(a) The department shall adopt regulations, in consultation with providers, consumers, and other interested parties, to combine adult day care and adult day support centers licensing categories into one category, which shall be designated adult day programs.
(b) The consolidated regulations shall take into account the diversity of consumers and their caregivers, and the role of licensing in promoting consumer choice, health and safety, independence, and inclusion in the community.
(c) The department shall also take into account the diversity of existing programs designed to meet unique consumer needs, including, but not limited to, programs serving elders with cognitive or physical impairments, non-facility-based programs serving persons with developmental disabilities, respite-only programs, and other programs serving a unique population.
(Added by Stats. 2002, Ch. 773, Sec. 5. Effective January 1, 2003.)