Bill Text: NJ A5317 | 2020-2021 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires each group home or other community-based residence for individuals with developmental disabilities to implement in-person family visitation policy as condition of licensure.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-01-29 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Human Services Committee [A5317 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2020-A5317-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblywoman JOANN DOWNEY
District 11 (Monmouth)
SYNOPSIS
Requires each group home or other community-based residence for individuals with developmental disabilities to implement in-person family visitation policy as condition of licensure.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning the implementation of in-person family visitation policies by group homes and other community-based residential programs and supplementing Title 30 of the Revised Statutes.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. As used in this act:
"Community-based residential program" or "community-based residence" means a developmental center, group home, supervised apartment, community care residence, nursing home, or other residential setting for individuals with developmental disabilities, which is licensed and regulated by the Department of Human Services.
"Department" means the Department of Human Services.
"Division" means the Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services.
"Developmental disability" means the same as that term is defined by section 3 of P.L.1977, c.82 (C.30:6D-3).
"Group home" means a living arrangement that is operated in a residence or residences leased or owned by an individual who is licensed by the Department of Human Services; which provides the opportunity for multiple individuals with developmental disabilities to live together in a home, sharing in chores and the overall management of the residence; and in which on-site staff provides supervision, training, or assistance, in a variety of forms and intensity, as required to assist the individuals as they move toward independence.
"Immediate family members" means a resident's spouse, parents, siblings, children, step-children, grandparents, and grandchildren.
"Licensee" means an individual, partnership, or corporation that is licensed by the Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services and is responsible for providing services associated with the operation of a group home or other community-based residential program.
"Noncompliant family member or guardian" means a family member or legal guardian of a resident, which family member or guardian has failed to comply with applicable infection control and other health and safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, or practices while on the premises of a group home or other community-based residence, in violation of the group home's in-person family visitation policy and the provisions of paragraph (2) of subsection b. of section 2 of this act.
"Repeat violator" means a noncompliant family member or guardian who has violated applicable infection control or other health or safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, or practices on more than one occasion.
"Resident" means a child or adult with developmental disabilities who resides in a group home or other community-based residence.
2. a. The Division of Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services shall require the licensed operator of a group home or other community-based residential program in the State, as a condition of licensure, to adopt and implement a written policy regarding in-person family visitation.
b. The in-person family visitation policy adopted pursuant to this section shall:
(1) authorize a resident to engage in a specified number of in-person visits, at regular intervals, with the resident's immediate family members and legal guardian during each year of residence. At a minimum, the policy shall authorize a resident to engage in not less than three in-person visits with the resident's immediate family members and legal guardian per month;
(2) authorize the family members and legal guardian of a resident to engage in in-person visitation with the resident: (a) at any time during normal business hours, without providing prior notice to the licensee; and (b) either before or after normal business hours, so long as the visiting family member or guardian provides the licensee with at least 24-hours advanced notice of the visit. The policy shall specify the procedure by which family members and guardians will be informed of the notice requirements applicable to after-hours visitation, and the procedure that is to be used by family members and guardians in providing advanced notice of after-hours visits;
(3) require visiting family members and guardians, while on the premises of the community-based residence, to comply with all applicable infection control and health and safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices imposed by the federal, State, or local government or by the community-based residence, including, but not limited to, laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, or practices providing for the use of social distancing measures or the wearing of personal protective equipment while on the premises of, or indoors at, the community-based residence; and
(4) identify the remedial, protective, and enforcement measures that will be instituted by staff of the community-based residence whenever a visiting family member or guardian is deemed to have violated, on one or multiple occasions, the infection control or health or safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices described in paragraph (2) of this subsection.
