Current through Register 2024 Notice Reg. No. 12, March 22, 2024
(a) Definitions
(1) "Aged" means a veteran who is 55 or
older.
(2) "Disabled" means a
veteran that is certified by the United States Department of Veterans Affairs
(USDVA) as having a service-connected disability or veteran that is currently
receiving disability income from a state or federal agency due to a permanent
illness or injury.
(3) "Joint
application" means two simultaneous applications for joint admission by a
veteran and a nonveteran spouse or domestic partner.
(4) "Joint admission" occurs when a veteran
and a nonveteran spouse or domestic partner obtain joint residency at the same
Veterans Home.
(5) "Joint
residency" is when a veteran and a nonveteran spouse or domestic partner live
at the same Veterans Home.
(6)
"Nonveteran spouse or domestic partner" means a spouse or domestic partner of a
veteran, who is not an eligible veteran as defined by Military and Veterans
Code (MVC)
1012.
(b) The Veterans Home shall determine an
applicant's eligibility after a thorough review of all available military data
(pursuant to section
1012 of the Military and Veterans
Code (MVC)), financial, medical, personal, and social information.
(c) The Veterans Home shall not admit
applicants with a current history of behavioral patterns or traits which would
be incompatible with a safe and secure community environment at the Veterans
Home.
(d) To consider an applicant
for admission, the Veterans Home must have:
(1) The resources to provide for the
applicant's required level of care and specific needs within its existing
services and resources as determined by a CalVet preadmission
evaluation.
(2) A bed available
that is not needed by a current member of the Veterans Home at the required
level of care.
(e) To be
eligible for admission, applicants shall:
(1)
Demonstrate proof of current bona fide California residency by presenting for
verification one or more of the following: a current valid California Driver
License; a current valid California Identification Card; the applicant's prior
year California State Tax Return showing a California physical address; or
other documentation that demonstrates California residency, as determined by
the administrator.
(2) Qualify as
aged or disabled as defined.
(3)
Have served active duty service in the Armed Forces of the United States of
America as determined by the USDVA.
(4) Have been discharged from military
service under conditions other than dishonorable.
(5) Be eligible for health care benefits,
hospitalization, or domiciliary care in a veteran facility in accordance with
the rules and regulations of the USDVA, and enrolled in the USDVA health care
program.
(6) Have or obtain basic
medical insurance policies and maintain them throughout their residency in
accordance with the MVC 1033.1 and CCR Section
505(e).
(f) At any time prior to admission, a veteran
and nonveteran spouse or domestic partner may submit a joint application for
joint admission to a Veterans Home. Joint applications shall not be accepted
after admission of the veteran.
(1)
Nonveterans are not eligible for admission without a joint application with a
veteran spouse or domestic partner, with the exceptions of surviving spouses
and domestic partners of Medal of Honor recipients and former prisoners of war.
However, an eligible surviving nonveteran spouse or domestic partner may not
apply for joint admission with a nonveteran spouse or domestic
partner.
(2) The nonveteran spouse
or domestic partner shall meet all eligibility determination and admission
criteria requirements that apply to veteran applicants with the exceptions of
requirements related to military service or eligibility for veterans
benefits.
(3) If the veteran is
denied admission, the nonveteran spouse or domestic partner shall not be
admitted. If the veteran is deemed eligible for admission and the nonveteran
spouse or domestic partner is denied admission, the veteran may continue the
application process as an individual.
(4) The veteran applicant and the nonveteran
spouse or domestic partner applicant must have resided together and must have
been married, or have had a registered domestic partnership, for at least one
year prior to submitting a joint application to a Veterans Home.
(5) The veteran and nonveteran spouse or
domestic partner shall only be admitted to the same Veterans Home.
(A) Unless medically contraindicated, the
couple shall be admitted to the same room. If a room is not available to
accommodate both applicants, admission shall be delayed until an appropriate
room becomes available.
