Header:
WISCONSIN ADMINISTRATIVE CODE
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH SERVICES
CHAPTER DHS 88 LICENSED ADULT FAMILY HOMES
Date:
02/18/2014
Document:
DHS 88.05 Home
(1) LOCATION AND ACCESS TO THE COMMUNITY. An adult family home shall be located so that residents can easily get to community activities and supportive services by walking or by means of convenient private or public trans-portation, or the licensee shall ensure that residents receive the assistance necessary to enable them to get to those activities and services. The home shall be located in a residential area which is typical of residential areas in that community.
(2) RESIDENT ACCESS TO THE HOME AND WITHIN THE HOME. An adult family home shall be physically accessible to all residents of the home. Residents shall be able to easily enter and exit the home, to easily get to their sleeping rooms, a bathroom, the kitchen and all common living areas in the home, and to easily move about in the home. Addi-tional accessibility features shall be provided as follows, if needed to accommodate the physical limitations of a resident or if specified in the resident's individual service plan:
(a) If a resident is not able to walk at all or able to walk only with difficulty, or only with the assistance of crutches, a cane, or walker or is unable to easily negotiate stairs without assistance:
1. The exits from the home shall be ramped to grade with a hard surfaced pathway with handrails.
2. All entrance and exit doors and interior doors serving all common living areas and all bathrooms and bedrooms used by a resident not able to walk at all shall have a clear opening of at least 32 inches.
3. Toilet and bathing facilities used by a resident not able to walk at all shall have enough space to provide a turning radius for the resident's wheelchair and provide accessibility appropriate to the resident's needs.
(b) Grab bars shall be provided for toilet and bath fixtures in those bathing and toilet facilities used by residents not able to walk at all or only with difficulty, or by other residents with physical limitations that make transferring difficult.
(c) If any resident has either manual strength or dexterity limitations, the home shall have levered handles on all doors, bathroom water fixtures and other devices normally used by that resident if these can be replaced and if re-placement is readily achievable.
(d) Any resident who is unable to easily negotiate stairs without assistance shall have his or her bedroom, toilet and bathing facilities and all common living areas on the first floor.
(3) HOME ENVIRONMENT. (a) An adult family home shall be safe, clean and well-maintained and shall provide a homelike environment.
(b) The home shall be free from hazards and kept uncluttered and free of dangerous substances, insects and ro-dents.
(c) The home shall have heating, hot and cold water and electrical, plumbing, sewerage and lighting systems that meet local building codes.
(d) Where a public water supply is not available water samples shall be taken from the well and tested at the state laboratory of hygiene or other laboratory approved under ch. NR 149 at least annually.
(e) 1. The home shall have a heating system capable of maintaining a temperature of 74 [degrees] F. The temper-ature in habitable rooms shall not be permitted to fall below 70 [degrees] F. during periods of occupancy, except that the home may reduce temperatures during sleeping hours to 67 [degrees] F. Higher or lower temperatures, for certain residents, including but not limited to residents of advanced age and residents with physical disabilities, shall be pro-vided to the extent possible when requested by a resident.
2. The heating system shall be inspected as follows, with written documentation of the inspections maintained in the home:
a. An oil furnace shall be inspected and serviced every 2 years by a heating contractor.
b. A gas furnace shall be inspected and serviced every 3 years by a heating contractor or local utility company.
c. The chimney shall be visually inspected by the inspector at the interval identified in subd. 2. a. or b.
d. Any woodburning stove or fireplace in an adult family home shall have a flue separate from the one used by a gas or oil fired furnace or boiler. The flue shall be cleaned as often as necessary but not less than 2 times during each heating season, except that when a woodburning stove or fireplace is used for no more than 4 days each month of the heating season, the flue shall be cleaned at least once during each heating season.
(f) The home shall have functioning support services, including refuse removal and access to laundry facilities.
(g) The home shall have ventilation for health and comfort. There shall be at least one window which is capable of being opened to the outside in each resident sleeping room and each common room used by residents. Windows used for ventilation shall be screened during appropriate seasons of the year.
(h) The home shall have space to accommodate all household activities and members comfortably as follows:
1. There shall be large enough common areas with sufficient furnishings so that all occupants of the home can comfortably share the space at the same time.
2. There shall be sufficient space and equipment in the kitchen for the sanitary preparation and storage of food.
3. The dining room or other dining area shall be large enough so that all household members may dine together.
4. There shall be at least one bathroom with at least one sink, stool and shower or tub for every 8 household members and towel racks with sufficient space for each household member.
5. A resident bedroom may accommodate no more than 2 persons. A resident bedroom shall have a floor area of at least 60 square feet per resident in shared bedrooms and 80 square feet in single occupancy rooms. For a person requiring a wheelchair, the bedroom space shall be 100 square feet for that resident.
