Residential Care Facilities for the Elderly Reform Principles
Currently in California, 170,000 elderly are in need of quality care at assisted living facilities. In 2012, approximately 3,000 complaints resulted in nearly 13,000 citations from the Department of Social Services. It is clear existing California regulations do not ensure appropriate care for elderly residents. With longer life-spans and the retiring baby-boomer generation, the need for assisted living facilities is expected to continue to quickly grow. This growing demand will temporarily result in additional relative market power to the providers of the service in a market in which consumers are more prone to mistreatment than the typical market. These realities underline the importance of appropriate oversight that ensures access to open information and resident's rights. The following principles outline appropriate action to increase quality of care.