Expands protections regarding violations of safety conditions in adult care facilities

◆ The sponsor's argument

Why Gustavo Rivera says this is needed

Adult homes, enriched housing programs, and residences for adults collectively referred to as adult care facilities (ACF) are important models of care that serve as the homes of thousands of New York State residents. This bill modernizes and strengthens inspection and enforce- ment processes and transparency. Many ACFs operate within the law and provide quality services, but year after year, there are horrendous cases of severe deficiencies affecting vulnerable residents. This bill offers more clear guidance for issues of endangerment, harm, and unli- censed facilities, as well as mitigating circumstances that will enable otherwise good facilities to avoid debilitating penalties. The bill would permit a "per violation" fine in addition to the current law permitting "per day" fines. The maximum fine per day has not been raised since the law's inception in 1977. While $1,000 may have been a signif- icant sum then, too often now it is just the "cost of doing business." Compared to the $10,000 maximum per day fine facing nursing homes, $2,000 per violation is an appropriate deterrent for ACFs. Currently, other ACFs and nursing homes are not notified and so they make referrals to the ACFs on the "do not refer" list. This bill corrects that. Several court decisions have interpreted SSL § 461-a(2) and (3) as requiring Department of Health (DOH) inspection reports to indicate areas of operation where an ACF is and is not in compliance and to require DOH to specifically direct how a violation is to be rectified. This bill provides clarity so that DOH resources will be better spent.

This is the sponsor's own case for the bill, quoted from their memorandum. It is not Agora's description of what the bill does.