c. The remedial,
protective, and enforcement measures adopted pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection
b. of this section:
(1) shall, to the extent practicable, be designed to: (a) enable staff at the community-based residence to proactively and appropriately respond to, and mitigate the potential and actual effects of, any failure by a family member or guardian to comply with applicable infection control and health and safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices; and (b) encourage and facilitate a noncompliant family member or guardian's future and ongoing compliance with all applicable infection control and health and safety laws, regulations, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices while on the premises of the community-based residence;
(2) shall not prohibit, or have the effect of preventing, a noncompliant family member or guardian from continuing to engage in in-person visitation with the resident, as authorized pursuant to paragraph (1) of subsection b. of this section; and
(3) may: (a) provide for a noncompliant family member or guardian to be subject to targeted monitoring, random pop-in inspections, or other compliance verification methods while on the premises of the residence, as may be necessary to ensure the family member or guardian's future and ongoing compliance with applicable infection control and health and safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices; (b) provide for a repeat violator to engage in in-person visitation with a resident only under certain enhanced protective conditions, such as when the resident is separated from the repeat violator by a Plexiglas divider, or when the visitation occurs in a private and enclosed isolation room or in an outdoor area apart from other residents, as may be necessary to protect the health of all residents, including the resident being visited; or (c) require a noncompliant family member or guardian to pay a penalty fee or to otherwise be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including referral to law enforcement authorities, for failing to comply with applicable infection control and health and safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices.
d. Each in-person family visitation
policy adopted pursuant to this section shall be approved by the Division of
Developmental Disabilities in the Department of Human Services prior to its implementation.
Within 90 days after the effective date of this act, a community-based
residential program shall submit its in-person family visitation policy to the
division for approval. Within 10 days after making any material revisions to a
previously approved in-person family visitation policy, the community-based
residential program shall resubmit the revised policy to the division for re-approval
pursuant to this subsection, prior to implementing the proposed changes. The
division shall approve or disapprove an initial or revised policy, submitted
pursuant to this subsection,
within 15 days after receipt thereof. If the division does not respond to a submission within the timeframe provided by this subsection, the initial or revised policy shall be deemed approved, and the community-based residence may proceed to implement the policy. In any case where the division disapproves of an initial or revised policy submitted pursuant to this subsection, the division shall specify, in writing, the reasons for the disapproval and the changes to the policy that need to be incorporated in order for approval to be granted under this subsection. A community-based residence that receives a disapproval under this subsection shall, within 30 days after receipt thereof, revise the in-person family visitation policy in accordance with the division's suggestions and resubmit the policy for approval pursuant to this subsection.
e. Appropriate staff at a community-based residential program shall annually provide a written copy of the in-person family visitation policy that is developed and approved pursuant to this section to each resident of the community-based residence and to each family member and legal guardian who is identified in the resident's service records.
f. Each licensee shall annually submit a written report to the division, identifying:
(1) the total number of immediate family members and legal guardians who engaged in in-person visits with a resident during the year, in accordance with the community-based residence's in-person family visitation policy;
(2) the total number and percentage of visiting family members and legal guardians who were determined by staff, during the year, to be noncompliant family members or guardians or to be repeat violators;
(3) the nature of, and the financial costs associated with, the remedial, protective, and enforcement actions that were undertaken during the year by the licensee or staff at the community-based residence with respect to noncompliant family members and guardians and repeat violators, including any penalty fees imposed, disciplinary action taken, or law enforcement referrals made in accordance with the authorizations granted pursuant to paragraph (3) of subsection c. of this section; and
(4) the actual effects on infection control and health and safety within the community-based residence that are deemed to have been caused, at least in part, by a noncompliant family member or guardian's violation of applicable infection control and health and safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices.
