SECTION 559.225. General Requirements

(a) An individualized skills and socialization provider must:

(1) comply with the provisions of Texas Health and Safety Code (HSC), Chapter 250 (relating to Nurse Aide Registry and Criminal History Checks of Employees and Applicants for Employment in Certain Facilities Serving the Elderly, Persons with Disabilities, or Persons with Terminal Illnesses);

(2) before offering employment to any person, search the following registries to determine if the person is eligible for employment:

(A) the employee misconduct registry (EMR) established under HSC §253.007;

(B) the Texas Health and Human Services Commission (HHSC) nurse aide registry (NAR) and medication aide registry (MAR);

(C) the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (USLEIE) maintained by the United States Department of Health and Human Services; and

(D) the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities (LEIE) maintained by HHSC Office of Inspector General;

(3) not employ a person who is listed on the:

(A) HHSC employee misconduct registry as unemployable; or

(B) HHSC nurse or medication aide registries as revoked or suspended; and

(4) provide information about the EMR to an employee in accordance with 26 TAC §561.3 (relating to Employment and Registry Information).

(b) In addition to the initial search of the EMR, LEIE, NAR, MAR, and USLEIE, an individualized skills and socialization provider must:

(1) conduct a search of the NAR, MAR, and EMR to determine if the employee is designated in those registries as unemployable at least every 12 months; and

(2) keep a copy of the results of the initial and annual searches of the NAR,MAR, and EMR in the employee's personnel file and make it available to HHSC upon request;

(3) comply with all relevant federal and state standards; and

(4) comply with all applicable provisions of the Texas Human Resource Code (HRC), Chapter 102 (relating to Rights of the Elderly).

(c) An individualized skills and socialization provider must:

(1) provide an individual who is 55 years of age or older with a written list of the individual's rights, as outlined under HRC §102.004; and

(2) create policies and procedures that protect and promote the rights of the individual, including the individual's right to:

(A) control his or her schedule and activities related to on-site individualized skills and socialization;

(B) access his or her food at any time;

(C) receive visitors without prior notice to the individualized skills and socialization provider unless such rights are contraindicated by the individual's rights or the rights of other individuals; and

(D) physically access the building.

(d) An individualized skills and socialization provider must:

(1) report abuse, neglect, exploitation, and critical incidents in accordance with §559.241 of this subchapter (relating to Reporting Abuse, Neglect, Exploitation, or Critical Incidents);

(2) create policies and procedures for creating and maintaining incident reports;

(3) ensure the confidentiality of individual records and other information related to individuals; and

(4) inform the individual orally and in writing of the individual's rights, responsibilities, and grievance procedures in a language the individual understands.

(e) An individualized skills and socialization provider must prominently and conspicuously post for display in a public area of the on-site individualized skills and socialization, or designated place of business for off-site only individualized skills and socialization, that is readily available to individuals, employees, and visitors:

(1) the license issued under this chapter;

(2) a sign prescribed by HHSC that describes complaint procedures and specifies how complaints may be filed with HHSC;

(3) a notice in the form prescribed by HHSC stating that survey and related reports are available at the on-site individualized skills and socialization location for public survey and providing HHSC's toll-free telephone number that may be used to obtain information concerning the individualized skills and socialization provider;

(4) a copy of the most recent survey report relating to the individualized skills and socialization provider;

(5) a brochure, letter, or website that outlines the individualized skills and socialization provider's hours of operation, holidays, and a description of activities offered; and

(6) emergency telephone numbers, including the abuse hotline telephone number.

Source Note: The provisions of this §559.225 adopted to be effective January 1, 2023, 47 TexReg 8709