Title HSC — California Health & Safety Code

(a) A licensee of a residential facility serving adults that has internet service shall provide at least one internet access device, such as a computer, smart phone, tablet, or other device, that can support real-time interactive applications, is equipped with videoconferencing t…

(a) Any person may request an inspection of any community care facility, or certified family home or resource family of a foster family agency, in accordance with this chapter by transmitting to the state department notice of an alleged violation of applicable requirements prescr…

The director shall establish an automated license information system on licensees and former licensees of licensed community care facilities. The system shall maintain a record of any information that may be pertinent, as determined by the director, for licensure under this chapt…

A county may develop a cooperative agreement with the department to access disclosable, public record information from an automated system, other than the system described in Section 1538.2, concerning substantiated complaints for all group home or short-term residential therapeu…

(a) (1) Not less than 30 days prior to the anniversary of the effective date of a residential community care facility license, except licensed foster family homes, the department may transmit a copy to the board members of the licensed facility, parents, legal guardians, conserva…

(a) The licensee of an Adult Residential Facility for Persons with Special Health Care Needs (ARFPSHN) or a Group Home for Children with Special Health Care Needs (GHCSHN), licensed pursuant to Article 9 (commencing with Section 1567.50), shall report to the department’s Communit…

(a) When the department periodically reviews the record of substantiated complaints against each group home or short-term residential therapeutic program, pursuant to its oversight role as prescribed by Section 1534, to determine whether the nature, number, and severity of incide…

(a) A group home, transitional housing placement provider, community treatment facility, youth homelessness prevention center, temporary shelter care facility, transitional shelter care facility, or short-term residential therapeutic program shall report to the department’s Commu…

(a) (1) In order to review and evaluate the use of psychotropic medications in group homes and short-term residential therapeutic programs, the department shall compile, to the extent feasible and not otherwise prohibited by law and based on information received from the State De…

(a) (1) (A) The department shall consult with the State Department of Health Care Services and stakeholders to establish a methodology for identifying those group homes providing care under the AFDC-FC program pursuant to Sections 11460 and 11462 of the Welfare and Institutions C…

No licensee, or officer or employee of the licensee, shall discriminate or retaliate in any manner, including, but not limited to, eviction or threat of eviction, against any person receiving the services of the licensee’s community care facility, or against any employee of the l…

(a) Any person who violates this chapter, or who willfully or repeatedly violates any rule or regulation promulgated under this chapter, is guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished by a fine not to exceed one thousand dollars ($1,000) or by imprisonme…

Upon a finding by the licensing authority that a facility is in operation without a license, a peace officer, as defined in Chapter 4.5 (commencing with Section 830) of Title 3 of Part 2 of the Penal Code, may enforce Section 1503.5, or Section 1508, or both sections by utilizing…

Any person who, without lawful authorization from a duly authorized officer, employee, or agent of the department, informs an owner, operator, employee, agent, or resident of a community care facility, of an impending and unannounced site visit to that facility by personnel of th…

The director may bring an action to enjoin the violation or threatened violation of Section 1503.5 or 1508, or both, in the superior court in and for the county in which the violation occurred or is about to occur. Any proceeding under the provisions of this section shall conform…

Any action brought by the director against a community care facility shall not abate by reason of a sale or other transfer of ownership of the community care facility which is a party to the action except with express written consent of the director.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, the district attorney of every county, and city attorneys in those cities which have city attorneys who have jurisdiction to prosecute misdemeanors pursuant to Section 72193 of the Government Code, shall, upon their own initiat…

An emergency client contingency account may be established within the Technical Assistance Fund to which not more than 50 percent of each penalty assessed pursuant to Section 1548 is deposited for use by the Community Care Licensing Division of the department, at the discretion o…

(a) (1) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to authorize the department to take quick, effective action to protect the health and safety of clients of community care facilities and to minimize the effects of transfer trauma that accompany the abrupt trans…

(a) It is the intent of the Legislature in enacting this section to authorize the department to take quick, effective action to protect the health and safety of residents of community care facilities and to minimize the effects of transfer trauma that accompany the abrupt transfe…

(a) (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, any person who violates Section 1503.5 or 1508, or both, may be assessed by the department an immediate civil penalty in the amount of two hundred dollars ($200) per day of the violation, unless the conditions described…

(a) In addition to the suspension, temporary suspension, or revocation of a license issued under this chapter, the department shall levy civil penalties as follows: (b) (1) The amount of the civil penalty shall be one hundred dollars ($100) per day for each violation of this chap…

The Legislature finds and declares that the current civil penalty structure for facilities licensed by the State Department of Social Services is insufficient to ensure the health and safety of those in care. It is the intent of the Legislature to comprehensively increase these p…

The civil, criminal, and administrative remedies available to the department pursuant to this article are not exclusive, and may be sought and employed in any combination deemed advisable by the department to enforce this chapter.

