Virginia Administrative Code
Title 22 - SOCIAL SERVICES
Agency 40 - DEPARTMENT OF SOCIAL SERVICES
Chapter 745 - ASSESSMENT IN ASSISTED LIVING FACILITIES
Part II - Assessment Services
Section 22VAC40-745-20 - Persons to be assessed

A. All residents of and applicants to assisted living facilities must be assessed face-to-face using the uniform assessment instrument prior to admission, at least annually, and whenever there is a significant change in the resident's condition.

B. For private pay individuals, qualified staff of the assisted living facility or an independent private physician may complete the uniform assessment instrument. Qualified staff of the assisted living facility are employees of the facility who have successfully completed state-approved training on the uniform assessment instrument for either public or private pay assessments. The assisted living facility maintains documentation of the completed training. The administrator or the administrator's designated representative must approve and sign the completed uniform assessment instrument for private pay individuals. A private pay individual may request the assessment be completed by a qualified public human services agency assessor. When a public human services agency assessor completes the uniform assessment instrument for a private pay individual, the agency may determine and charge a fee for private pay applicants and residents; the fee may not exceed the fee paid by DMAS for public pay applicants and residents.

C. For public pay individuals, a uniform assessment instrument shall be completed by a case manager or a qualified assessor to determine the need for residential care or assisted living care services. The assessor is qualified to complete the assessment if the assessor has completed a state-approved training course on the state-designated uniform assessment instrument. Public human services agency assessors who routinely complete, as part of their job descriptions, uniform assessment instruments for applicants to or residents of assisted living facilities prior to January 1, 2004, may be deemed to be qualified assessors without the completion of the training course. Qualified assessors who may authorize assisted living facility services for public pay individuals are employees of (i) local departments of social services; (ii) area agencies on aging; (iii) centers for independent living; (iv) community services boards; (v) local departments of health; (vi) state facilities operated by the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services, (vii) acute-care hospitals, and (viii) Department of Corrections Community Release Units; and independent physicians.

D. The assisted living facility must coordinate with the assessor to ensure that the uniform assessment instrument is completed as required.