ALS is responsible for the establishment of appropriate rules and basic health and safety requirements, including the inspection of foster homes, review of construction documents and on-site inspections of physical plant structures and premises as well as inspections of Medicare certified facilities by ADHS Deputy Fire Marshals. Further, ALS is committed to providing education and technical assistance, enabling health and child care facilities to meet minimum health and safety requirements. Critical administrative support services include the Fingerprint Unit which processes between 1,000 - 1,500 fingerprint clearances each month for facility owners and employees that work in child care and behavioral health settings. There is also an Enforcement Unit which assists programs in developing and processing legal documents as well as coordinating legal actions with ADHS legal counsel and the Office of the Attorney General. ALS Rules Unit is another vital component and is responsible for ensuring that Arizona Administrative Code rules are developed and periodically reviewed in compliance with state statutes, the Governor s Regulatory Review Council and the agency s regulatory priorities.
Every complaint is prioritized and all complaints are responded to within established time frames.
Moreover, the programs within ALS are responsible for responding to complaints of unlicensed operations of health care, behavioral health, home and community based and child care facilities. Also, all programs are supported by online, automated database systems. These databases assist ALS in collecting, monitoring and tracking information. Listings of the facilities are made available from the computer generated information to assist citizens in making informed decisions regarding health and child care.