(a) To receive payment from the Department of Aging and Disability Services (DADS), an adult foster care provider must:
  (1) not exceed the capacity for which an adult foster care home is enrolled or licensed regardless of whether the residents are receiving adult foster care services or private pay services;
  (2) serve only those foster care and private pay residents approved by DADS to ensure that the provider can meet the needs of all residents;
  (3) not provide room and board to any individuals who are under 18 years of age and who are not related to the provider;
  (4) comply with all applicable fire, health, and safety laws, ordinances, and regulations;
  (5) obtain the necessary fire safety and health inspections and comply with any resulting requirements;
  (6) be inspected at least annually by fire safety authorities and meet or exceed the regulations. The provider must correct any hazardous conditions identified in the inspection within the time specified by the inspector, or before DADS enrollment/reassessment of the home, whichever is earlier;
  (7) be inspected at least annually by health authorities and meet or exceed the regulations. If local health authorities are unable to inspect the home, adult foster care staff may conduct the inspection using the health inspection checklist. The provider must correct any unsanitary and unsafe conditions identified by the inspection within the time specified by the inspector, or before DADS enrollment/reassessment of the home, whichever is earlier;
  (8) demonstrate the ability to evacuate all residents from the home within three minutes;
  (9) interview a prospective resident before or at the time of admission to determine the needs of the prospective resident and whether the home can meet these needs;
  (10) orient any new resident, within 72 hours of arrival, on fire safety, how to respond to a fire alarm, and how to exit from the home in an emergency; and
  (11) except in the case of emergency evacuations, notify DADS of a change of residence before the change. The new home must meet all adult foster care requirements and be enrolled in the adult foster care program before payments can be made. Enrollment is not retroactive.
(b) Adult foster care homes serving five, six, seven, or eight residents must also:
  (1) ensure the presence of an additional member of the staff who has been approved by the adult foster care caseworker at least two hours a day for homes serving five residents, and four hours a day for homes serving six residents, including private pay residents;
  (2) ensure the presence of an additional member of the staff who has been approved by the caseworker at least six hours a day for homes serving seven residents, and eight hours a day for homes serving eight residents, including private pay residents; and
  (3) ensure that additional qualified staff are on-site for the specified number of hours, during the hours from 6 a.m. until 8 p.m. The provider must have records to document that qualified staff were serving residents for the required number of hours each day.
(c) An adult foster care provider that must be licensed in accordance with Chapter 49 of this title (relating to Contracting for Community Services) must:
  (1) provide a copy of the assisted living facility license to DADS adult foster care staff each time the license is renewed; and
  (2) report to DADS adult foster care staff any licensure problems identified by DADS Regulatory Services.

Source Note: The provisions of this §278.111 adopted to be effective January 1, 1994, 18 TexReg 8232; amended to be effective November 1, 1996, 21 TexReg 10310; amended to be effective September 1, 2014, 39 TexReg 6637; transferred effective June 28, 2024, as published in the June 7, 2024, issue of the Texas Register, 49 TexReg 4061