House Bill 1110
Elder and Disabled Adults
Effective date: July 1, 2012
This bill makes the following revisions to Georgia law related to the care of elder and disabled adults:
- It clarifies that the neglect of a disabled or elder person by a guardian or caretaker is unlawful.
- Current law requires that the Department of Community Health (DCH) do criminal background checks of owners and employees of personal care homes and other facilities to check for convictions of certain crimes. This bill allows DCH to include additional offenses that would indicate unfitness of an individual to provide care to or be in contact with persons residing in such facilities.
- It revises provisions on unlicensed personal care homes. It provides that the notice that DCH is required to send to such unlicensed facilities must express DCH’s intent to impose a civil penalty. The bill also provides that the owning or operating of an unlicensed personal care home constitutes a nuisance dangerous to public health and is punishable as a misdemeanor upon first violation; a second violation constitutes a felony.
- It authorizes the Georgia Bureau of Investigation to investigate incidences of abuse of elder adults and disabled adults.
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