Residential care facilities for the elderly: video surveillance.

Existing law provides for the licensure and regulation of residential care facilities for the elderly. These provisions are administered by the State Department of Social Services, and a violation of these provisions is a misdemeanor. Existing law establishes various policies and procedures for the purposes of protecting the health, safety, and property of residents. This bill, for purposes of ensuring the safety of residents, would authorize a residential care facility for the elderly to use video surveillance in a resident's bedroom if the facility and the resident or the resident's authorized representative consent to the use of the video surveillance. The bill would require that any recordings made become part of the resident's medical record, and that specified persons entering the resident's bedroom give written, informed consent with respect to the video surveillance. By expanding the scope of a crime, this bill would impose a state-mandated local program. The California Constitution requires the state to reimburse local agencies and school districts for certain costs mandated by the state. Statutory provisions establish procedures for making that reimbursement. This bill would provide that no reimbursement is required by this act for a specified reason.