Board of Social Services Approves ALF Regulations

At a special meeting of the Department of Social Services Board on November 1st, members approved the proposed assisted living replacement regulations.  The standards, when approved by the Department of Planning & Budget, Secretary Tavenner and Governor Kaine, will be published in the Virginia Register. They are scheduled to become effective on December 28, 2006 to replace the Emergency Regulations currently in effect.

During the public comment period which ended on October 6, 2006, VHCA/VCAL submitted extensive comments, along with other members of the ALF Collaborative, seeking amendments to the comprehensive regulatory revision.  According to Secretary of Health & Human Resources Marilyn Tavenner, the final regulations are a “great product”.  The final version of the regulations incorporates the majority of the recommendations offered by VCAL.  Many of the initially proposed overreaching requirements were modified or deleted in the revision, including prescriptive requirements for a risk management plan, incident reports, staffing, quality improvement and the definition for high risk behavior.  To read the complete package reviewed by the Board of Social Services at their meeting, go to What’s New on the VHCA website.