How to read a California ARF inspection report

Most reports you'll find for an ARF use one of two CDSS forms:

• LIC 809, Facility Evaluation Report. Used for inspections and other licensing visits. The current version says California law requires a public report of each licensing visit or inspection. It is also the form for citations: the complaint form tells evaluators to record all citations on the LIC 809 evaluation report.
• LIC 9099, Complaint Investigation Report. Used when CCLD investigates a complaint. It lists each allegation and the finding for it. CCLD says it makes an unannounced visit to investigate within 10 days of receiving a complaint.

On this site, each facility page lists its reports by date and type (inspection, complaint, or other). Each one opens the state's own copy. You can also see reports as they're added statewide on Recent changes.

The header of an LIC 809 identifies the visit:

Facility name, number and type

The facility number is its license number, the same number in this site's facility addresses.

Capacity and census

Capacity is how many clients the license allows. Census is how many were living there on the day of the visit.

Type of visit

Boxes for Annual, Case Management, POC (a follow-up on a plan of correction), Office and Prelicensing, plus whether the visit was Announced or Unannounced.

Met with

Who the evaluator spoke with at the facility, often the administrator or the person in charge.

Time visit began / completed

The length of the visit. A long visit is not by itself a bad sign: complaint investigations and full inspections take time.

The LIC 9099 adds a complaint control number, the date the complaint was received, and a box marking the report Public or Confidential. CCLD notes that, depending on the allegations and findings, a complaint report may be public or confidential.

The body of an LIC 809 has three columns: Comments/Deficiencies on the left, Plans of Correction (POCs) in the middle, and a POC Due Date on the right.

• Comments describe what the evaluator looked at and saw. Many reports have no deficiencies at all and are just a record that the visit happened.
• Deficiencies are listed with the section of law or regulation they are based on. For an ARF that is usually a Title 22 section starting with 80 (the general licensing rules) or 85 (the ARF rules), or a Health and Safety Code section.
• Type A or Type B. Each page has boxes for Type A, Type B or No Deficiency Cited. See Type A vs. Type B citations for what the two mean.
• Plan of correction. Title 22 §80052 says that before a visit ends, the person in charge meets with the evaluator to discuss any deficiencies and jointly develop a plan for correcting each one.
• POC due date. Under §80052, the correction date generally may not be more than 30 calendar days after the notice, unless the evaluator finds it cannot be fully corrected in that time.

A small deficiency that is corrected during the visit may not get a written notice at all: §80052(a) says the evaluator issues a notice of deficiency "unless the deficiency is not serious and is corrected during the visit."

Under §80053, a follow-up visit is made within ten working days after the correction date unless the licensee has shown the deficiency was corrected. Reports marked as a POC visit are often those follow-ups.

The LIC 809 also has Civil Penalty Information boxes: Penalty Assessed, Penalty Notice Given, Penalty Cleared or Not Applicable. "Penalty Notice Given" means the report itself serves as the notice that penalties will apply if the deficiency isn't corrected by its due date. Penalties for ARFs are governed by Health and Safety Code §1548 and Title 22 §80054.

A complaint report ends with a finding for the allegations. Substantiated means the evidence met the "preponderance of the evidence" standard. The current LIC 9099 calls the middle finding unsubstantiated, while older records and this site call it inconclusive; both mean the allegation may have happened but there was not enough evidence to prove it. Unfounded means the allegation was found to be false or without a reasonable basis. Complaint findings explained goes into more detail.

• Look at the pattern, not one page. A single Type B deficiency years ago tells you much less than the same problem cited again and again.
• Check what was cited and whether it was corrected. Later POC visits often show whether a correction was verified.
• Read the dates. A report shows the facility as it was on the visit date. Ownership and staff can change; see a facility page's change history.
• Mind the counts. A facility's citation totals on this site come from CCLD's record and cover its whole licensing history.
• Ask the facility. CDSS's consumer guide suggests asking about a licensee's most recent facility evaluation reports when you visit. A good operator can explain what happened and what changed.

You can also review a facility's public file: CDSS says you can contact the CCLD Regional Office to request it, and that the file contains any citations, civil penalties and administrative actions issued to the facility.

The back of the LIC 809 explains that a licensee may discuss any disagreement with the licensing agency and may request a formal review in writing within 15 business days of receiving a deficiency notice or civil penalty assessment. A report you read may therefore be followed by a later amendment.