(a) The County Council finds from reports, hearings, and community groups that certain County residents: (1) in the course of formal rehabilitation therapy, benefit from a group home environment; (2) prefer, and benefit from, living in a residential environment with individuals with similar needs; and (3) can reside in a non-institutional environment with appropriate care and services. (b) Essential features of a group home are the quality of the services provided, the provision of a safe and sanitary environment, and the home's appropriateness for the individuals served. (c) The County government must provide a timely, coordinated procedure to review applications for group home licenses and assure that services delivered to residents are appropriate and meet residents' needs.

(a) This Chapter must be liberally construed and applied to reflect the findings in Section 23A-1. (b) The intent of this Chapter is to: (1) simplify and clarify the laws governing the use of group homes for residents who require supportive care; (2) assist applicants in establishing group homes; (3) ensure the quality of group home programs; and (4) provide an integrated County/State licensing procedure and administrative process for group homes.

This Chapter does not apply to a: (a) facility which holds a valid license for institutional care, such as a nursing home, hospital, child or adult day care facility, or domiciliary care home for 5 or more residents; (b) foster or respite care home for children which is approved by the County Department of Health and Human Services, the State Department of Juvenile Services, or any licensed child placement agency, in accordance with standards set by the appropriate State agencies; (c) foster care or respite care home for adults for 3 or fewer elderly persons or persons with disabilities, which is approved by the Department of Health and Human Services; (d) licensed residential or institutional facility whose total number of residents at any one time will exceed 16 or the number of persons allowed under a license for the facility issued by a state agency, whichever is less; (e) group home which does not routinely provide more than 50 hours of on-site supervision a week, but a home exempted under this subsection may apply for a license and be licensed if it meets the requirements of this Chapter; or (f) group home for developmentally disabled adults which is licensed by the Maryland Department of Health; or (g) group of persons, not related by blood or marriage, living together in a dwelling unit as a household as defined in Chapter 59. Supportive care services and treatment for individual residents or the group may be provided by a person or agency that does not assume responsibility for acquiring those services or treatments or for supervising, directing, or controlling the residents.

In this Chapter, the following words and phrases have the following meanings: Activities of daily living (ADL): Routine daily activities, such as: (a) Mobility. Providing physical support to enable a resident to move about in or outside a group home. (b) Personal hygiene. (1) Bathing: Assembling towels, soaps, and other necessary supplies; helping a resident in and out of the bathtub or shower; turning the water on and off; adjusting water temperatures; washing and drying portions of the body which are difficult for a resident to reach; and being available while a resident is bathing. (2) Grooming: Helping a resident with shaving, oral care, hair care, and nail care. (c) Dressing. Helping a resident choose, put on, and remove appropriate clothing. (d) Eating. Helping a resident cut food and pour beverages, and feeding a resident who is unable to feed himself or herself. (e) Toileting. Reminding a resident about using the toilet; assisting a resident to the bathroom; helping a resident to undress; positioning a resident on the commode; and helping a resident with related personal hygiene, including assistance with changing of adult briefs. (f) Interpersonal interaction. Helping a resident identify social needs and interests and engage in activities to satisfy those needs and interests; creating activities in the home to encourage resident-to-resident and resident-to-staff socializing. Applicant: A person applying for a group home license or license renewal. Board: A program review board that meets on an ad hoc basis to consider a program statement filed by an applicant for a license. COMAR: The Code of Maryland Regulations. Day care is defined in COMAR regulations governing day care for the elderly and medically handicapped adults. Department: The Department of Health and Human Services. Director: The Director of the Department of Health and Human Services or the Director's designee. Domiciliary care is defined in COMAR regulations governing domiciliary care homes. Group home: A residence which houses 3 to 16 unrelated persons receiving group residential care, but not more than the number of persons allowed under a license issued by a state agency. Group residential care: The provision of shelter, board, facilities, resources for daily living, personal guidance and direction, and related supportive care and services in a residential environment. Group senior assisted housing is defined in COMAR regulations governing Group Sheltered Housing for the Elderly. Licensee: The person to whom a facility license is issued under this Chapter. Person: Any individual, partnership, or firm; corporation, public or private, profit or nonprofit; association; government agency; or any other legal entity. Primary care giver: A supportive staff person who is responsible for providing group residential care services for residents under the supervision of the home's staff director. Program statement: A document approved by the Director that describes: (a) a group home's scope of services; (b) the nature, purpose, objectives, policies, and procedures of the proposed program; (c) the background and experience of the organization or person sponsoring the home; (d) the experience and qualifications of the applicant and personnel operating the home; (e) the needs and capabilities of the residents to be served; and (f) the budget, resources and procedures for meeting those needs. Resident: An individual who resides in a group home in order to receive group residential care. Staff director: A person who is authorized to direct, manage, and supervise the activities of the staff at a group home. The staff director may be the licensee or a person designated by the licensee to operate and manage the group home as the licensee's agent. Supportive care: 24-hour supervision, 3 meals a day, housekeeping services, medication supervision, and assistance with personal care or the activities of daily living. Unrelated individual: Any person who is not a son, daughter, grandson, granddaughter, father, mother, grandfather, grandmother, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, stepmother, stepfather, stepson, stepdaughter, husband or wife, or in-law of any listed person, or of the owner, operator, or lessee of the group home.

This Chapter is administered and enforced by the Department of Health and Human Services.

(a) The County Executive may adopt regulations under method (2) to implement this Chapter. The regulations must not conflict with any provisions of this Chapter or be less restrictive than the provisions of Chapter 26. (b) The Director may waive any requirement of this Chapter or any regulation issued under this Chapter for good cause. (c) Regulations issued to implement this Chapter must set standards for: (1) program and administrative requirements for group residential care, such as the qualifications of the licensee and staff, adequate staffing and supervision, health and other records pertaining to group home residents, medication management, telephone service, minimum space per resident, transportation resources, and the scope of the services to be provided; (2) when a program statement or a criminal background check is required; (3) evacuation plans; (4) coordination of the administration and enforcement of this Chapter with appropriate State and local agencies, under which the County must accept regulatory standards, inspections, and reviews by State and local agencies to fulfill County licensure requirements when the population being served and the standards of care are substantially identical; (5) health and sanitation; (6) handling complaints of violations of this Chapter, and procedures to refer complaints not related to this Chapter to the licensee and any public agency with jurisdiction over the complaint; (7) time and schedule requirements to approve or disapprove a license application, not including any time needed to obtain a special exception; and (8) admission and retention of residents.

Any violation of this Chapter or a regulation issued under this Chapter is a Class A violation. This Chapter does not limit the right of any person to seek damages or other judicial relief because of injury to persons or property.