Children's group homes and residential facilites; regulatory requirements for licensure. (HB577)

Introduced By

Del. Sam Nixon (R-Richmond)

Description

Residential placements of children; reimbursement restrictions; regulatory requirements for licensure; reporting and other regulations.  Requires the Boards and Departments of Education, Juvenile Justice, Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, and Social Services to promulgate regulations that require, as a condition of initial licensure of, and, if appropriate, license renewal, that the applicant (i) be personally interviewed by Department personnel to determine the qualifications of the owner or operator before granting an initial license; (ii) provide evidence of having relevant prior experience before any initial license is granted; (iii) provide, as a condition of initial license or renewal licensure, evidence of staff participation in training on appropriate siting of the residential facilities for children, good neighbor policies, and community relations; and (iv) be required to screen residents prior to admission to exclude individuals with behavioral issues, such as histories of violence, that cannot be managed in the relevant residential facility. In addition, the departments must notify relevant local governments and placing and funding agencies, including the Office of Comprehensive Services, of multiple health and safety or human rights violations in children's residential facilities for which the relevant department serves as lead licensure agency when such violations result in the lowering of the licensure status of the facility to provisional; post on the department's website information concerning the application for initial licensure of or renewal, denial, or provisional licensure of any residential facility for children located in the locality; require all licensees to self-report lawsuits against or settlements with residential facility operators relating to the health and safety or human rights of residents and any criminal charges that may have been made relating to the health and safety or human rights of residents; require proof of contractual agreements or staff expertise to provide educational services, counseling services, psychological services, medical services, or any other services needed to serve the residents in accordance with the facility's operational plan; and modify the term of the license (or, in the case of the Department of Juvenile Justice, the certificate) based on a change in compliance. The Department of Social Services will be given the additional responsibility for disseminating or posting an accurate list of licensed and operating group homes and other residential facilities for children by locality with information on services and identification of the lead licensure agency.  In the event a group home or residential facility has its licensure status lowered to provisional as a result of multiple health and safety or human rights violations, all children placed by CSA in the facility must be assessed to determine whether it is in the best interests of each child to be removed from the facility and placed in a fully licensed facility and additional placements are prohibited until full licensure status has been restored. Prior to placing a child across jurisdictional lines, the local family assessment and planning team must also explore all appropriate community services for the child; document that no appropriate placement is available in the locality; and report the rationale for placement to the community policy and management team (CPMT). The CPMTs are required to report annually to the office of Comprehensive Services on the gaps in services needed to keep children in the local community and any barriers to the development of the services.  The CPMTs are also required to notify receiving school divisions of placements across jurisdictional lines and to identify children with disabilities and foster care children to expedite enrollment and special education. A second enactment requires emergency regulations for the licensure and certification requirements and a third enactment requires that the emergency regulations include provisions addressing HB 2461 (2005) and SB 1304 (2005). This bill is a recommendation of the Joint Subcommittee Studying Private Youth and Single Family Group Homes pursuant to HJR 685 (2005). Read the Bill »

Status

04/06/2006: signed by governor

History