AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 28, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE APRIL 13, 2026

AMENDED IN SENATE MARCH 25, 2026

CALIFORNIA LEGISLATURE— 2025–2026 REGULAR SESSION

96

Introduced by Senator Alvarado-Gil

February 17, 2026

An act to add Section 1520.15 to the Health and Safety Code, relating to care facilities.

Vote: majority   Appropriation: no   Fiscal committee: yes   Local program: no

LEGISLATIVE COUNSEL’S DIGEST

Existing law, the California Community Care Facilities Act, provides for the licensing and regulation of community care facilities, including short-term residential therapeutic programs, by the State Department of Social Services, and defines a short-term residential therapeutic program as a residential facility licensed by the department and operated by any public agency or private organization that provides an integrated program of specialized and intensive care and supervision, services and supports, treatment, and short-term, 24-hour care and supervision to children that is trauma-informed. Under the act, the department is authorized to issue citations for violations of these provisions.

This bill would, notwithstanding any law and commencing January 1, 2027, require licenses for short-term residential therapeutic programs to be renewed annually if the licensee has a total of 5 or more specified citations in the past 12 months, or if a short-term residential therapeutic program operates in a county with less than 75,000 residents and that does not have a high school or a general acute care hospital operating in the county. months. The bill would require that the licensee not be subject to ongoing annual review if it receives less than 5 violations in the 12 months following an annual license review.

The people of the State of California do enact as follows:

SECTION 1.

Section 1520.15 is added to the Health and Safety Code, to read:

1520.15.

(a) Notwithstanding any other law, commencing January 1, 2027, all licenses issued for the operation of a short-term residential therapeutic program shall be subject to renewal annually by the department if either of the following are met: the licensee has been issued a total of five or more type “A” citations within the past 12 months.

(b) A licensee subject to annual review pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) shall not be subject to ongoing annual renewal pursuant to paragraph (1) of subdivision (a) if the licensee has receives less than 5 five violations in the 12 months following an annual license review.