Title 10, Health and Safety

[See 5 GCA § 3111]. SOURCE: GC § 9000. 2014 NOTE: A prior publication of the GCA included the following: COMMENT: This section contained the original creation of the Department and appointment of its Director. However, a section having an identical purpose and very similar langua…

(a) The Department shall have cognizance of all Public Health and Social Services functions set forth in this Division and as otherwise provided by law, rule or regulation. (b) The Department shall develop, establish, and implement early childhood training program throughout the …

[Repealed/reenacted and recodified as 5 GCA § 11.101.] SOURCE: Added by P.L. 19-043:1 (Dec. 30, 1988). Repealed and reenacted by P.L. 21-136:IV:2 (Sept. 29, 1992); P.L. 21-137:12 (Sept. 29, 1992); P.L. 34-021: 2 (July 13, 2017), renumbered as 5 GCA § 11.101 pursuant to authority …

The purpose of this Article is to recognize that abuse, neglect and exploitation of elderly or adults with a disability are problems that require attention and intervention as a matter of public policy. Elderly or adults with a disability require the same societal protection now …

Definitions as used in this Article: (a) “Abandonment” refers to the desertion of an elderly or adult with a disability by his or her caregiver under circumstances in which a reasonable person would continue to provide care or custody. (b) “Adult with a Disability” is any person …

(a) Any person who, in the course of his or her employment, occupation or professional practice comes into contact with elderly or adults with disabilities, has actual knowledge or reasonable cause to believe that an elderly or adult with a disability is suffering from or has die…

(a) Any person who in good faith makes a report under this Article or testifies in any administrative or judicial proceeding related to the report is immune from civil or criminal liability for reporting or testifying. (b) Any officer, agent or employee of the Bureau of Adult Pro…

Any person required by Subsections (a) and (b) of § 2952 to report a case of suspected elderly or adult with a disability abuse who fails to so report shall be liable for a fine of not more than Five Hundred Dollars ($500.00), except that for a second or subsequent offense, such …

(a) The Division of Senior Citizens of the Department of Public Health and Social Services (Department) shall establish a Bureau of Adult Protective Services, which shall have sufficient staff to fulfill the purposes of this Article and organized in such a way as to maximize the …

The Bureau shall: COL 2025-12-23 (a) Receive on a twenty-four (24) hour, seven (7) days a week basis all reports, both oral and written, of suspected elderly or adult with a disability abuse in accordance with this Article and the regulations of the Department. (b) Investigate an…

(a) An elderly or adult with a disability who is a victim or alleged victim of abuse may refuse to cooperate in the investigation, or withdraw consent at any time to the provision of protective services by the Bureau or its authorized agency. However, the Bureau responsible to in…

(a) The Bureau shall maintain a Central Registry of reports of elderly or adult with a disability abuse, which shall contain and be limited to the following information: COL 2025-12-23 (1) The name, address and birthdate of the elderly or adult with a disability. (2) The date or …

There is hereby established a division of Public Welfare in the Department of Public Health and Social Services to be administered by the Director. COL 2025-12-23 SOURCE: GC § 9100.

(a) All records maintained by the Bureau regarding reports of abuse, including, but not limited to, information contained in the central registry, shall be confidential and shall be released only with the consent of the elderly or adult with a disability or, if the adult is not c…

(a) The appropriation shall cover staffing requirements, vehicles, cellphones, APS database and registry, logistics, contracting of services, and emergency shelter for victims of elderly and adult with a disability abuse. (b) Within three (3) months following the end of each fisc…

The Director is authorized to appoint such personnel and fix their duties, under and in accordance with Title V, Government Code of Guam, as may be necessary for purposes of this Chapter. SOURCE: GC § 9101.

It shall be the duty of the Director to: (a) administer public assistance and child welfare services in Guam, and in accord therewith to adopt such rules and regulations subject to the approval of I Maga’håga/Maga’låhi, as may be necessary or desirable. (b) cooperate with the fed…

(a) The Director shall comply with all federal requirements pertaining to methods and standards of administration and shall make such rules and regulations and follow such procedure as may be required for the receipt from the federal government of grants or grants-in-aid for publ…

The Director may carry on or administer or cooperate with other public or private agencies in work or activities for the purpose of preventing or treating conditions giving rise to the need for public assistance in any case in which such work or activities, may prevent, shorten o…

All assistance payments shall be inalienable by any assignment, sale, attachment, garnishment, execution or otherwise. SOURCE: GC § 9105.

(a) Any person who, by means of a willfully false statement or representation, or by impersonation or other fraudulent device, obtains or attempts to obtain, or aids or abets any other person to obtain, public assistance to which he is not justly entitled, or a larger amount of a…

If, at any time during the continuance of public assistance, the recipient or any person legally liable for the support of the recipient becomes possessed of any property or income in addition to that available at the time the grant was made, the Director may either cancel the as…

All public assistance granted under the provisions of this Chapter shall be deemed to be granted and held subject to the provisions of any amending or repealing act that may be passed and no recipient under this Chapter shall have any claim for compensation or otherwise by reason…

If the recipient is found incapable of taking care of his money or himself, the Director may direct assistance to be paid to a legal guardian or any other reputable person for his benefit or may suspend assistance for such period as he deems fit. SOURCE: GC § 9109.

