Bill Text: AZ SB1247 | 2019 | Fifty-fourth Legislature 1st Regular | Chaptered
Bill Title: Residential care institutions; children
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 2-0)
Status: (Passed) 2019-04-24 - Chapter 134 [SB1247 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2019-SB1247-Chaptered.html
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Senate Engrossed |
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State of Arizona Senate Fifty-fourth Legislature First Regular Session 2019
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CHAPTER 134
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SENATE BILL 1247 |
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AN ACT
Amending section 8‑804, Arizona Revised Statutes; amending title 36, chapter 4, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, by adding section 36-418; amending sections 36-422, 36‑424 and 41‑619.57, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to children.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 8-804, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
8-804. Central registry; notification
A. The department shall maintain a central registry of reports of child abuse and neglect that are substantiated and the outcome of the investigation of these reports made under this article. A finding made by a court pursuant to section 8‑844, subsection C that a child is dependent based on an allegation of abuse or neglect shall be recorded as a substantiated finding of abuse or neglect. The department shall incorporate duplicate reports on the same incident in the original report and shall not classify duplicate reports as new reports.
B. The department shall conduct central registry background checks and shall use the information contained in the central registry only for the following purposes:
1. As a factor to determine qualifications for foster home licensing, adoptive parent certification, individuals who apply for child welfare agency licensing, child care home certification, registration of unregulated child care homes with the child care resource and referral system, and home and community based services certification for services to children or vulnerable adults.
2. As a factor to determine qualifications for persons who are employed or who are applying for employment with this state in positions that provide direct service to children or vulnerable adults.
3. As a factor to determine qualifications for individuals who are employed or who are applying for employment with a child welfare agency in positions that provide direct service to children or vulnerable adults.
4. As a factor to determine qualifications for positions that provide direct service to children or vulnerable adults for:
(a) Any person who applies for a contract with this state and that person's employees.
(b) All employees of a contractor.
(c) A subcontractor of a contractor and the subcontractor's employees.
(d) Prospective employees of the contractor or subcontractor at the request of the prospective employer.
5. Beginning August 1, 2013, To provide information to licensees that do not contract with this state regarding persons who are employed or seeking employment to provide direct services to children pursuant to title 36, chapter 7.1.
6. To identify and review reports concerning individual children and families, in order to facilitate the assessment of safety and risk.
7. To determine the nature and scope of child abuse and neglect in this state and to provide statewide statistical and demographic information concerning trends in child abuse and neglect.
8. To allow comparisons of this state's statistical data with national data.
9. To comply with section 8‑804.01, subsection B.
10. To provide information to licensees described in subsection D of this section regarding persons who are employed or seeking employment to provide direct services to children in a licensed behavioral health residential facility.
C. Beginning August 1, 2013, Licensees that do not contract with the state and that employ persons who provide direct services to children pursuant to title 36, chapter 7.1 must submit to the department of child safety in a manner prescribed by the department of child safety information necessary to conduct central registry background checks. The department of health services shall verify whether licensees, pursuant to title 36, chapter 7.1, have complied with the requirements of this subsection and any rules adopted by the department of health services to implement this subsection.
D. Beginning September 1, 2019, licensees that do not contract with this state, that contract with the federal government, that receive only federal monies and that employ persons who provide direct services to children in a licensed behavioral health residential facility pursuant to title 36, chapter 4 must submit to the department of child safety in a manner prescribed by the department of child safety information necessary to conduct central registry background checks. The department of health services shall verify whether the licensees, pursuant to title 36, chapter 4, have complied with the requirements of this subsection.
D. E. If the department of economic security received a report before September 1, 1999 and determined that the report was substantiated, the department of child safety shall maintain the report in the central registry until eighteen years from the child victim's date of birth.
E. F. If the department of economic security or the department of child safety received a report on or after September 1, 1999 and determined that the report was substantiated, the department of child safety shall maintain the report in the central registry for a maximum of twenty‑five years after the date of the report. If the department of child safety maintains reports in the central registry for less than twenty‑five years, the department shall adopt rules to designate the length of time it must maintain those reports in the central registry.
F. G. The department shall annually purge reports and investigative outcomes received pursuant to the time frames prescribed in subsections D E and E F of this section.
G. H. Any person who was the subject of a department investigation may request confirmation that the department has purged information about the person pursuant to subsection F G of this section. On receipt of this request, the department shall provide the person with written confirmation that the department has no record containing identifying information about that person.
H. I. The department shall notify a person, contractor or licensee identified in subsection B, paragraph 4, subdivisions (a), (b) and (c) and subsection B, paragraph paragraphs 5 and 10 of this section who is disqualified because of a central registry check conducted pursuant to subsection B of this section that the person may apply to the board of fingerprinting for a central registry exception pursuant to section 41‑619.57.
