North Carolina § 131D-19 - Legislative intent.

§ 131D-19. Legislative intent.

It is the intent of the General Assembly to promote the interests and well-being of the residents in adult care homes and assisted living residences licensed pursuant to Part 1 of this Article. It is the intent of the General Assembly that every resident's civil and religious liberties, including the right to independent personal decisions and knowledge of available choices, shall not be infringed and that the facility shall encourage and assist the resident in the fullest possible exercise of these rights. It is the intent of the General Assembly that rules developed by the Social Services Commission to implement Article 1 and Article 3 of Chapter 131D of the General Statutes encourage every resident's quality of life, autonomy, privacy, independence, respect, and dignity and provide the following: Diverse and innovative housing models that provide choices of different lifestyles that are acceptable, cost-effective, and accessible to all consumers regardless of age, disability, or financial status; A residential environment free from abuse, neglect, and exploitation; Available, affordable personal service models and individualized plans of care that are mutually agreed upon by the resident, family, and providers and that include measurable goals and outcomes; Client assessment, evaluation, and independent case management that enhance quality of life by allowing individual risk-taking and responsibility by the resident for decisions affecting daily living to the greatest degree possible based on the individual's ability; and Oversight, monitoring, and supervision by State and county governments to ensure every resident's safety and dignity and to assure that every resident's needs, including nursing and medical care needs if and when needed, are being met. History (1981, c. 923, s. 1; 1995, c. 535, s. 12; 2009-462, s. 4(g).) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2005-276, s. 10.40A(p), effective July 1, 2005, as amended by Session Laws 2006-66, s. 10.1, provides: "The Department's Division of Aging and Adult Services shall develop a Quality Improvement Consultation Program for Adult Care Homes. The purpose of the Program is to promote better care and improve quality of life in a safe environment for residents in adult care homes through consultation and assistance with adult care home providers. The county departments of social services shall be responsible for implementation of the Program with all adult care homes located in the respective county, based on a timetable for statewide implementation. "The Division of Aging and Adult Services shall consult with adult care home providers, county departments of social services, consumer advocates, and other interested stakeholders and parties in the development of the Quality Improvement Consultation Program for Adult Care Homes. "The Department shall submit a progress report to the North Carolina Study Commission on Aging and to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services and to the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health and Human Services on or before January 1, 2007. "The report will address the following topics: "(1) Principles and philosophies that are resident-centered and promote independence, dignity, and choice for residents; "(2) Approaches to develop continuous quality improvement with a focus on resident satisfaction and optimal outcomes; "(3) Dissemination of best practice models that have been used successfully elsewhere; "(4) A determination of the availability of standardized instruments, and their use to the extent possible, to assess and measure adult care home performance according to quality of life indicators; "(5) Utilization of quality improvement plans for adult care homes that identify and resolve issues that adversely affect quality of care and services to residents. The plans include agreed upon time frames for completion of improvements and identification of needed resources; "(6) Training required to equip county departments of social services' staff to implement the Program; "(7) A distinction of roles between the regulatory role of the Department's Division of Facility Services [now the Division of Health Service Regulation] and the quality improvement consultation and monitoring responsibilities of the county departments of social services; and "(8) Identification of staffing and other resources needed to implement the Program. "The Division of Aging and Adult Services shall conduct a pilot of the Quality Improvement Consultation Program for Adult Care Homes. No more than four county departments of social services shall participate in the pilot. The Division of Aging and Adult Services shall consider geographic balance and size in carrying out the pilot. At the conclusion of the pilot, the Division of Aging and Adult Services shall make recommendations regarding the effectiveness of the Quality Improvement Consultation Program for Adult Care Homes. If the Division recommends expansion of the pilot to other counties or statewide implementation of the Program, its report shall include the cost and a proposed timetable for implementing these recommendations, including the identification of any necessary statutory and administrative rule changes. The recommendations shall be made to the Secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, the North Carolina Study Commission on Aging, the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, and the House of Representatives Subcommittee on Health and Human Services." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2005'." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 46.