(b)

1. (1) An application for licensing as a psychiatric residential treatment facility administrator shall be completed under oath and as prescribed by the Office of Long-Term Care.
2. (2) Applications must be accompanied by the applicant’s criminal background check, Child Maltreatment Central Registry check, Adult and Long-term Care Facility Resident Maltreatment Central Registry check, and an Arkansas Sex Offender Registry check result.

(c) Administrators shall:

1. (1) Be a person who is at least twenty-one (21) years of age; and
2. (2) Have a baccalaureate (preferred master’s degree or doctorate in a human services field) in child development, psychology, sociology, social work, guidance and counseling, education, administration, or business, or a related field with at least two (2) years of experience in a health-related field within the past five (5) years; or
3. (3) Have at least fifteen (15) years of executive level psychiatric residential treatment facility experience.

(f)

1. (1) Applicants for a psychiatric residential treatment facility administrator license must pass a written examination, designed and administered by the Office of Long-Term Care, with the goal of showing competence in psychiatric residential treatment facility administration.
2. (2) Scores of seventy (70) will be required to pass the Office of Long-Term Care examination.

(g)

1. (1) Applicants who do not pass the Office of Long-Term Care’s examination shall be entitled to be reexamined one (1) additional time, at their own expense.

2. (2) After two (2) such successive failures, an applicant must:

   1. (A) Retake the approved Office of Long-Term Care training course; and
   2. (B) Reapply before reexamination.

(h) Psychiatric residential treatment facility administrators shall be required to renew their licenses, as follows:

1. (1) Every active administrator license shall be renewed annually and on or before January 1 by submitting a renewal application to the Department of Human Services and by furnishing written documentation that the licensee has attended and accumulated a specific number of continuing education clock hours as established by the department;
2. (2) If the renewal application and satisfactory documentation of compliance with continuing education requirements is not postmarked or received by the department on or before January 1, the licensee shall be ineligible to perform the duties of the psychiatric residential treatment facility administrator, and the license shall be deemed suspended effective January 2;
3. (3) A request for renewal postmarked or received by the department after January 1 shall not be considered unless the licensee complies with all of the requirements imposed by law or rule; and
4. (4) Any long-term care facility administrator license not renewed on or before March 1 shall expire effective March 2.

(m)

1. (1) Inadequate performance that may lead to disciplinary actions include, but are not limited to, the following areas.

2. (2) During the time that the psychiatric residential treatment facility administrator is acting in their capacity as administrator, the psychiatric residential treatment facility subjected to:

   1. (A) Involuntary closure and transfer of a resident;
   2. (B) Appointment of a temporary manager or receiver;
   3. (C) Determination of immediate jeopardy to the health and safety of any resident;
   4. (D) Civil money penalties based on annual or complaint surveys;
   5. (E) Termination from the Medicaid program;
   6. (F) An extended, or partial extended, survey resulting in a determination of substandard quality of care;
   7. (G) Denial of payments for new admissions, or denial of all payments; and
   8. (H) Conviction or finding against the psychiatric residential treatment facility administrator of certain misconduct, concerning any psychiatric residential treatment facility or resident, past or current, listed below:

(i) Fraud in the operation of any facility;

1. (ii) Misappropriation or embezzlement of funds from any facility or resident;

   1. (iii) Abuse or neglect of any resident;

      1. (iv) Purposeful failure to report abuse or neglect of any resident;
      2. (v) Misappropriation of any resident’s property;
      3. (vi) Criminal offense conviction or convictions related to the abuse of adults or children;
      4. (vii) Failure to protect any resident’s rights; and
      5. (viii) Criminal offense or offenses under Arkansas Code § 17-3-102, or any additional state law, relating to occupational licensure.

2. (3) Disciplinary action may include, but is not limited to:

   1. (A) A letter of concern or reprimand;
   2. (B) Directed in-service training or corrective action plan;
   3. (C) Probation; and
   4. (D) Suspension of license or revocation of psychiatric residential treatment facility administrator license.

(n) Penalties.

1. (1) It shall be unlawful for any person to act or serve in the capacity of a psychiatric residential treatment facility administrator in this state unless such person has been licensed to do so.

2. (2) Any person who violates this requirement shall be guilty of a Class A misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be subject to:

   1. (A) A fine of not less than one hundred dollars ($100) nor more than one thousand dollars ($1,000);
   2. (B) Imprisonment for not less than ten (10) days nor more than ninety (90) days; or
   3. (C) Both fine and imprisonment.

(r)

1. (1) The psychiatric residential treatment facility administrator, or their designee, must be on call at all times.
2. (2) The psychiatric residential treatment facility administrator must also ensure that a manager or supervisor is onsite at all times.
3. (3) The manager, supervisor, or acting psychiatric residential treatment facility administrator shall be designated, in writing, to act in the absence of the administrator, for example, listing of the lines of successional authority by position and title.

(s)

1. (1) On an annual basis, actively licensed psychiatric residential treatment facility administrators must participate in twelve (12) clock hours of continuing education at approved workshops.
2. (2) Continuing education hours must be applied to the licensure year in which they were obtained and cannot be carried over to the following year.
3. (3) Workshops and seminars must be approved by the Office of Long-Term Care.
4. (4) Psychiatric residential treatment facility administrators who are initially licensed after July 2 will not be required to complete continuing education hours for the renewal period immediately following.