I. J. Before being employed in a position that provides direct services to children or vulnerable adults pursuant to subsection B, paragraphs 4, and 5 and 10 or subsection subsections C and D of this section, employees shall certify, under penalty of perjury, on forms that are provided by the department whether an allegation of abuse or neglect was made against them and was substantiated. The forms are confidential. If this certification does not indicate a current investigation or a substantiated report of abuse or neglect, the employee may provide direct services pending the findings of the central registry check.
J. K. A person who is granted a central registry exception pursuant to section 41‑619.57 is not entitled to a contract, employment, licensure, certification or other benefit because the person has been granted a central registry exception.
K. L. An agency of this state that conducts central registry background checks as a factor to determine qualifications for positions that provide direct services to children or vulnerable adults shall publish a list of disqualifying acts of substantiated abuse or neglect.
L. M. An agency of this state that conducts central registry background checks may provide information contained in the central registry on all reports of child abuse and neglect that are substantiated and the outcomes of the investigations of the reports to carry out the provisions of this section. Identifying information regarding any person other than the perpetrator may not be released. Information received pursuant to this section may not be further disseminated unless authorized by law or court order.
Sec. 2. Title 36, chapter 4, article 1, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended by adding section 36-418, to read:
36-418. Behavioral health residential facilities; reporting requirement
A licensed behavioral health residential facility that provides services to children, that contracts with the federal government and that receives only federal monies shall report to the department of health services within twenty‑four hours after an actual or alleged event or situation that creates a significant risk of substantial or serious harm to the physical or mental health, safety or well-being of a resident at the facility or while the resident is in the custody of the facility and that requires notification to local law enforcement, the department of child safety or the United States department of health and human services. The licensee shall inform the department of health services regarding any corrective action plan required by the United States department of health and human services.
Sec. 3. Section 36-422, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
36-422. Application for license; notification of proposed change in status; joint licenses; definitions
A. A person who wishes to apply for a license to operate a health care institution pursuant to this chapter shall submit to the department all of the following:
1. An application on a written or electronic form that is prescribed, prepared and furnished by the department and that contains all of the following:
(a) The name and location of the health care institution.
(b) Whether the health care institution is to be operated as a proprietary or nonproprietary institution.
(c) The name of the governing authority. The applicant shall be the governing authority having the operative ownership of, or the governmental agency charged with the administration of, the health care institution sought to be licensed. If the applicant is a partnership that is not a limited partnership, the partners shall apply jointly, and the partners are jointly the governing authority for purposes of this article.
(d) The name and business or residential address of each controlling person and an affirmation that none of the controlling persons has been denied a license or certificate by a health profession regulatory board pursuant to title 32 or by a state agency pursuant to chapter 6, article 7 or chapter 17 of this title or a license to operate a health care institution in this state or another state or has had a license or certificate issued by a health profession regulatory board pursuant to title 32 or issued by a state agency pursuant to chapter 6, article 7 or chapter 17 of this title or a license to operate a health care institution revoked. If a controlling person has been denied a license or certificate by a health profession regulatory board pursuant to title 32 or by a state agency pursuant to chapter 6, article 7 or chapter 17 of this title or a license to operate a health care institution in this state or another state or has had a health care professional license or a license to operate a health care institution revoked, the controlling person shall include in the application a comprehensive description of the circumstances for the denial or the revocation.
(e) The class or subclass of health care institution to be established or operated.
(f) The types and extent of the health care services to be provided, including emergency services, community health services and services to indigent patients.
(g) The name and qualifications of the chief administrative officer implementing direction in that specific health care institution.
(h) Other pertinent information required by the department for the proper administration of this chapter and department rules.
2. The architectural plans and specifications or the department's approval of the architectural plans and specifications required by section 36‑421, subsection A.
3. The applicable application fee.
B. An application submitted pursuant to this section shall contain the written or electronic signature of:
1. If the applicant is an individual, the owner of the health care institution.
2. If the applicant is a partnership, limited liability company or corporation, two of the officers of the corporation or managing members of the partnership or limited liability company or the sole member of the limited liability company if it has only one member.
3. If the applicant is a governmental unit, the head of the governmental unit.
C. An application for licensure shall be submitted at least sixty but not more than one hundred twenty days before the anticipated date of operation. An application for a substantial compliance survey submitted pursuant to section 36‑425, subsection G shall be submitted at least thirty days before the date on which the substantial compliance survey is requested.
D. If a current licensee intends to terminate the operation of a licensed health care institution or if a change of ownership is planned, the current licensee shall notify the director in writing at least thirty days before the termination of operation or change in ownership is to take place. The current licensee is responsible for preventing any interruption of services required to sustain the life, health and safety of the patients or residents. A new owner shall not begin operating the health care institution until the director issues a license to the new owner.
