(a) Facilities offering assisted living services shall obtain a permit of approval. However, permits of approval held by residential care facilities as of April 2, 2001, or held by subsequent purchasers of those facilities, shall also be considered permits of approval for assisted living without further action. However, residential care facilities that choose to offer assisted living services are not exempted from assisted living licensure requirements except as provided in § 20-10-1704.
(b)
(1)
(A) Provided, further, that in order to take advantage of a Robert Wood Johnson Foundation grant, one (1) new facility chosen by the Department of Human Services may serve as a pilot project without the necessity of a permit of approval. This facility shall be exempt from the permit of approval process, provided that in 2001 it is awarded funding from the Coming Home Project and tax credits from the Arkansas Development Finance Authority.
(B) The Coming Home Project means the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation/NCB Development Corporation grant.
(2) The facility shall have no more than sixty (60) beds and shall serve a population a majority of which is low-income as defined by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development.
(3) The pilot project facility shall still meet all other licensure requirements.