1531.15
. (a) A licensee of an adult residential facility,
short-term residential treatment center, or group home for no more
than six residents, except for the larger facilities provided for in
paragraph (1) of subdivision (k), that is utilizing delayed egress
devices pursuant to Section 1531.1, may install and utilize secured
perimeters in accordance with the provisions of this section.
(b) As used in this section, "secured perimeters" means fences
that meet the requirements prescribed by this section.
(c) Only individuals meeting all of the following conditions may
be admitted to or reside in a facility described in subdivision (a)
utilizing secured perimeters:
(1) The person shall have a developmental disability as defined in
Section 4512 of the Welfare and Institutions Code.
(2) The person shall be receiving services and case management
from a regional center under the Lanterman Developmental Disabilities
Services Act (Division 4.5 (commencing with Section 4500) of the
Welfare and Institutions Code).
(3) (A) The person shall be 14 years of age or older, except as
specified in subparagraph (B).
(B) Notwithstanding subparagraph (A), a child who is at least 10
years of age and less than 14 years of age may be placed in a
licensed group home described in subdivision (a) using secured
perimeters only if both of the following occur:
(i) A comprehensive assessment is conducted and an individual
program plan meeting is convened to determine the services and
supports needed for the child to receive services in a less
restrictive, unlocked residential setting in California, and the
regional center requests assistance from the State Department of
Developmental Services' statewide specialized resource service to
identify options to serve the child in a less restrictive, unlocked
residential setting in California.
(ii) The regional center requests placement of the child in a
licensed group home described in subdivision (a) using secured
perimeters on the basis that the placement is necessary to prevent
out-of-state placement or placement in a more restrictive, locked
residential setting such as a developmental center, institution for
mental disease or psychiatric facility, and the State Department of
Developmental Services approves the request.
(4) The person is not a foster child under the jurisdiction of the
juvenile court pursuant to Section 300, 450, 601, or 602 of the
Welfare and Institutions Code.
(5) (A) An interdisciplinary team, through the individual program
plan (IPP) process pursuant to Section 4646.5 of the Welfare and
Institutions Code, shall have determined the person lacks hazard
awareness or impulse control and, for his or her safety and security,
requires the level of supervision afforded by a facility equipped
with secured perimeters, and, but for this placement, the person
would be at risk of admission to, or would have no option but to
remain in, a more restrictive placement. The individual program
planning team shall convene every 90 days after admission to
determine and document the continued appropriateness of the current
placement and progress in implementing the transition plan.
(B) The clients' rights advocate for the regional center shall be
notified of the proposed admission and the individual program plan
meeting and may participate in the individual program plan meeting
unless the consumer objects on his or her own behalf.
(d) The licensee shall be subject to all applicable fire and
building codes, regulations, and standards, and shall receive
approval by the county or city fire department, the local fire
prevention district, or the State Fire Marshal for the installed
secured perimeters.
(e) The licensee shall provide staff training regarding the use
and operation of the secured perimeters, protection of residents'
personal rights, lack of hazard awareness and impulse control
behavior, and emergency evacuation procedures.
(f) The licensee shall revise its facility plan of operation.
These revisions shall first be approved by the State Department of
Developmental Services. The plan of operation shall not be approved
by the State Department of Social Services unless the licensee
provides certification that the plan was approved by the State
Department of Developmental Services. The plan shall include, but not
be limited to, all of the following:
(1) A description of how the facility is to be equipped with
secured perimeters that are consistent with regulations adopted by
the State Fire Marshal pursuant to Section 13143.6.
(2) A description of how the facility will provide training for
staff.
(3) A description of how the facility will ensure the protection
of the residents' personal rights consistent with Sections 4502,
4503, and 4504 of the Welfare and Institutions Code, and any
applicable personal rights provided in Title 22 of the California
Code of Regulations.
(4) A description of how the facility will manage residents' lack
of hazard awareness and impulse control behavior, which shall
emphasize positive behavioral supports and techniques that are
alternatives to physical, chemical, or mechanical restraints, or
seclusion.
(5) A description of the facility's emergency evacuation
procedures.
(6) A description of how the facility will comply with applicable
health and safety standards.
(g) Secured perimeters shall not substitute for adequate staff.
(h) Emergency fire and earthquake drills shall be conducted on
each shift in accordance with existing licensing requirements, and
shall include all facility staff providing resident care and
supervision on each shift.
(i) Interior and exterior space shall be available on the facility
premises to permit clients to move freely and safely.
(j) For the purpose of using secured perimeters, the licensee
shall not be required to obtain a waiver or exception to a regulation
that would otherwise prohibit the locking of a perimeter fence or
gate.
(k) Except as provided in subdivision (k) of Section 4684.81 of
the Welfare and Institutions Code, the state shall not authorize or
fund more than a combined total of 150 beds statewide in facilities
with secured perimeters under this section and under Section 1267.75.
The department shall notify the appropriate fiscal and policy
committees of the Legislature through the January and May budget
estimates prior to authorizing an increase above a combined total of
100 beds statewide in facilities with secured perimeters under this
section and under Section 1267.75.
(1) A minimum of 50 beds shall be available within programs
designed for individuals who are designated incompetent to stand
trial pursuant to Section 1370.1 of the Penal Code. These beds shall
be within facilities that are exclusively used to provide care for
individuals who are placed and participating in forensic competency
training pursuant to Section 1370.1 of the Penal Code, except as
provided in paragraph (2). No more than half of these facilities may
have more than six beds and no facility may have more than 15 beds.
(2) When, in the joint determination of the regional center and
the facility administrator, an individual would be most appropriately
served in a specific program, regardless of whether the facility
meets the criteria established in paragraph (1), individuals who are
not similarly designated may be placed in the same facility. That
placement may occur only when the individual's planning team
determines that the placement and the facility plan of operation meet
the individual's needs and that placement is not incompatible with
the needs and safety of other facility residents.
(l) This section shall become operative only upon the publication
in Title 17 of the California Code of Regulations of emergency
regulations filed by the State Department of Developmental Services.
These regulations shall be developed with stakeholders, including the
State Department of Social Services, consumer advocates, and
regional centers. The regulations shall establish program standards
for homes that include secured perimeters, including requirements and
timelines for the completion and updating of a comprehensive
assessment of each consumer's needs, including the identification
through the individual program plan process of the services and
supports needed to transition the consumer to a less restrictive
living arrangement, and a timeline for identifying or developing
those services and supports. The regulations shall establish a
statewide limit on the total number of beds in homes with secured
perimeters. The adoption of these regulations shall be deemed to be
an emergency and necessary for the immediate preservation of the
public peace, health and safety, or general welfare.