3. a. Whenever the department or the division conducts an inspection of a group home or other community-based residence, the inspector shall determine whether the community-based residence is operating in compliance with the provisions of this act and the in-person family visitation policy adopted and approved pursuant thereto.
b. In addition to any other applicable penalties provided by law, whenever a community-based residential program fails to comply with the provisions of this act or to properly implement the in-person family visitation policy adopted and approved pursuant thereto, the licensee:
(1) shall be liable to pay an administrative penalty, the amount of which shall be determined in accordance with a schedule established by regulation, which schedule shall provide for an enhanced administrative penalty in the case of a repeat or ongoing violation; and
(2) may be subject to adverse licensure action, as deemed by the department to be appropriate.
c. Whenever a complaint received or an investigation conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families discloses evidence indicating that a community-based residential program has failed to comply with the provisions of this act or to properly implement the in-person family visitation policy adopted and approved pursuant thereto, the ombudsman shall refer the matter to the department for disciplinary action and, notwithstanding such referral, may take any other appropriate investigatory or enforcement action, with respect to the matter, as may be authorized by law.
4. a. Within 45 days after the enactment of this act, and notwithstanding the provisions of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.) to the contrary, the Commissioner of Human Services, in consultation with the Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Developmental Disabilities and the Commissioner of Health, shall adopt rules and regulations, immediately upon the filing of proper notice with the Office of Administrative Law, as may be necessary to implement the provisions of this act. The rules and regulations shall include, but need not be limited to, minimum standards and guidelines for the in-person family visitation policies that are to be adopted pursuant to section 2 of this act and a penalty schedule that is to be used pursuant to section 3 of this act.
b. The rules and regulations adopted pursuant to this section shall remain in effect for a period of not more than one year after the date of filing and, thereafter, shall be adopted, amended, or readopted by the commissioner in accordance with the requirements of the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.).
5. This act shall take
effect immediately.
STATEMENT
This bill would require the operator of each community-based residential program in the State, as a condition of licensure, to adopt and implement a written policy on in-person family visitation. "Community-based residential program" or "community-based residence" is defined to include a developmental center, group home, supervised apartment, community care residence, nursing home, or any other residential setting for individuals with developmental disabilities, which is licensed and regulated by the Department of Human Services (DHS).
Each in-person family visitation policy adopted under the bill is to authorize a resident of a community-based residence to engage in a specified number of in-person visits with the resident's immediate family members and legal guardian during each year of residence. At a minimum, the policy is to authorize a resident to engage in not less than three in-person visits with the resident's immediate family members and legal guardian per month. The policy is to further authorize the family members and legal guardian of a resident to engage in in-person visitation with the resident: 1) at any time during normal business hours, without providing prior notice to the licensee; and 2) either before or after normal business hours, so long as the visiting family member or guardian provides the licensee with at least 24-hours advanced notice of the visit. The policy is to specify the procedure by which family members and guardians will be informed of the notice requirements applicable to after-hours visitation, and the procedure that is to be used by family members and guardians in providing advanced notice of after-hours visits.
Each visitation policy is to additionally require visiting family members and guardians, while on the premises of the community-based residence, to comply with all applicable infection control and health and safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices imposed by the federal, State, or local government or by the community-based residence, including, but not limited to, laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, or practices providing for the use of social distancing measures or the wearing of personal protective equipment while on the premises of, or indoors at, the community-based residence. The policy is to further specify the remedial, protective, and enforcement measures that will be instituted by staff of the community-based residence whenever a visiting family member or guardian is deemed to have violated, on one or multiple occasions, applicable infection control or health or safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices. To the extent practicable, those remedial, protective, and enforcement measures are to be designed to: 1) enable staff at the community-based residence to proactively and appropriately respond to, and mitigate the potential and actual effects of, any failure by a family member or guardian to comply with applicable infection control and health and safety laws, regulations, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices; and 2) encourage and facilitate a noncompliant family member or guardian's future compliance with all applicable infection control and health and safety laws, regulations, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices while on the premises of the community-based residence.
