CA Health & Safety Code Section 1502


As used in this chapter:

(a)

“Community care facility” means any facility, place, or building that is maintained and operated to provide nonmedical residential care, day treatment, adult day care, or foster family agency services for children, adults, or children and adults, including, but not limited to, the physically handicapped, mentally impaired, incompetent persons, and abused or neglected children, and includes the following:

(1)

“Residential facility” means any family home, group care facility, or similar facility determined by the director, for 24-hour nonmedical care of persons in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual.

(2)

“Adult day program” means any community-based facility or program that provides care to persons 18 years of age or older in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living or for the protection of these individuals on less than a 24-hour basis.

(3)

“Therapeutic day services facility” means any facility that provides nonmedical care, counseling, educational or vocational support, or social rehabilitation services on less than a 24-hour basis to persons under 18 years of age who would otherwise be placed in foster care or who are returning to families from foster care. Program standards for these facilities shall be developed by the department, pursuant to Section 1530, in consultation with therapeutic day services and foster care providers.

(4)

“Foster family agency” means any public agency or private organization engaged in the recruiting, certifying, and training of, and providing professional support to, foster parents, or in finding homes or other places for placement of children for temporary or permanent care who require that level of care. Private foster family agencies shall be organized and operated on a nonprofit basis.

(5)

“Foster family home” means any residential facility providing 24-hour care for six or fewer foster children that is owned, leased, or rented and is the residence of the foster parent or parents, including their family, in whose care the foster children have been placed. The placement may be by a public or private child placement agency or by a court order, or by voluntary placement by a parent, parents, or guardian. It also means a foster family home described in Section 1505.2.

(6)

“Small family home” means any residential facility, in the licensee’s family residence, that provides 24-hour care for six or fewer foster children who have mental disorders or developmental or physical disabilities and who require special care and supervision as a result of their disabilities. A small family home may accept children with special health care needs, pursuant to subdivision (a) of Section 17710 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. In addition to placing children with special health care needs, the department may approve placement of children without special health care needs, up to the licensed capacity.

(7)

“Social rehabilitation facility” means any residential facility that provides social rehabilitation services for no longer than 18 months in a group setting to adults recovering from mental illness who temporarily need assistance, guidance, or counseling. Program components shall be subject to program standards pursuant to Article 1 (commencing with Section 5670) of Chapter 2.5 of Part 2 of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.

(8)

“Community treatment facility” means any residential facility that provides mental health treatment services to children in a group setting and that has the capacity to provide secure containment. Program components shall be subject to program standards developed and enforced by the State Department of Health Care Services pursuant to Section 4094 of the Welfare and Institutions Code. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit or discourage placement of persons who have mental or physical disabilities into any category of community care facility that meets the needs of the individual placed, if the placement is consistent with the licensing regulations of the department.

(9)

“Full-service adoption agency” means any licensed entity engaged in the business of providing adoption services, that does all of the following:

(A)

Assumes care, custody, and control of a child through relinquishment of the child to the agency or involuntary termination of parental rights to the child.

(B)

Assesses the birth parents, prospective adoptive parents, or child.

(C)

Places children for adoption.

(D)

Supervises adoptive placements. Private full-service adoption agencies shall be organized and operated on a nonprofit basis. As a condition of licensure to provide intercountry adoption services, a full-service adoption agency shall be accredited and in good standing according to Part 96 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or supervised by an accredited primary provider, or acting as an exempted provider, in compliance with Subpart F (commencing with Section 96.29) of Part 96 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(10)

“Noncustodial adoption agency” means any licensed entity engaged in the business of providing adoption services, that does all of the following:

(A)

Assesses the prospective adoptive parents.

(B)

Cooperatively matches children freed for adoption, who are under the care, custody, and control of a licensed adoption agency, for adoption, with assessed and approved adoptive applicants.