(B) If the
veteran and nonveteran spouse or domestic partner require different levels of
care, the spouse or domestic partner may be admitted at a later date if a bed
is not immediately available in the appropriate level of care, provided that he
or she maintains eligibility and will be admitted to the same Veterans
Home.
(C) The nonveteran spouse or
domestic partner shall not be admitted prior to the
veteran.
(6) The veteran
and nonveteran spouse or domestic partner shall maintain joint residency at the
same Veterans Home and in the same room when space is available, unless
medically contraindicated. If one member of a couple is transferred to a
different Veterans Home, the other member of the couple shall move to the same
destination Veterans Home when space is available unless medically
contraindicated.
(7) This
subsection shall not apply if both spouses or domestic partners are eligible
veterans.
(g) The
Veterans Homes shall not admit an applicant, and shall discharge a previously
admitted member, who has been convicted of a crime involving conduct
incompatible with the safety and security of the Home population, including,
but not limited to crimes involving elder abuse, assault, or theft. The
Secretary or a designee may exempt applicants from this subsection on a
case-by-case basis if the applicant can prove, to the satisfaction of the
Secretary or designee, that admission of the applicant will not endanger
residents, staff, visitors, or property, or otherwise harm the community
environment or the licensure or certification of the Veterans Home.
(1) The Secretary or designee shall require
the applicant to obtain and produce, at the applicant's expense, any requested
information or records related to the applicant's convictions, incarceration,
sentencing, or other aspects of his or her criminal history. If documents
cannot be acquired, a good faith effort to obtain the documents must be
demonstrated by the veteran. Failure to completely or faithfully produce all
requested information or records shall result in denial of admission.
(2) The Veterans Homes shall not admit any
applicant, and shall discharge a previously admitted member, found to have
omitted information or records related to his or her criminal history, or
provided incomplete, inaccurate, or false information or records related to his
or her criminal history.
(h) The Veterans Homes shall not admit an
applicant, and shall discharge a previously admitted member, who has been
convicted of a crime that requires registration as a sex offender under section
290 of the
Penal Code, or who is currently serving on parole or probation for a criminal
conviction as stated in section
505.2(g).
(i) Former members may apply for readmission,
and may be readmitted, provided they submit a completed application for
admission, are eligible for readmission under CCR sections
505.8 and
505.9, and meet all other
eligibility requirements in this section. Priority for readmission applicants
shall be in accordance with CCR 505.3.
(j) Veterans whose applications for admission
are rejected shall have the right to appeal the decision, first to the
Administrator and second to the California Veterans Board upon an adverse
decision by the Administrator as set forth in Section
86 of the MVC. If the reason for
the denial is reversed following appeal, the Veterans Home shall resume the
application review process to determine whether the applicant meets all
eligibility criteria not previously considered in the appeal, and the applicant
may be required to submit additional documentation deemed necessary to
determine eligibility on any grounds not previously addressed. The applicant
may not be denied on the same grounds reversed on appeal, but may be
subsequently denied admission on any relevant criteria not previously addressed
on appeal.
(k) Any applicant who
does not meet eligibility requirements will not be considered for
admission.
(l) Upon determination
that an applicant meets all eligibility requirements, the Veterans Home shall
admit the applicant in priority order in accordance with CCR 505.3.
1. Change
without regulatory effect renumbering former section
501.2 to new section
505.2 filed 9-27-2018 pursuant to
section 100, title 1, California Code of
Regulations (Register 2018, No. 39).
2. Amendment of section and
NOTE filed 11-7-2018; operative 1-1-2019 (Register 2018, No. 45).
3.
Amendment of section and NOTE filed 8-24-2022; operative 10-1-2022 (Register
2022, No. 34).
Note: Authority cited: Sections
79.3
and
1044,
Military and Veterans Code. Reference: Sections
79.4,
1012,
1012.1,
1043
and
1044,
Military and Veterans Code.