900.9 Resident obligations/rights.
(a) The facility must promulgate reasonable resident rules governing
day-to-day life and activities in the facility and post these rules in a location
accessible to residents and visitors.
(b) Upon admission, families must be provided with a copy of the
facility rules setting forth )cir rights and responsibilities while residing in the
facility.
(c) At a minimum, the facility must afford each resident the following
rights and protections which will be set forth in the resident rules:
(1) the right to remain in the facility and not
to be involuntarily transferred Or discharged except as provided in this Part;
(2) the right to receive visitors in designated
areas of the facility during reasonable hours as specified in the resident rules;
(3) the right to exercise one's civil rights;
(4) the right to religious liberty;
(5) the right to have private written and
verbal communications including the right to meet with legal representatives and legal
counsel. The resident rules must not restrict access by legal representatives and legal
counsel to any areas of the facility. Any requirements as to prior notice, hours of
access, or access to private family areas shall be set forth in the resident rules;
(6) the right to present grievances on one's
own behalf, or on behalf of other residents, to the operator or operator's designee and/or
to the local social services district without fear of reprisal;
(7) the right to manage one's own financial
affairs;
(8) the right to confidential treatment of
personal, social, financial and medical records;
(9) the right to receive courteous, fair and
respectful care and treatment;
(10) the right to be free from restraint or
confinement;
(11) the right to receive and send m;, .)r any
other correspondence without interception or interference; and
(12) the right to leave and return to the
facility and grounds at reasonable hours in accordance with the rules of the facility.
(d) The resident rules must inform families of the obligations upon
which their continued residence in the shelter depends. Such rules must clearly set forth
families' obligations concerning compliance with the resident rules and the sanctions for
noncompliance. At a minimum, rules concerning the following family obligations must be set
forth in the resident rules:
(1) applying for Emergency Assistance to Needy
Families with Children, Family Assistance, Safety Net Assistance, Veteran Assistance,
Emergency Assistance to Aged, Blind or Disabled Persons or Supplemental Security Income,
whichever is applicable, if the family is not currently in receipt of benefits under such
programs and an application for such benefits is not pending;
(2) developing, carrying out and completing a
service or independent living plan with facility or district staff to achieve permanent
housing and reviewing such plan with facility staff at least biweekly;
(3) seeking and accepting permanent housing;
(4) seeking and accepting employment;
(5) ensuring school attendance of school-age
children in their family;
(6) supervising minor family members;
(7) utilizing child care provided through the
facility when such care is necessary to enable the parent or caretaker relative to seek
employment and/or permanent housing or to attend school or training;
(8) maintaining the cleanliness of their own
sleeping and living areas, including bathroom and cooking areas, if any, as well as
laundering and changing linens and towels regularly if required by facility staff;
(9) using communal areas appropriately:
(10) notifying facility staff of any illnesses
of each member of the family;
(11) for residents in congregate shelters for
homeless pregnant women, participating in a prenatal care services program;
(12) cooperating with the district and facility
staff in an assessment of the family's housing and housing-related public assistance and
care needs;
(13) refraining from engaging in acts which
endanger the health and safety of oneself or others, or which substantially interfere with
the orderly operation of the facility;
(14) complying with all public assistance
requirements that apply to the family; and
(15) paying to the facility the family's share
of the cost of temporary housing in the amount determined by the district.