North Carolina § 131D-4 - 1. Adult care homes; legislative intent.

§ 131D-4. 1. Adult care homes; legislative intent.

The General Assembly finds and declares that the ability to exercise personal control over one's life is fundamental to human dignity and quality of life and that dependence on others for some assistance with daily life activities should not require surrendering personal control of informed decision making or risk taking in all areas of one's life. The General Assembly intends to ensure that adult care homes provide services that assist the residents in such a way as to assure quality of life and maximum flexibility in meeting individual needs and preserving individual autonomy. History (1995, c. 449, s. 3; c. 535, s. 9.) Editor's Note. - Session Laws 2001-424, s. 21.7(a), provides: "(a) The Department of Health and Human Services shall consider the findings and recommendations in the March 1, 2001, performance audit report, 'Adult Care Home Reimbursement Rates,' conducted by the Office of the State Auditor. The Department shall implement all of the following recommendations: "(1) Identify alternative payment procedures that could have a more direct affect on quality of care, and continue current efforts to obtain a federal waiver to pay adult care homes directly for client services. "(2) Designate a division within the Department responsible for detailed review of submitted reports. "(3) Develop a plan to phase-in electronic filing of cost reports. "(4) Require related party disclosure in cost reports and modify the audit procedures to assure that related party transactions are identified. "The Department shall report on the implementation of these recommendations to the Senate Appropriations Committee on Health and Human Services, the House of Representatives Appropriations Subcommittee on Health and Human Services, and the Fiscal Research Division not later than April 1, 2002. The Department may not implement an alternative payment procedure unless and until the procedure has been approved by the General Assembly. Session Laws 2001-424, s. 1.2, provides: "This act shall be known as the 'Current Operations and Capital Improvements Appropriations Act of 2001'." Session Laws 2001-424, s. 36.3, provides: "Except for statutory changes or other provisions that clearly indicate an intention to have effects beyond the 2001-2003 fiscal biennium, the textual provisions of this act apply only to funds appropriated for, and activities occurring during, the 2001-2003 fiscal biennium." Session Laws 2001-424, s. 36.5, 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."