AN ACT TO AMEND TITLE 29 OF THE DELAWARE CODE RELATING TO THE DELAWARE NURSING HOME RESIDENTS QUALITY ASSURANCE COMMISSION.

More oversight for Delaware long-term care residents

Effective 90 days after enactment, the law renames the oversight body the Delaware Residents’ Protection Commission and expands its work. It covers nursing facilities, assisted living facilities, and secured memory care units, both private and state-run. The Commission monitors care, quality of life, and safety, and ensures agencies respond promptly to abuse, neglect, mistreatment, and financial exploitation complaints. It reviews oversight systems, coordinates services, and can recommend laws, rules, and policies to improve resident protections. Its public annual report includes care trends, facility visit findings, redacted recommendations, policy reviews, advocacy goals, and the director’s work-time breakdown. The Commission can seek grants for staff and operations, but staffing remains subject to annual appropriations; no funding amount or grant award is guaranteed.