(a) (1) (A) The department shall consult with the State Department of Health Care Services and stakeholders to establish a methodology for identifying those group homes providing care under the AFDC-FC program pursuant to Sections 11460 and 11462 of the Welfare and Institutions Code that have levels of psychotropic drug utilization warranting additional review. The methodology shall be adopted on or before July 1, 2016.

(B) Every three years after adopting the methodology developed under subparagraph (A), or earlier if needed, the department shall consult with the State Department of Health Care Services and stakeholders and revise the methodology, if necessary.

(2) If the department, applying the methodology described in paragraph (1), determines that a facility appears to have levels of psychotropic drug utilization warranting additional review, it shall inspect the facility at least once a year.

(3) The inspection of the facility shall include, but not be limited to, a review of the following:

(A) Plan of operation, policies, procedures, and practices.

(B) Child-to-staff ratios.

(C) Staff qualifications and training.

(D) Implementation of children’s needs and services plan.

(E) Availability of psychosocial and other alternative treatments to the use of psychotropic medications.

(F) Other factors that the department determines contribute to levels of psychotropic drug utilization that warrant additional review.

(G) Confidential interviews of children residing in the facility at the time of the inspection.

(4) The inspection of the facility may include, but is not limited to, the following:

(A) Confidential interviews of children who resided in the facility within the last six months.

(B) Confidential discussions with physicians identified as prescribing the medications.

(b) Following an inspection conducted pursuant to this section, the department, as it deems appropriate, may do either or both of the following:

(1) Share relevant information and observations with county placing agencies, social workers, probation officers, the court, dependency counsel, or the Medical Board of California, as applicable.

(2) Share relevant information and observations with the facility and require the facility to submit a plan, within 30 days of receiving the information and observations from the department, to address any identified risks within the control of the facility related to psychotropic medication. The department shall approve the plan and verify implementation of the plan to determine whether those risks have been remedied.

(c) (1) Notwithstanding the rulemaking provisions of the Administrative Procedure Act (Chapter 3.5 (commencing with Section 11340) of Part 1 of Division 3 of Title 2 of the Government Code), until emergency regulations are filed with the Secretary of State, the department may implement this section through all-county letters or similar instructions.

(2) On or before January 1, 2017, the department shall adopt regulations to implement this section. The initial adoption, amendment, or repeal of a regulation authorized by this subdivision is deemed to address an emergency, for purposes of Sections 11346.1 and 11349.6 of the Government Code, and the department is hereby exempted for that purpose from the requirements of subdivision (b) of Section 11346.1 of the Government Code. After the initial adoption, amendment, or repeal of an emergency regulation pursuant to this section, the department may twice request approval from the Office of Administrative Law to readopt the regulation as an emergency regulation pursuant to Section 11346.1 of the Government Code. The department shall adopt final regulations on or before January 1, 2018.

(d) This section does not do either of the following:

(1) Replaces or alters other requirements for responding to complaints and making inspections or visits to group homes, including, but not limited to, those set forth in Sections 1534 and 1538.

(2) Prevents or precludes the department from taking any other action permitted under any other law, including any regulation adopted pursuant to this chapter.

(e) The methodology developed pursuant to this section shall apply to short-term residential therapeutic programs, as defined in Section 1502, in a manner determined by the department.

(f) This section does not apply to a youth homelessness prevention center, a private alternative boarding school, or a private alternative outdoor program, as those terms are defined, respectively, in Section 1502.

(Amended by Stats. 2019, Ch. 341, Sec. 9. (AB 1235) Effective January 1, 2020.)