E. A licensed health care institution for which operations have not been terminated for more than thirty days may be relicensed pursuant to the codes and standards for architectural plans and specifications that were applicable under its most recent license.
F. If a person operates a hospital in a county with a population of more than five hundred thousand persons in a setting that includes satellite facilities of the hospital that are located separately from the main hospital building, the department at the request of the applicant or licensee shall issue a single group license to the hospital and its designated satellite facilities located within one‑half mile of the main hospital building if all of the facilities meet or exceed department licensure requirements for the designated facilities. At the request of the applicant or licensee, the department shall also issue a single group license that includes the hospital and not more than ten of its designated satellite facilities that are located farther than one‑half mile from the main hospital building if all of these facilities meet or exceed applicable department licensure requirements. Each facility included under a single group license is subject to the department's licensure requirements that are applicable to that category of facility. Subject to compliance with applicable licensure or accreditation requirements, the department shall reissue individual licenses for the facility of a hospital located in separate buildings from the main hospital building when requested by the hospital. This subsection does not apply to nursing care institutions and residential care institutions. The department is not limited in conducting inspections of an accredited health care institution to ensure that the institution meets department licensure requirements. If a person operates a hospital in a county with a population of five hundred thousand persons or less in a setting that includes satellite facilities of the hospital that are located separately from the main hospital building, the department at the request of the applicant or licensee shall issue a single group license to the hospital and its designated satellite facilities located within thirty-five miles of the main hospital building if all of the facilities meet or exceed department licensure requirements for the designated facilities. At the request of the applicant or licensee, the department shall also issue a single group license that includes the hospital and not more than ten of its designated satellite facilities that are located farther than thirty‑five miles from the main hospital building if all of these facilities meet or exceed applicable department licensure requirements.
G. If a county with a population of more than one million persons or a special health care district in a county with a population of more than one million persons operates an accredited hospital that includes the hospital's accredited facilities that are located separately from the main hospital building and the accrediting body's standards as applied to all facilities meet or exceed the department's licensure requirements, the department shall issue a single license to the hospital and its facilities if requested to do so by the hospital. If a hospital complies with applicable licensure or accreditation requirements, the department shall reissue individual licenses for each hospital facility that is located in a separate building from the main hospital building if requested to do so by the hospital. This subsection does not limit the department's duty to inspect a health care institution to determine its compliance with department licensure standards. This subsection does not apply to nursing care institutions and residential care institutions.
H. An applicant or licensee must notify the department within thirty days after any change regarding a controlling person and provide the information and affirmation required pursuant to subsection A, paragraph 1, subdivision (d) of this section.
I. A behavioral health residential facility that provides services to children must notify the department within thirty days after the facility begins contracting exclusively with the federal government, receives only federal monies and does not contract with this state.
I. J. This section does not limit the application of federal laws and regulations to an applicant or licensee that is certified as a medicare or an Arizona health care cost containment system provider under federal law.
J. K. Except for an outpatient treatment center providing dialysis services or abortion procedures, a person wishing to begin operating an outpatient treatment center before a licensing inspection is completed shall submit all of the following:
1. The license application required pursuant to this section.
2. All applicable application and license fees.
3. A written request for a temporary license that includes:
(a) The anticipated date of operation.
(b) An attestation signed by the applicant that the applicant and the facility comply with and will continue to comply with the applicable licensing statutes and rules.
K. L. Within seven days after the department's receipt of the items required in subsection J K of this section, but not before the anticipated operation date submitted pursuant to subsection C of this section, the department shall issue a temporary license that includes:
1. The name of the facility.
2. The name of the licensee.
3. The facility's class or subclass.
4. The temporary license's effective date.
5. The location of the licensed premises.
L. M. A facility may begin operating on the effective date of the temporary license.
M. N. The director may cease the issuance of temporary licenses at any time if the director believes that public health and safety is endangered.
N. O. For the purposes of this section:
1. "Accredited" means accredited by a nationally recognized accreditation organization.
2. "Satellite facility" means an outpatient facility at which the hospital provides outpatient medical services.
Sec. 4. Section 36-424, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
36-424. Inspections; suspension or revocation of license; report to board of examiners of nursing care institution administrators
A. Subject to the limitation limit prescribed by subsection B of this section, the director shall inspect the premises of the health care institution and investigate the character and other qualifications of the applicant to ascertain whether the applicant and the health care institution are in substantial compliance with the requirements of this chapter and the rules established pursuant to this chapter. The director may prescribe rules regarding department background investigations into an applicant's character and qualifications.