It shall be unlawful, except for purposes directly connected with the administration of this Chapter and in accordance with regulations, for any person or persons to solicit, disclose, receive or make use of, or authorize, knowingly permit, participate in or acquiesce in the use …

The Director is authorized to accept, on behalf of the government of Guam, gifts, bequests and donations for welfare purposes, and may expend any sums so received for the purposes set out in this Chapter, in addition to the regular appropriations made for such purposes. SOURCE: G…

Products. (a) The use of public welfare assistance program funds for the purchase of alcoholic beverages or tobacco products is prohibited. (b) A welfare recipient who violates subsection (a) hereof shall be penalized as follows: (1) A first offense shall result in the revocation…

The Department of Public Health and Social Services is hereby authorized to recover payments from third party payers for services provided to recipients of Medicaid/Medically Indigent Program.

This Article sets forth the Department of Public Health and Social Services’ (DPHSS) Medicaid and Medically Indigent State Plan requirements concerning: (a) the legal liability of third parties to pay for services provided under the plan; (b) assignment to the DPHSS of an individ…

(a) “DPHSS” shall mean the Department of Public Health and Social Services; (b) “Director” shall mean the Director of the Department of Public Health and Social Services; (c) “Health care insurer” shall mean a self-insured health benefit plan, a group health plan as defined in Se…

The Division of Social Services State Plan must provide for: (a) identifying third parties liable for payment of services under the plan and for payment of claims involving third parties; (b) assignment of rights to benefits, cooperation with the agency in obtaining medical suppo…

Party Payer. (a) In the case of a person who is a covered beneficiary, the DPHSS shall have the right to collect from a third party payer reasonable charges for health care services incurred by the DPHSS on behalf of such COL 2025-12-23 person through a health facility to the ext…

Processes for Medicaid and Medically Indigent Program Eligibility. (a) [No text] (1) If the Medically Indigent Program (MIP) or the Medicaid agency determines eligibility for MIP or Medicaid, it must, during the initial application and each redetermination process, obtain from th…

Any information obtained by the Director or the administration under this Section shall be maintained as confidential as required by the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act (HIPAA) of 1996 (P.L. 104-191; 110 Stat. 1936), and any other applicable law, and shall be …

(a) The DPHSS may institute and prosecute legal proceedings against a third party payer to enforce a right of the DPHSS under this Section. (b) The Director may compromise, settle, or waive a claim of the DPHSS under this Section.

If any provision of this Law or its application to any person or circumstance is found to be invalid or contrary to law, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of this Law which can be given effect without the invalid provisions or application, and to t…

This Article shall be known and cited as the “Senior Citizens Housing Task Force Act of 2020.” COL 2025-12-23

(a) I Liheslaturan Guåhan recognizes the urgency of identifying strategies that will help increase the supply of quality affordable housing for our senior citizens and to reduce barriers to providing health care and social services to our senior citizens in affordable housing. As…

The Senior Citizens Housing Task Force is hereby created and shall consist of nine (9) members. (a) Task Force members shall serve for a term of eighteen (18) months. (b) The following nine (9) individuals shall serve as appointed members of the Task Force: (1) the Chairperson of…

(a) The Task Force shall be established by the Chairperson of the Legislative Committee on Senior Citizens for administrative purposes. The Chairperson of the Committee shall ensure that the administrative provisions contained in this Article are properly adhered to; and shall fu…

The Task Force may adopt rules as necessary for its own procedures.

The Task Force shall meet as often as it judges appropriate and necessary to accomplish its powers and duties. (a) The first meeting of the Task Force shall be held as soon as the Chairperson deems necessary. (b) All meetings of the Task Force shall be subject to the Open Governm…

The Task Force shall: (a) coordinate and oversee any and all efforts by the government of Guam concerning senior citizens housing; (b) develop a senior citizens housing profile through assembling and analyzing the most recent senior citizen population and housing data available; …

The Task Force shall develop recommendations summarizing the best path towards identifying strategies that will help increase the supply of quality affordable housing for our senior citizens and to reduce barriers to providing health care and social services to our senior citizen…

(a) The Task Force shall file quarterly reports with I Liheslaturan Guåhan detailing the progress of the development and recommendations and post the reports on each Task Force member’s agency website. (b) No later than twelve (12) months after its first duly convened meeting, th…

(a) Applications for public assistance under this Article shall be made to the Director by the applicant, or by someone acting in his behalf, in the manner, place and form prescribed by the Director. (b) No applicant shall be entitled to public assistance under this Article who h…

(a) No funds appropriated from the General Fund of the government of Guam, or any fund where the revenues deposited therein are of local origin, may be used to provide public assistance to any person who is not a U.S. citizen or a permanent resident alien of the United States and…

The Director shall establish administrative procedures to determine whether a person applying for public assistance under this Chapter is a United States citizen or an alien. In the case of each alien the Director shall require proof of the alien’s lawful status in the United Sta…

A person shall be eligible for public assistance who: (a) Is in need and has not sufficient income or other resources to provide a subsistence compatible with decency and health; and (b) Is sixty-five (65) years of age or more; provided, that in the event that the minimum age for…

A person shall be eligible for public assistance who: (a) Is in need and has not sufficient income or other resources to provide a subsistence compatible with decency and health; provided, that so long as such exception is a requirement of the Social Security Act that must be com…