Cracking down in North Carolina.

New legislation in North Carolina gives the state Department of Health and Human Services the authority to investigate the history of adult care home owners before issuing them a new license. The category includes assisted living centers, rest homes, family care homes, and homes for developmentally disabled adults.

Owners of any adult care home who have had a license revoked or placed on provisional status or who have been cited for serious threats to residents' health, safety, or welfare would not be granted a new license until they have corrected the problem or outlined a plan of correction with the Department of Social Services.

The bill also revises the statute to allow people who file a complaint to have access to information about that investigation, provided they have written consent from the resident or the resident's legal representative or responsible party. At press time in early June, both the Senate and the House had passed the bill, and it was awaiting the governor s signature.

State Senator Charles Carter sponsored the bill after hearing of an adult care home owner of 10 facilities, nine of which were out of compliance. When the owner applied for his eleventh license and a local agency recommended that the application be denied, the state department in charge of licensing replied that it was not allowed to look at an owner's history to determine whether to grant a license.

The North Carolina Assisted Living Association supports the measure as an "appropriate consideration," says Executive Director Jerry Cooper.

Cooper adds that the group is also advocating for a bill that would change the administrator requirements for adult care homes. The bill would raise the minimum age of administrators to 21, require at least two years of post-high school education, and require completion of an administrator training curriculum. "We have to upgrade the qualifications of the administrator so they can bring more professionalism to it," he says.