The remedial, protective, and enforcement measures implemented under the policy may not prohibit, or have the effect of preventing, a noncompliant family member or guardian from continuing to engage in in-person visitation with the resident, as authorized by the bill and the policy. However, they may: 1) provide for a noncompliant family member or guardian to be subject to targeted monitoring, random pop-in inspections, or other compliance verification methods while on the premises of the residence, as may be necessary to ensure the family member or guardian's future and ongoing compliance with applicable infection control and health and safety laws, regulations, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices; 2) provide for a repeat violator to engage in in-person visitation with a resident only under certain enhanced protective conditions, such as when the resident is separated from the repeat violator by a Plexiglas divider, or when the visitation occurs in a private and enclosed isolation room or in an outdoor area apart from other residents; or 3) require a noncompliant family member or guardian to pay a penalty fee or to otherwise be subject to appropriate disciplinary action, including referral to law enforcement authorities, for failing to comply with applicable infection control and health and safety laws, regulations, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices.
Within 90 days after the
bill's effective date, each community-based residential program will be
required to develop and submit its policy to the Division of Developmental
Disabilities (DDD) in the Department of Human Services (DHS) for approval. The
bill further provides that, within 10 days after making any material revisions
to an approved policy, the residential program will need to resubmit the policy
to the DDD for reapproval. The DDD will be required to approve or disapprove a
policy within 15 days after receipt thereof. If the DDD does not respond to
the submission within the timeframe provided, the policy will be deemed
approved. In any case where the DDD disapproves an in-person family visitation
policy, the DDD will be required to specify, in writing, the reasons for the
disapproval and the changes to the policy that need to be incorporated in order
for approval to be granted. Any policy that is disapproved will need to be
revised and resubmitted to the DDD within 30 days after receipt of the notice
of disapproval.
Under the bill's provisions, appropriate staff at a community-based residence will be required to annually provide a written copy of the residence's approved in-person family visitation policy to each resident and to each family member and legal guardian who is identified in the resident's service records.
Each licensed operator of a community-based residential program will also be required to annually submit a written report to the DDD providing certain information about visiting family members and guardians. The report is to identify the number of family members and guardians who visited the residence during the year, pursuant to the in-person family visitation policy, and include certain additional information regarding: 1) those visiting family members and guardians who have failed to comply with applicable infection control and other health and safety laws, rules, regulations, orders, policies, standards, guidelines, and practices; and 2) the remedial, protective, and enforcement measures that were used by staff at the residence to redress those failures and any associated health effects.
The bill would require the DHS and the DDD, when conducting an inspection of a community-based residence, to determine whether the residence is in compliance with the bill's provisions and the in-person family visitation policy adopted pursuant thereto. In addition to any other applicable penalties provided by law, the licensed operator of a community-based residence that fails to comply with the bill's provisions or to properly implement the visitation policy will be liable to pay an administrative penalty and may be subject to adverse licensure action, as deemed by the DHS to be appropriate. The amount of the administrative penalty imposed is to be determined in accordance with a schedule established by regulation, which schedule is to provide for an enhanced administrative penalty in the case of a repeat or ongoing violation.
The bill would further provide that, whenever a complaint received or an investigation conducted by the Office of the Ombudsman for Individuals with Intellectual or Developmental Disabilities and Their Families discloses evidence indicating that a community-based residence has failed to comply with the bill's provisions or has failed to properly implement the visitation policy adopted pursuant thereto, the ombudsman will be required to refer the matter to the DHS for disciplinary action and, notwithstanding such referral, may take any other appropriate investigatory or enforcement action, with respect to the matter, as may be authorized by law.
The bill would require the Commissioner of Human Services, in consultation with the Assistant Commissioner of the Division of Developmental Disabilities and the Commissioner of Health, to adopt rules and regulations on an emergency basis, within 45 days after the bill's effective date, as may be necessary to implement the bill's provisions. These rules and regulations are to include, but need not be limited to, minimum standards and guidelines for the in-person family visitation policies adopted under the bill and a penalty schedule to be used when penalizing residences that fail to comply with the bill or properly implement the visitation policy adopted pursuant thereto. The emergency rules and regulations are to remain in effect for a period of not more than one year before being subject to readoption or amendment.
