The license of any facility licensed as a residential facility for the elderly under the California Community Care Facilities Act provided for in Chapter 3 (commencing with Section 1500) on January 1, 1986, shall automatically be transferred for the unexpired term of the license to licensure as a residential care facility for the elderly under this chapter.

The regulations for a license shall prescribe standards of safety and sanitation for the physical plant and standards for basic care and supervision, personal care, and services to be provided.

The department’s regulations shall allow for the development of new and innovative community programs.

In adopting regulations which implement this chapter, the department shall provide flexibility to allow facilities conducted by and exclusively for adherents of a well-recognized church or religious denomination who rely solely on prayer or spiritual means for healing to operate a licensed residential care facility for the elderly.

Every residential care facility for the elderly shall have one or more carbon monoxide detectors in the facility that meet the standards established in Chapter 8 (commencing with Section 13260) of Part 2 of Division 12. The department shall account for the presence of these detectors during inspections.

Every facility required to be licensed under this chapter shall provide at least the following basic services:

Each residential care facility for the elderly shall state, on its client information form or admission agreement, and on its patient’s rights form, the facility’s policy concerning family visits and other communication with resident clients and shall promptly post notice of its visiting policy at a location in the facility that is accessible to residents and families.

The facility’s policy concerning family visits and communication shall be designed to encourage regular family involvement with the resident client and shall provide ample opportunities for family participation in activities at the facility.

A residential care facility for the elderly shall not require residents to purchase medications, or rent or purchase medical supplies or equipment, from any particular pharmacy or other source.

This section shall not preclude a residential care facility for the elderly from requiring that residents who need assistance with the purchasing, storing, or taking of medications comply with the facility’s policies and procedures regarding storage of medications and methods of assisting residents with the taking of medications, if the policies and procedures are reasonably necessary and meet the intent of state or federal regulations.

Every residential care facility for the elderly, as defined in Section 1569.2, shall, for the purpose of addressing issues that arise when a resident is missing from the facility, develop and comply with an absentee notification plan as part of the written record of the care the resident will receive in the facility, as described in Section 1569.80. The plan shall include and be limited to the following: a requirement that an administrator of the facility, or his or her designee, inform the resident’s authorized representative when that resident is missing from the facility and the circumstances in which an administrator of the facility, or his or her designee, shall notify local law enforcement when a resident is missing from the facility.

Every residential care facility for the elderly shall abide by the provisions of the Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender Long-Term Care Facility Residents’ Bill of Rights (Chapter 2.45 (commencing with Section 1439.50)).

microphone and camera functions, and is dedicated for resident use.

device shall be available in a manner that allows a resident to access it for discussion of personal or confidential information with a reasonable level of personal privacy.

Any duly authorized officer, employee, or agent of the department may, upon presentation of proper identification, enter and inspect any place providing personal care, supervision, and services at any time, with or without advance notice, to secure compliance with, or to prevent a violation of, this chapter.

licensee is pending.

January 1, 2019, the department shall conduct annual unannounced inspections of all residential care facilities for the elderly.

inspection.

information on the appropriate reporting agency in case of a complaint or emergency.

The Legislature hereby finds and declares that in order to protect the health and safety of elders in care at residential care facilities for the elderly, appropriate oversight and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly requires regular, periodic inspections of these facilities in addition to investigations in response to complaints. It is the intent of the Legislature to increase the frequency of unannounced inspections pursuant to Section 1569.33. In addition to the information that the State Department of Social Services is required to report during the 2015–16 legislative budget subcommittee hearings pursuant to Section 85 of Chapter 29 of the Statutes of 2014, the department shall also at that time report the projected costs of conducting annual inspections of

residential care facilities for the elderly beginning January 1, 2018.

assessment of any penalty or causes an accusation to be filed for the revocation of a license.

and the resolution of the complaint.

The director shall have the authority to contract for personal services as required in order to perform inspections of, or consultation with, residential care facilities for the elderly.

The department shall establish by December 1, 1986, within the department an interdisciplinary team of professionals to advise the department on implementation of this chapter and to be available in crisis situations to assist local licensing evaluators on the needs of elderly residents in facilities.

This team shall include at least a geriatric nurse practitioner or a public health nurse with geriatric experience and a social worker with related experience.

Upon request, the department shall provide the Office of the State Long-Term Care Ombudsman and any approved organizations of the office with copies of inspection reports for residential care facilities for the elderly.

neither the substance of the complaint provided the licensee nor any copy of the complaint or any record published, released, or otherwise made available to the licensee shall disclose the name of any person mentioned in the complaint except the name of any duly authorized officer, employee, or agent of the department conducting the investigation or inspection pursuant to this chapter.

affect the licensing investigation or the investigation of other agencies, including, but not limited to, law enforcement agencies. In either event, the complainant shall be promptly informed of the department’s proposed course of action.

the department shall make a good faith effort, documented in writing, to contact and interview the complainant and inform the complainant of the department’s proposed course of action and the relevant deadline for the department to complete its investigation. To the extent practicable, the officer, employee, or agent of the department who will conduct the investigation shall be the representative who interviews and makes contact with the complainant.

The director shall establish an automated license information system on licensees and former licensees of licensed residential care facilities for the elderly. The system shall maintain a record of any information that may be pertinent, as determined by the director, for licensure under this chapter. This information may include, but is not limited to, the licensees’ addresses, telephone numbers, violations of any laws related to the care of clients in a residential care facility for the elderly, licenses, revocation of any licenses and, to the extent permitted by federal law, social security numbers.