South Carolina § 44-20-780 - Notifying operator of program of deficiencies; time for correction; notice of impending denial, suspension, or revocation of license; exception for immediate threat.

§ 44-20-780. Notifying operator of program of deficiencies; time for correction; notice of impending denial, suspension, or revocation of license; exception for immediate threat.

(A) The Office of Intellectual and Developmental Disabilities shall give written notification to the governing board or if none, the operator of a program of deficiencies, and the applicant or licensee must be given a specified time in which to correct the deficiencies. If the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities determines to deny, suspend, or revoke a license, it shall send to the applicant or licensee by certified mail a notice setting forth the reason for the determination. The denial, suspension, or revocation becomes final fifteen calendar days after the mailing of the notice, unless the applicant or licensee within that time gives written notice of his desire for a hearing. If the applicant or licensee gives that notice, he must be given a hearing before the department and may present evidence. On the basis of the evidence, the determination must be affirmed or set aside by the director, and a copy of the decision, setting forth the findings of fact and the reasons upon which it is based must be sent by registered mail to the applicant.

(B) If an existing program has conditions or practices which, in the office's judgment, provide an immediate threat to the safety and welfare of the person with intellectual disability, a related disability, head injury, or spinal cord injury served, the department may immediately suspend or revoke the license of the program. Notification of the program board or operator by certified mail of the license suspension or revocation also must include the reasons or conditions. A person operating a program which has had its license suspended or revoked must be punished as provided in "Injunctions; Penalties".

HISTORY: 1990 Act No. 496, SECTION 1; 1993 Act No. 181, SECTION 1078; 2011 Act No. 47, SECTION 2, eff June 7, 2011.

Code Commissioner's Note

At the direction of the Code Commissioner, certain references in the S.C. Code to the State Department of Mental Health, South Carolina Mental Health Commission, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs, Department of Disabilities and Special Needs Commission, Department of Alcohol and Other Drug Abuse Services, and other related terms were changed to reflect the restructuring of these agencies into component offices under the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Disabilities, pursuant to 2025 Act No. 3, SECTION 18.