“Even though most states are preoccupied with budget issues of historic proportions, state policy makers continued developing and refining assisted living/residential care regulations,” said Karl Polzer, NCAL’s senior policy director and the report’s author. “Six states—Idaho, Kentucky, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, and Texas—made major changes.”

The report is published each March. It is the only annual resource that summarizes state assisted living regulations across 21 categories which include employee background checks, life safety, medication management, move-in and move-out criteria.

In the 2011 report, focal points of state regulatory changes included Alzheimer’s dementia standards, full disclosure of information to consumers, resident assessment, staff training, and protections from exploitation.

Of note, New Jersey and Washington made changes to policies regarding residents who receive Medicaid services. Washington clarified its rule that boarding homes (its licensure term for assisted living) must fully inform residents about the home’s policy on accepting Medicaid as a payment source. New Jersey recently passed legislation requiring an assisted living residence or comprehensive personal care home that surrenders its operating license and promised not to discharge Medicaid residents to set aside funds, in escrow, to pay for their care in an alternative residence.

NCAL’s Assisted Living State Regulatory Review is widely utilized by state policymakers and regulatory agencies that want to stay up to date with developments occurring in other states. NCAL makes this resource available to the public and its members.

“State regulators and providers eagerly anticipate the release of this report to track developments and trends nationwide,” said David Kyllo, executive director of NCAL. “This report is widely used by assisted living professionals, aging organizations, consumers, the financial community, media, researchers, and policymakers because it is the only resource of its kind published annually.”

The regulatory review offers an easy-to-read summary of assisted living regulations in the 50 states and the District of Columbia. It also provides contact information for state oversight agencies, contact person, and website. The report is available at NCAL.org

The National Center for Assisted Living (NCAL) represents more than 2,700 not-for-profit and proprietary assisted living and residential care communities dedicated to continuous improvement in the delivery of professional compassionate care and services for the elderly and disabled. NCAL is the assisted living voice of the American Health Care Association.