1700 Adverse Actions

Georgia State Seal

Department of Human Services
Policy and Manual Management System

Index:

POL 1700

Revised:

04/01/2026

Next Review:

04/01/2028

​Policy

It is the policy of Residential Child Care Licensing (RCCL) to initiate an adverse action upon finding that an applicant or licensee engages in the following:

  1. Knowingly makes any verbal or written false statement of material fact in connection with the application for a license, on documents submitted to the Department as part of any inspection or investigation, or in the falsification or alteration of facility records made or maintained by the facility;

  2. Fails or refuses, without legal cause, to provide the Department with access to the premises subject to regulation or information pertinent to the initial and continued licensing of the facility;

  3. Fails to comply with Georgia licensing requirements; or

  4. Fails to comply with the provisions of O.C.G.A. §§ 49-5-12.

Pursuant to the Rules and Regulations for Enforcement of Licensing Requirements, Chapter 290—​1—​6, RCCL may deny an application for licensing and suspend or revoke the license of any facility that does not comply with Georgia law, Department rules and regulations, or any specific terms (waivers or variances) of an individual license. Civil penalties and restrictions to licenses will also be imposed when applicable.

​Authority

O.C.G.A. §§ 49-5-12
O.C.G.A. §§ 49-5-12.1
O.C.G.A. §§ 49-2-17
O.C.G.A. §§ 49-5-8

​References

RCC TRAILS
Rules and Regulations for Enforcement of Licensing Requirements, Chapter 290-1-6
Guidance Form - RCCL Enforcement State Matrix
RCCL Enforcement Actions Flowchart

​Applicability

This policy applies to all RCCL staff and licensed child welfare agencies.

​Definitions

Adverse Action

An adverse action is taken when non-compliance with rules poses a risk that endangers the health and safety of children, or there are indications of a continued failure to comply with Department rules and regulations or Georgia law.

Child Welfare Agencies

Licensed Child-Caring Institutions (CCI), Child-Placing Agencies (CPA), Children’s Transition Care Centers (CTCC), Commercial Sexual Exploitation Recovery Centers (CSERC), Outdoor Child Caring Programs (OCCP), Maternity Homes (MH), and Qualified Residential Treatment Programs (QRTP).

Civil Penalty

Fines imposed against a facility that does not comply with the law, Department rules and regulations, prior settlement agreements, or any specific terms (waivers or variances) of an individual license.

Initial

When the occurrence is atypical for the facility. Initial incidents are rated on the RCCL State Enforcement Matrix as either an “A”, “D”, “G” or “J”, with “J” being the most severe.

Repeat

When the problems causing the deficiencies within a facility are pervasive (cited two or more times in a 24 month period) and/or represent systemic failure. A “repeat” problem, according to the RCCL State Enforcement Matrix, can be rated as a “C”, “F”, “I”, or “L”, with “L” being the most severe.

Subsequent

When the situation has occurred in several locations, and/or repeated occurrences of the same deficient process. A “subsequent” rating may occur, according to the RCCL State Enforcement Matrix, as a “B”, “E”, “H” or “K”, with “K” being the most severe.

​Responsibilities

  1. The RCCL Director is responsible for monitoring requirements for updating this policy.

  2. The RCCL Publisher and the RCCL Rules Coordinator will update this policy according to state requirements.

​History

Replaces Adverse Action POL1700, last reviewed on 4/01/2026.

​Evaluation

RCCL Specialist Surveyors and RCCL Surveyor Supervisors will evaluate this policy when:

  1. Conducting inspections and investigations of licensed child welfare agencies.

  2. Conducting quality assurance reviews and quality control audits of survey reports.