Governor Jerry Brown has signed a number of bills aimed at increasing protections for residents of California”s more than 7.500 Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly.
As of Sept. 28, the Governor has signed a total of nine bills that were part of the RCFE Reform Act of 2014. The RCFE Reform Act of 2014 was introduced in response to several scathing investigative reports about the failures in oversight and enforcement regarding California”s Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly, and the scandal at Valley Springs Manor in Castro Valley, where 19 elderly residents were abandoned by the care home”s owner/licensee. The reform bills focused on improving RCFE care, empowering residents, and providing DSS with some new tools to ensure compliance with regulatory standards.
Three important bills, AB 1554, AB 1571 and SB 894, that would have expedited complaint investigations, created an on-line RCFE consumer information system and mandated annual inspections of RCFEs respectively, did not make it through the legislative process dues to costs.
The following RCFE Reform Act bills have been signed into law:
SB 895 (Corbett): Requires DSS to post inspection reports; report on annual inspections
SB 911 (Block): Increases administrator and staff training in RCFEs
SB 1153 (Leno): Provides a ban on new admissions for out of compliance RCFEs
SB 1382 (Block): Increases RCFE annual fees by 20 percent
AB 1523 (Atkins): Requires all RCFEs to carry liability insurance
AB 1572 (Eggman): Increases rights of Resident and Family Councils
AB 1899 (Brown): Prohibits reinstatement of license when licensee abandons residents
AB 2044 (Rodriguez): Requires administrator on sight 24/7 and increased staff training
AB 2171 (Wieckowski): Creates statutory Resident Bill of Rights
Note that AB 2236 (Mainschein and Stone) would increase the penalties for abuse violations and violations that result in and death, but has not yet been signed or vetoed.
According to Pat McGinnis, Executive Director of California Advocates for Nursing Home Reform, “These laws cannot right the wrongs that were committed against so many RCFE residents over the past years, but they do provide the Department with some better enforcement tools, provide for basic statutory resident rights and provide a path forward to ensure that protecting the health and safety of RCFE residents is a priority.”
