (2) it defines direct care, secured memory care unit, and memory care services; (3) it requires that assisted living facilities providing dementia care services to residents in a secured memory care unit create a staffing plan that ensures the facility has sufficient staff to meet the scheduled, reasonably foreseeable unscheduled, and evolving needs of residents and; (4) it charges the Department of Health and Social Services with reviewing the staffing plan during each annual inspection and during any other inspection in which the Department deems it relevant; (5) it revises initial dementia care services training requirement by limiting the requirement to individuals that provide care in a secured memory care unit of an assisted living facility, creating separate training requirements, both in terms of duration and content, for individuals that provide direct care and non-direct care to residents receiving dementia care services in secured memory care units of assisted living facilities; (6) it revises the annual dementia care services training requirement to mirror initial dementia services training requirements; (7) it establishes dementia care services training requirements for individuals employed by temporary staffing agencies; (8) it gives the Department of Health and Social Services the discretion to accept other required dementia care services training to satisfy the dementia care services training requirements; (9) it details the transferability of training between facilities and temporary staffing agencies; and (10) it narrows the scope from all long-term care facilities to only assisted living facilities.

This Act is a substitute for Senate Bill No. 151. Like Senate Bill No. 151, this Act requires included facilities to disclose information related dementia care services in the form determined by the Department of Health and Social Services, and it establishes requirements for the dissemination of that information. Like Senate Bill No. 151, any violation of this Act is an unlawful practice under § 2513 of Title 6 and a violation of subchapter II of Chapter 25 of Title 6 of the Delaware Code. This Act differs from Senate Bill No. 151 in the following ways: (1) it narrows the scope of the disclosure requirements to apply only to assisted living facilities that advertises, markets, or otherwise represents that the facility provides dementia care services; (2) it revises the definition of dementia care services, and defines direct care, memory care services, and secured memory care unit; (3) it replaces the term agent with the term authorized representative; (4) it revises the list of information that must be included in the disclosure form; (5) it clarifies the Department’s and the facility’s role in preparing and completing the disclosure; (6) it removes the requirement that an included facility must publish the disclosure on the facility’s website; and (7) it grants the Department of Health and Social Services the authority to investigate potential violations and refer cases to the Department of Justice.

This bill modifies the Delaware Commission of Veterans’ Affairs employee requirements to make the Executive Director an exempt position, and to allow the hiring of non-veteran employees when needed. This will positively impact veteran families by reducing the wait for interment in state veterans’ cemeteries. These changes also make technical corrections and clarify the commission’s authority to accredit claims representatives to support veterans in accessing their earned benefits.

The United States Space Force was established on December 20, 2019 as part of the National Defense Authorization Act. The Space Force became the 6th branch of the United States Armed Forces. This Act inserts the Space Force in those sections of the Delaware Code where the other 5 branches of the armed forces are specifically enumerated This Act also makes technical corrections to conform existing law to the standards of the Delaware Legislative Drafting Manual.

The United States Department of Agriculture runs a voluntary program that provides risk management coverage to dairy producers that pays out based on the difference between the national price of milk and the average cost of feed. This Act enables the Delaware Department of Agriculture, subject to the availability of funding, to reimburse eligible dairy operators in the state for the cost of the premium to enroll in the USDA program.