131D-2.11. Inspections, monitoring, and review by State agency and county departments of social services.

(a) State Inspection and Monitoring. - The Department shall ensure that adult care homes required to be licensed by this Article are monitored for licensure compliance on a regular basis. All facilities licensed under this Article and adult care units in nursing homes are subject to inspections at all times by the Secretary. Except as provided in subsection (a1) of this section, the Division of Health Service Regulation shall inspect all adult care homes and adult care units in nursing homes on an annual basis. Beginning July 1, 2012, the Division of Health Service Regulation shall include as part of its inspection of all adult care homes a review of the facility's compliance with G.S. 131D-4.4A(b) and safe practices for injections and any other procedures during which bleeding typically occurs. In addition, the Department shall ensure that adult care homes are inspected every two years to determine compliance with physical plant and life-safety requirements.

(a1) Waiver of Annual State Inspection. - The Division of Health Service Regulation may waive the annual inspection requirement under subsection (a) of this section for any adult care home that has achieved the highest rating in accordance with rules adopted by the North Carolina Medical Care Commission pursuant to G.S. 131D-10. However, at least once every two years the Division of Health Service Regulation shall inspect any adult care home for which the annual inspection requirement was waived.

(a2) Informal Dispute Resolution - Division of Health Service Regulation. -

(1) The Division of Health Service Regulation shall offer each adult care home an opportunity, at the facility's request and upon the facility's receipt of the official statement of deficiencies, to informally resolve disputed findings from inspections conducted by the Division of Health Service Regulation in accordance with this section.

(2) Failure of the Division of Health Service Regulation to complete informal dispute resolution timely does not delay the effective date of any enforcement action taken by the Division of Health Service Regulation against an adult care home.

(3) An adult care home is not entitled to seek a delay of any enforcement action against it on the grounds that the Division of Health Service Regulation has not completed informal dispute resolution prior to the effective date of the enforcement action.

(4) If an adult care home successfully demonstrates during informal dispute resolution that any of the deficiencies cited in the official statement of deficiencies should not have been cited, the Division of Health Service Regulation shall remove the incorrectly cited deficiencies from the official statement of deficiencies and rescind any enforcement actions imposed on the adult care home solely as a result of the incorrectly cited deficiencies.

(5) The Division of Health Service Regulation shall make available on its Internet Web site the informal dispute resolution procedures for adult care homes.

(a3) Informal Dispute Resolution - County Departments of Social Services. -

(1) The Division of Health Service Regulation and county department of social services shall jointly offer each adult care home an opportunity, at the facility's request and upon the facility's receipt of the official statement of deficiencies, to informally resolve disputed findings from inspections conducted by the county department of social services that resulted in the citation of a Type A1 violation, Type A2 violation, Uncorrected Type A1, violation, Uncorrected Type A2 violation, or Uncorrected Type B violation, in accordance with this section.

(2) Failure of the Division of Health Service Regulation and county department of social services to complete informal dispute resolution timely does not delay the effective date of any enforcement action taken by the Division of Health Service Regulation against an adult care home.

(3) An adult care home is not entitled to seek a delay of any enforcement action against it on the grounds that the Division of Health Service Regulation and the county department of social services has not completed informal dispute resolution prior to the effective date of the enforcement action.

(4) If an adult care home successfully demonstrates during informal dispute resolution that any of the deficiencies cited in the official statement of deficiencies should not have been cited, the county department of social services shall remove the incorrectly cited deficiencies from the official statement of deficiencies and the Division of Health Service Regulation shall rescind any enforcement actions imposed on the adult care home solely as a result of the incorrectly cited deficiencies.

(5) The Division of Health Service Regulation shall make available on its Internet Web site the informal dispute resolution procedures for adult care homes.

(b) Monitoring by County. - The Department shall work with county departments of social services to do the routine monitoring in adult care homes to ensure compliance with State and federal laws, rules, and regulations in accordance with policy and procedures established by the Division of Health Service Regulation and to have the Division of Health Service Regulation oversee this monitoring. The county departments of social services shall document in a written report all on site visits, including monitoring visits, revisits, and complaint investigations. The county departments of social services shall submit to the Division of Health Service Regulation written reports of each facility visit within 20 working days of the visit.

(c) State Review of County Compliance. - The Division of Health Service Regulation shall conduct and document annual reviews of the county departments of social services' performance. When monitoring is not done timely or there is failure to identify or document noncompliance, the Department may intervene in the particular service in question. Department intervention shall include one or more of the following activities:

(1) Sending staff of the Department to the county departments of social services to provide technical assistance and to monitor the services being provided by the facility.

(2) Advising county personnel as to appropriate policies and procedures.

(3) Establishing a plan of action to correct county performance.

The Secretary may determine that the Department shall assume the county's regulatory responsibility for the county's adult care homes.