6. Each resident shall be provided conveniently located individual storage space in the resident's bedroom suffi-cient for hanging clothes and for storing clothing, toilet articles, towels and other personal belongings.
(i) The door of each bathroom shall have a lock which can be opened from the outside in an emergency.
(j) A resident's bedroom may not be used by anyone else to get to any other part of the home.
(k) Persons of the opposite sex shall not be required to occupy the same sleeping room. Accommodations shall be made for couples who wish to share a sleeping room.
(L) A resident's bedroom shall provide comfort and privacy, shall be enclosed by full height walls and shall have a rigid door that the resident can open and close.
(m) No resident may regularly sleep in a basement bedroom or in a bedroom above the second floor of a single family dwelling unless there are 2 exits to the grade from that floor level.
(n) The home shall have clean, functioning and safe household items and furnishings, including the following:
1. A separate bed for each resident unless a couple chooses to share a bed. The bed shall be clean, in good condi-tion and of proper size and height for the comfort of the resident.
2. Appropriate bedding and linens that are maintained in a clean condition. When a waterproof mattress cover is used, there shall be a washable mattress pad, the same size as the mattress, over the waterproof mattress cover.
(o) The home shall not be used for any business purpose that regularly brings customers to the home so that the residents' use of the home as their residence or the residents' privacy is adversely affected.
(4) FIRE SAFETY. (a) Fire extinguishers. Every adult family home shall be equipped with one or more fire extin-guishers on each floor. Each required fire extinguisher shall have a minimum 2A, 10-B-C rating. All required fire extin-guishers shall be mounted. A fire extinguisher is required at the head of each stairway and in or near the kitchen ex-cept that a single fire extinguisher located in close proximity to the kitchen and the head of a stairway may be used to meet the requirement for an extinguisher at each location. Each required fire extinguisher shall be maintained in read-ily usable condition and shall be inspected annually by an authorized dealer or the local fire department and have an attached tag showing the date of the last dealer or fire department inspection.
(b) Smoke detectors. 1. Every adult family home shall be equipped with one or more single station battery operated, electrically interconnected or radio signal emitting smoke detectors on each floor level. Required smoke detectors shall be located in each habitable room except the kitchen and bathroom and specifically in the following locations: at the head of each open stairway, at the door leading to every enclosed stairway, on the ceiling of the living room or family room, on the ceiling of each sleeping room and in the basement.
2. The licensee shall maintain each required smoke detector in working condition and test each smoke detector monthly to make sure that it is operating. If a unit is found to be not operating, the licensee shall immediately replace the battery or have the unit repaired or replaced.
(c) Exiting from the first floor. 1. The first floor of the home shall have at least 2 means of exiting which provide unobstructed access to the outside.
2. Exits shall be doors.
(d) Fire safety evacuation plan. 1. The licensee shall have a written plan for the immediate and safe evacuation of all occupants of the home in the event of a fire. The plan shall identify an external meeting place.
2. a. The licensee shall review the fire safety evacuation plan with each new resident immediately following placement and shall evaluate the resident using a form provided by the department to determine whether the resident is able to evacuate the home without any help within 2 minutes.
b. Each resident shall be evaluated annually for evacuation time, using the department's form. All service providers who work on the premises shall be made aware of each resident having an evacuation time of more than 2 minutes.
c. The licensee shall conduct semi-annual fire drills with all household members with written documentation of the date and evacuation time for each drill maintained by the home.
Note: Licensees are encouraged to consult with their local fire department in preparing a fire safety evacuation plan.
Note: For a copy of the resident evaluation form to determine evacuation time, contact the county agency in the county in which the home is located or write or phone the appropriate regional office of the Department's Division of Disability and Elder Services. See Appendix A for addresses and phone numbers of the Division of Disability and Elder Services regional offices.
(e) Report of a fire. The licensee shall report to the licensing agency within 72 hours after the event the occur-rence of a fire in the home which required the assistance of the fire department.
(f) Resident incapable of self-evacuation. If a resident who is incapable of self-evacuation in an emergency is pre-sent in the home, the licensee or service provider shall be in the home.
(5) TELEPHONE. A home shall provide a non-pay telephone for residents to make and receive telephone calls. The home may require that long distance calls be made at a resident's own expense. Emergency telephone numbers, in-cluding numbers for the fire department, police, hospital, physician, poison control center and ambulance, shall be located on or near each telephone.
(6) HOUSEHOLD PETS. (a) Pets may be allowed on the premises of an adult family home. Cats, dogs and other pets vulnerable to rabies which are owned by any resident or household member shall be vaccinated as required under local ordinance. A pet suspected of being ill or infected shall be treated immediately for its condition or removed from the home.
(b) Pens and cages shall be kept clean.
(c) Pets shall be kept and handled in a manner which protects the well-being of both residents and pets.
(d) The wishes of residents shall be considered before a new pet is allowed on the premises.
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