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2005-2007 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2005-2007 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2005-276, s. 46.5, is a severability clause. Session Laws 2011-389, s. 1, provides: "The Department of Health and Human Services, in collaboration with the Department of Correction [now the Division of Adult Correction of the Department of Public Safety], shall establish a pilot program to allow certain inmates released from confinement pursuant to G.S. 148-4 or Article 84B of Chapter 15A of the General Statutes, who have been determined by the Department of Correction to be in need of personal care services and medication management, to be placed in an adult care home licensed under Article 1 of Chapter 131D of the General Statutes. The purpose of the pilot program is to determine if placing this population of released inmates in an adult care home provides the State with a lower cost alternative to providing for their care upon release from confinement without jeopardizing the health and safety of the inmates or the public. The Department of Health and Human Services shall select one adult care home to participate in the pilot program. The selected adult care home is prohibited from having or admitting any residents other than the inmates selected to participate in the pilot program. The Secretary of Health and Human Services may waive any rule adopted under Article 1 or Article 3 of Chapter 131D of the General Statutes as necessary to protect the public health and safety." Session Laws 2011-389, s. 2, provides: "Not later than 18 months after the participating adult care home admits its first resident in accordance with the pilot program established under Section 1 of this act, the Department of Health and Human Services and the Department of Correction [now the Division of Adult Correction of the Department of Public Safety] shall report their findings and recommendations to the Joint Legislative Corrections, Crime Control, and Juvenile Justice Oversight Committee. The report shall include an analysis of the costs and benefits of allowing this population of released inmates to be placed in an adult care home setting as compared to continuing their incarceration in a unit of the State prison system." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 3A.1(a), provides: "Unless the context clearly indicates otherwise, the following definitions apply in this Part: "(1) CDC. - The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. "(2) COVID-19. - Coronavirus disease 2019. "(3) COVID-19 diagnostic test. - A test the federal Food and Drug Administration has authorized for emergency use or approved to detect the presence of the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. "(4) COVID-19 emergency. - The period beginning March 10, 2020, and ending on the date the Governor signs an executive order rescinding Executive Order No. 116, Declaration of a State of Emergency to Coordinate Response and Protective Actions to Prevent the Spread of COVID-19. "(5) COVID-19 antibody test. - A serological blood test the federal Food and Drug Administration has authorized for emergency use or approved to measure the amount of antibodies or proteins present in the blood when the body is responding to an infection caused by the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 3E.3(a)-(c), provides: "(a) Notwithstanding any provision of Article 2 of Chapter 122C , Articles 1 and 3 of Chapter 131D , and Chapter 131E of the General Statutes, or any other provision of law to the contrary, the Department of Health and Human Services, Division of Health Service Regulation, and as applicable, local departments of social services, shall suspend all annual and biennial inspections and regular monitoring requirements for licensed facilities under Article 2 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes, Articles 1 and 3 of Chapter 131D of the General Statutes, and Articles 5, 6, and 10 of Chapter 131E of the General Statutes, and provisions within any rules adopted under these chapters that pertain to the Department or DHSR monitoring, inspection, or investigative requirements, except (i) as DHSR deems necessary to avoid serious injury, harm, impairment, or death to employees, residents, or patients of these facilities or (ii) as directed by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services. "(b) DHSR shall review the compliance history of all facilities licensed under Article 2 of Chapter 122C of the General Statutes and Article 1 of Chapter 131D of the General Statutes that were determined to be in violation, assessed penalties, or placed on probation within the six-month period preceding the beginning of the COVID-19 emergency, for noncompliance with rules or statutes or Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines regarding infection control or the proper use of personal protective equipment. DHSR shall require employees of these facilities to undergo immediate training designated by DHSR about infection control and the proper use of personal protective equipment. The training required by this section may be conducted online, by video conference, or in such manner as DHSR determines appropriate under the circumstances. "(c) This section is effective when it becomes law [May 4, 2020] and expires 60 days after Executive Order No. 116 is rescinded, or December 31, 2020, whichever is earlier." Session Laws 2020-3, s. 5, is a severability clause. Effect of Amendments. - Session Laws 2009-462, s. 4(g), effective October 1, 2009, substituted "Part 1 of this Article" for "G.S. 131D-2" in the first paragraph.