The department may deny an application for, or suspend or revoke, any license, or any special permit, certificate of approval, or administrator certificate, issued under this chapter upon any of the following grounds and in the manner provided in this chapter, or may deny a trans…

The director may temporarily suspend any license prior to any hearing when, in the opinion of the director, the action is urgent to protect residents or clients of the facility from physical or mental abuse, abandonment, or any other substantial threat to health or safety. The di…

(a) The department shall conduct an unannounced visit to a facility within 30 days after the effective date of a temporary suspension of a license in order to ensure that the facility is nonoperational, unless the department previously has verified that the facility is nonoperati…

(a) Proceedings for the suspension, revocation, or denial of a license, registration, special permit, certificate of approval, or any administrator certificate under this chapter, or denial of transfer of a license pursuant to paragraph (2) of subdivision (c) of Section 1524, sha…

(a) The administrative law judge conducting a hearing under this article may permit the testimony of a child witness, or a similarly vulnerable witness, including a witness who is developmentally disabled, to be taken outside the presence of the respondent or respondents if all o…

(a) In any administrative proceeding conducted pursuant to this article in which a child or other minor is the victim in an allegation of inappropriate sexual conduct, evidence of specific instances of the victim’s sexual conduct with individuals other than the alleged perpetrato…

(a) (1) An out-of-court statement made by a minor under 12 years of age who is the subject or victim of an allegation at issue is admissible evidence at an administrative hearing conducted pursuant to this article. The out-of-court statement may be used to support a finding of fa…

Notwithstanding Sections 11425.10 and 11425.20 of the Government Code, a proceeding conducted pursuant to this chapter against a foster family home, certified family home, or resource family of a foster family agency shall be confidential and not open to the public in order to pr…

In addition to the witness fees and mileage provided by Section 11450.40 of the Government Code, the department may pay actual, necessary, and reasonable expenses in an amount not to exceed the per diem allowance payable to a nonrepresented state employee on travel status. The de…

The withdrawal of an application for a license or a special permit after it has been filed with the state department shall not, unless the state department consents in writing to such withdrawal, deprive the state department of its authority to institute or continue a proceeding …

Any license, registration, or special permit suspended pursuant to this chapter, and any special permit revoked pursuant to this chapter, may be reinstated pursuant to the provisions of Section 11522 of the Government Code.

Whenever a license, registration, or special permit issued under this chapter for a community care facility is suspended, revoked, temporarily suspended, forfeited, canceled, or expires, the department shall provide written notice of that occurrence within 10 days to the local di…

(a) If the director determines that it is necessary to temporarily suspend any license or special permit of a community care facility in order to protect the residents or clients of the facility from physical or mental abuse, abandonment, or any other substantial threat to health…

(a) If the department, as a condition of licensure, requires the chief executive officer or other authorized member of the board of directors and the administrator of a foster family agency to attend an orientation given by the licensing agency that outlines the applicable rules …

Each facility required to be licensed shall keep a current record of all of the following: (a) Clients in the facility, including each client’s name and ambulatory status. (b) The name, address, and telephone number of each client’s physician. (c) The name, address, and telephone…

(a) The department may prohibit any person from being a member of the board of directors, an executive director, or an officer of a licensee, or a licensee from employing, or continuing the employment of, or allowing in a licensed facility or certified family home, or allowing co…

(a) (1) If the department determines that a person was issued a license under this chapter, Chapter 1 (commencing with Section 1200), Chapter 2 (commencing with Section 1250), Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500), Chapter 3.01 (commencing with Section 1568.01), Chapter 3.2 (c…

The department shall conduct an unannounced visit to a facility within 30 days after the department serves an order of immediate exclusion from the facility upon the licensee or a person subject to immediate removal or exclusion from the facility pursuant to paragraph (3) of subd…

(a) (1) The State Department of Social Services shall license transitional housing placement providers pursuant to this chapter. (2) A transitional housing placement provider may operate either of the following programs, as described in Section 16522.1 of the Welfare and Institut…

(a) The director shall require as a condition precedent to the issuance of any license or special permit for a community care facility, if the licensee or holder of a special permit handles or will handle any money of a person within the community care facility, that the applican…

The director may grant a partial or total variance from the bonding requirements of Section 1560 for any community care facility if he finds that compliance with them is so onerous that a community care facility will cease to operate, and if he also finds that money of the person…

(a) The department shall ensure that operators and staff of community care facilities have appropriate training to provide the care and services for which a license or certificate is issued. The section shall not apply to a facility licensed as an Adult Residential Facility for P…

(a) The department shall license short-term residential therapeutic programs, as defined in paragraph (18) of subdivision (a) of Section 1502, pursuant to this chapter. A short-term residential therapeutic program shall comply with all requirements of this chapter that are applic…

(a) The department may license a short-term residential therapeutic program operating as a children’s crisis residential program pursuant to this chapter. A children’s crisis residential program shall meet all of the following requirements: (1) If the program serves both children…

(a) The department shall establish regulations for short-term residential therapeutic programs that are operated as children’s crisis residential programs. At a minimum, the regulations shall include all of the following: (1) Therapeutic programming shall be provided seven days a…

(a) For purposes of this section “adult residential facility” means a facility licensed as an adult residential facility pursuant to this chapter. (b) (1) In addition to the notification requirements provided for in Section 1562.2, a licensee of an adult residential facility shal…