1. (a)

   1. (1) Each facility must designate a full-time (forty (40) hours per week) administrator.
   2. (2) The administrator must be on the premises during normal business hours.
   3. (3) The administrator has responsibility for the daily operation of the facility.
   4. (4) Correspondence from the Office of Long-Term Care to the facility will be through the administrator.
   5. (5) Sharing of administrators between assisted living facilities and other types of long-term care facilities is permitted pursuant to subsections (b) – (d) of this section.
2. (b) The administrator shall not leave the premises housing the assisted living facility during the day tour of duty without first designating an employee who will be responsible for the management of the facility during the administrator’s absence.
3. (c) The facility administrator shall notify the office in writing if the administrator will be absent from the facility for seven (7) or more consecutive calendar days.

4. (d)

   1. (1) Each administrator will provide to the office, on an annual basis, a copy of his or her current administrator certification.
   2. (2) This submission must be made every time the facility seeks licensure, renewal of licensure, or upon change of ownership.

5. (e)

   1. (1) All certifications must be current as required by the certification agency.
   2. (2) This submission shall be made each time the facility seeks licensure, renewal of licensure, or upon a change of administrators.

6. (f) The administrator must have the following minimum qualifications:

   1. (1) Must be at least twenty-one (21) years of age;
   2. (2) Must have a high school diploma or have a GED;
   3. (3) Must have the ability and agree to comply with this part;
   4. (4) Must successfully complete a criminal background check pursuant to Arkansas Code § 20-33-201 et seq., and in accordance with Rules for Conducting Criminal Records Checks for Employees of Long-Term Care Facilities, 20 CAR pt. 404;

   5. (5)

      1. (A) Must not have been convicted, or have a substantiated report, of abusing, neglecting, or mistreating persons, or misappropriation of resident property.
      2. (B) The Adult and Long-term Care Facility Resident Maltreatment Central Registry maintained by the Division of Aging, Adult, and Behavioral Health Services of the Department of Human Services shall be checked prior to employment;
   6. (6) Must have no prior conviction pursuant to Arkansas Code § 20-10-401, or relating to the operation of a long-term care facility; and

   7. (7)

      1. (A) Must be certified as an assisted living facility administrator through a certification program approved by the office or must be enrolled in a certification program with an expected completion date of within twelve (12) months.
      2. (B) Until certification requirements for an assisted living facility administrator are in place, certification as a residential care facility administrator or licensure as a nursing home administrator may be used.

7. (g)

   1. (1) “Full-time” means forty (40) hours per week during normal business hours.
   2. (2) “Part-time” means twenty (20) hours or more, but less than forty (40) hours, during normal business hours.
8. (h) When a structure or building houses more than one (1) type of long-term care facility, a single administrator may be employed for all the long-term care programs housed within that structure, building, or premises, provided the person employed as administrator meets the qualifications for, and is currently licensed or certified as, an administrator for each type of long-term care facility for which he or she will act as administrator.

9. (i) A second administrator shall be employed part-time when:

   1. (1) The total number of beds for all long-term care programs within the facility is more than seventy (70); and
   2. (2) The number of beds for each long-term care program within the facility is more than twenty (20) per program.

10. (j) A second administrator shall be employed full-time when:

    1. (1) The total number of beds for all long-term care programs within the facility is more than seventy (70); and
    2. (2) The number of beds for each long-term care program within the facility is more than forty (40) per program.

Codification Notes: “GED” means General Educational Development test.