B. The director shall accept proof that a health care institution is an accredited hospital or is an accredited health care institution in lieu of all compliance inspections required by this chapter if the director receives a copy of the institution's accreditation report for the licensure period. If the health care institution's accreditation report is not valid for the entire licensure period, the department may conduct a compliance inspection of the health care institution during the time period the department does not have a valid accreditation report for the health care institution. For the purposes of this subsection, each licensed premises of a health care institution must have its own accreditation report. The director may accept an accreditation report in lieu of a compliance inspection of a behavioral health residential facility providing services to children only if both of the following apply:
1. The facility is accredited by an independent, nonprofit accrediting organization approved by the secretary of the United States department of health and human services.
2. The facility has not been subject to an enforcement action pursuant to section 36‑427 or 36‑431.01 within the year preceding the annual licensing fee anniversary date.
C. On a determination by the director that there is reasonable cause to believe a health care institution is not adhering to the licensing requirements of this chapter, the director and any duly designated employee or agent of the director, including county health representatives and county or municipal fire inspectors, consistent with standard medical practices, may enter on and into the premises of any health care institution that is licensed or required to be licensed pursuant to this chapter at any reasonable time for the purpose of determining the state of compliance with this chapter, the rules adopted pursuant to this chapter and local fire ordinances or rules. Any application for licensure under this chapter constitutes permission for and complete acquiescence in any entry or inspection of the premises during the pendency of the application and, if licensed, during the term of the license. If an inspection reveals that the health care institution is not adhering to the licensing requirements established pursuant to this chapter, the director may take action authorized by this chapter. Any health care institution, including an accredited hospital, whose license has been suspended or revoked in accordance with this section is subject to inspection on application for relicensure or reinstatement of license.
D. The director shall immediately report to the board of examiners of nursing care institution administrators information identifying that a nursing care institution administrator's conduct may be grounds for disciplinary action pursuant to section 36‑446.07.
Sec. 5. Section 41‑619.57, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
41-619.57. Central registry exceptions; expedited review; hearing
A. The board shall determine central registry exceptions for each substantiated report pursuant to section 8‑804. The board shall determine a central registry exception after an expedited review or after a central registry exception hearing. The board shall conduct an expedited review within twenty days after receiving an application for a central registry exception.
B. Within forty‑five days after conducting an expedited review, the board shall hold a central registry exception hearing if the board determines that the applicant does not qualify for a central registry exception under an expedited review but is qualified to apply for a central registry exception and the applicant submits an application for a central registry exception within the time limits prescribed by rule.
C. When determining whether a person is eligible to receive a central registry exception pursuant to section 8‑804, the board shall consider whether the person has shown to the board's satisfaction that the person is successfully rehabilitated and is not a recidivist. Before granting a central registry exception under expedited review, the board shall consider all of the criteria listed in subsection E of this section.
D. The following persons shall be present during central registry exception hearings:
1. The board or its hearing officer.
2. The person who requested the central registry exception hearing. The person may be accompanied by a representative at the hearing.
E. The board may grant a central registry exception at a hearing if the person shows to the board's satisfaction that the person is successfully rehabilitated and is not a recidivist. The board may consider the person's criminal record in determining if a person has been successfully rehabilitated. If the applicant fails to appear at the hearing without good cause, the board may deny a central registry exception. The board shall grant or deny a central registry exception within eighty days after the central registry exception hearing. Before granting a central registry exception at a hearing the board shall consider all of the following in accordance with board rule:
1. The extent of the person's central registry records.
2. The length of time that has elapsed since the abuse or neglect occurred.
3. The nature of the abuse or neglect.
4. Any applicable mitigating circumstances.
5. The degree to which the person participated in the abuse or neglect.
6. The extent of the person's rehabilitation, including:
(a) Evidence of positive action to change the person's behavior, such as completion of counseling or a drug treatment, domestic violence or parenting program.
(b) Personal references attesting to the person's rehabilitation.
F. If the board grants a central registry exception to a person, the board shall notify the department of child safety, the department of economic security or the department of health services, as appropriate, in writing.
G. A person who is granted a central registry exception is not entitled to have the person's report and investigation outcome purged from the central registry except as required pursuant to section 8-804, subsections F and G and H.
H. Pending the outcome of a central registry exception determination, a central registry exception applicant may not provide direct services to children pursuant to title 36, chapter 7.1.
I. The board is exempt from chapter 6, article 10 of this title.
Sec. 6. Rulemaking; department of health services
The department of health services shall adopt rules requiring employees and personnel of residential facilities providing behavioral health services to children to report any abuse or neglect pursuant to section 13‑3620, Arizona Revised Statutes.
Sec. 7. Emergency
This act is an emergency measure that is necessary to preserve the public peace, health or safety and is operative immediately as provided by law.
APPROVED BY THE GOVERNOR APRIL 24, 2019.
FILED IN THE OFFICE OF THE SECRETARY OF STATE APRIL 24, 2019.
