State regulatory agencies play a significant role in improving the quality of life for elderly residents in assisted living facilities. Regulators are slowly implementing fundamental reforms to increase oversight, and to ensure facilities meet minimum quality standards. The increased oversight is due to the increase in elderly population which will nearly double in size by the year 2030; making assisted living a viable option for the elderly. The assisted living population is also changing as facilities are admitting more residents with increased levels of disability that requires complex treatments and services. The quality of assisted living services has become a growing concern.
Generally, facilities are regulated by one or two state agencies such as Department of Health and Senior Services and or/ department of social services. State regulators function to ensure assisted living facilities are compliant with mandatory state regulations or meet the minimum requirements of the states assisted living regulations. Facilities are primarily monitored through on site licensure inspections. Initial Inspection surveys are mostly conducted annually in most states. Surveys are generally unannounced and conducted on-site over a three- to five-day period during which the state’s regulators evaluate all aspects of resident care and services. Surveys of assisted living facilities are typically conducted during weekdays, although the inspection teams could conduct a percentage of inspections early in the morning, at night, on weekends and during holidays.