(C)

Cooperatively supervises adoptive placements with a full-service adoptive agency, but does not disrupt a placement or remove a child from a placement. Private noncustodial adoption agencies shall be organized and operated on a nonprofit basis. As a condition of licensure to provide intercountry adoption services, a noncustodial adoption agency shall be accredited and in good standing according to Part 96 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations, or supervised by an accredited primary provider, or acting as an exempted provider, in compliance with Subpart F (commencing with Section 96.29) of Part 96 of Title 22 of the Code of Federal Regulations.

(11)

“Transitional shelter care facility” means any group care facility that provides for 24-hour nonmedical care of persons in need of personal services, supervision, or assistance essential for sustaining the activities of daily living or for the protection of the individual. Program components shall be subject to program standards developed by the State Department of Social Services pursuant to Section 1502.3.

(12)

“Transitional housing placement provider” means an organization licensed by the department pursuant to Section 1559.110 and Section 16522.1 of the Welfare and Institutions Code to provide transitional housing to foster children at least 16 years of age and not more than 18 years of age, and nonminor dependents, as defined in subdivision (v) of Section 11400 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, to promote their transition to adulthood. A transitional housing placement provider shall be privately operated and organized on a nonprofit basis.

(13)

“Group home” means a residential facility that provides 24-hour care and supervision to children, delivered at least in part by staff employed by the licensee in a structured environment. The care and supervision provided by a group home shall be nonmedical, except as otherwise permitted by law.

(14)

“Runaway and homeless youth shelter” means a group home licensed by the department to operate a program pursuant to Section 1502.35 to provide voluntary, short-term, shelter and personal services to runaway youth or homeless youth, as defined in paragraph (2) of subdivision (a) of Section 1502.35.

(15)

“Enhanced behavioral supports home” means a facility certified by the State Department of Developmental Services pursuant to Article 3.6 (commencing with Section 4684.80) of Chapter 6 of Division 4.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and licensed by the State Department of Social Services as an adult residential facility or a group home that provides 24-hour nonmedical care to individuals with developmental disabilities who require enhanced behavioral supports, staffing, and supervision in a homelike setting. An enhanced behavioral supports home shall have a maximum capacity of four consumers, shall conform to Section 441.530(a)(1) of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and shall be eligible for federal Medicaid home- and community-based services funding.

(16)

“Community crisis home” means a facility certified by the State Department of Developmental Services pursuant to Article 8 (commencing with Section 4698) of Chapter 6 of Division 4.5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and licensed by the State Department of Social Services pursuant to Article 9.7 (commencing with Section 1567.80), as an adult residential facility, providing 24-hour nonmedical care to individuals with developmental disabilities receiving regional center service, in need of crisis intervention services, and who would otherwise be at risk of admission to the acute crisis center at Fairview Developmental Center, Sonoma Developmental Center, an acute general hospital, acute psychiatric hospital, an institution for mental disease, as described in Part 5 (commencing with Section 5900) of Division 5 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, or an out-of-state placement. A community crisis home shall have a maximum capacity of eight consumers, as defined in subdivision (a) of Section 1567.80, shall conform to Section 441.530(a)(1) of Title 42 of the Code of Federal Regulations, and shall be eligible for federal Medicaid home- and community-based services funding.

(17)

“Crisis nursery” means a facility licensed by the department to operate a program pursuant to Section 1516 to provide short-term care and supervision for children under six years of age who are voluntarily placed for temporary care by a parent or legal guardian due to a family crisis or stressful situation.

(18)

“Short-term residential treatment center” means a residential facility licensed by the department pursuant to Section 1562.01 and operated by any public agency or private organization that provides short-term, specialized, and intensive treatment, and 24-hour care and supervision to children. The care and supervision provided by a short-term residential treatment center shall be nonmedical, except as otherwise permitted by law.

(b)

“Department” or “state department” means the State Department of Social Services.

(c)

“Director” means the Director of Social Services.
Last Updated

Aug. 19, 2023

§ 1502’s source at ca​.gov