08 LC 33
2415
Senate
Bill 469
By:
Senators Harp of the 29th and Thomas of the 54th
AS
PASSED
AN
ACT
To
amend Code Section 31-7-12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating
to personal care homes, so as to revise the definition of "personal care home";
to amend Code Section 37-1-20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated,
relating to the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and
Addictive Diseases, so as to provide guidelines for and oversight of host homes
by the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addictive
Diseases of the Department of Human Resources; to define "host home"; to provide
for related matters; to repeal conflicting laws; and for other
purposes.
BE
IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF GEORGIA:
SECTION
1.
Code
Section 31-7-12 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to personal
care homes, is amended by revising paragraph (1) of subsection (a) as
follows:
"(1)
'Personal care home' means any dwelling, whether operated for profit or not,
which undertakes through its ownership or management to provide or arrange for
the provision of housing, food service, and one or more personal services for
two or more adults who are not related to the owner or administrator by blood or
marriage. This term shall not include host homes, as defined in paragraph (16)
of subsection (b) of Code Section 37-1-20."
SECTION
2.
Code
Section 37-1-20 of the Official Code of Georgia Annotated, relating to the
Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addictive Diseases,
is amended by revising subsection (b) as follows:
"(b)
The department, through the division, shall:
(1)
Establish, administer, and supervise the state programs for mental health,
developmental disabilities, and addictive diseases;
(2)
Direct, supervise, and control the medical and physical care, treatment, and
rehabilitation provided by the institutions and programs under its control,
management, or supervision;
(3)
Have authority to contract for services with community service boards, private
agencies, and other public entities for the provision of services within a
service area so as to provide an adequate array of services, choice of providers
for consumers, and to comply with the applicable federal laws, rules and
regulations related to public or private hospitals; hospital authorities;
medical schools and training and educational institutions; departments and
agencies of this state; county or municipal governments; any person,
partnership, corporation, or association, whether public or private; and the
United States government or the government of any other state;
(4)
Establish and support programs for the training of professional and technical
personnel as well as regional planning boards and community service
boards;
(5)
Have authority to conduct research into the causes and treatment of disability
and into the means of effectively promoting mental health;
(6)
Assign specific responsibility to one or more units of the division for the
development of a disability prevention program. The objectives of such program
shall include, but are not limited to, monitoring of completed and ongoing
research related to the prevention of disability, implementation of programs
known to be preventive, and testing, where practical, of those measures having a
substantive potential for the prevention of disability;
(7)
Establish a system for regional administration of mental health, developmental
disability, and addictive disease services in institutions and in the community
under the supervision of a regional coordinator;
(8)
Make and administer budget allocations to regional offices of the division
established by the board pursuant to Code Section 37-2-4.1 to fund the operation
of mental health, developmental disabilities, and addictive diseases facilities
and programs;
(9)
Coordinate in consultation with providers, professionals, and other experts the
development of appropriate outcome measures for client centered service delivery
systems;
(10)
Establish, operate, supervise, and staff programs and facilities for the
treatment of disabilities throughout this state;
(11)
Disseminate information about available services and the facilities through
which such services may be obtained;
(12)
Supervise the regional office´s exercise of its responsibility and
authority concerning funding and delivery of disability services;
(13)
Supervise the regional offices concerning the receipt and administration of
grants, gifts, moneys, and donations for purposes pertaining to mental health,
developmental disabilities, and addictive diseases;
(14)
Supervise the regional offices concerning making contracts with any hospital,
community service board, or any public or private providers without regard to
regional or state boundaries for the provision of disability services and in
making and entering into all contracts necessary or incidental to the
performance of the duties and functions of the division and the regional
offices;
(15)
Regulate the delivery of care, including behavioral interventions and medication
administration by licensed staff, or certified staff as determined by the
division, within residential settings serving only persons who are receiving
services authorized or financed, in whole or in part, by the
division;
(16)
Classify 'community living arrangements' and 'host homes' for persons whose
services are financially supported, in whole or in part, by funds authorized
through the Division of Mental Health, Developmental Disabilities, and Addictive
Diseases of the Department of Human Resources. As used in this Code section,
the term:
(A)
'Community living arrangement' means any residence, whether operated for profit
or not, which undertakes through its ownership or management to provide or
arrange for the provision of housing, food, one or more personal services,
supports, care, or treatment exclusively for two or more persons who are not
related to the owner or administrator of the residence by blood or
marriage.
(B)
'Host home' means a private residence in a residential area in which the
occupant owner or lessee provides housing and provides or arranges for the
provision of food, one or more personal services, supports, care, or treatment
exclusively for one or two persons who are not related to the occupant owner or
lessee by blood or marriage. A host home shall be occupied by the owner or
lessee, who shall not be an employee of the same community provider which
provides the host home services by contract with the division. The division
shall approve and enter into agreements with community providers which, in turn,
contract with host homes. The occupant owner or lessee shall not be the
guardian of any person served or of their property nor the agent in such
person´s advance directive for health care. The placement determination
for each person placed in a host home shall be made according to such
person´s choice as well as the individual needs of such person in
accordance with the requirements of Code Section 37-3-162, 37-4-122, or
37-7-162, as applicable to such person; and
(17)
Provide guidelines for and oversight of host homes, which may include, but not
be limited to, criteria to become a host home, requirements relating to physical
plants and supports, placement procedures, and ongoing oversight
requirements."
SECTION
3.
All
laws and parts of laws in conflict with this Act are repealed.