TIP SHEET About Public Documents

About Public Documents

Access to Public Documents

The value of CARR's Facility Search is that you are able to read the evaluations state inspectors (LPAs) have written about the regulatory compliance demonstrated by any given facility.  Of course, you can access much of the same information at the State Community Care Licensing Division (CCLD) office located in San Diego, but it will take you two trips: one to request the file, and the second, 3 to 5 days later, to actually review the file.  CARR has saved you this trouble.  You can access many of the same documents in the public file, on this website.

10,000 Scans:  Many But Not All

CARR has about 10,000 scans in its database: some are scans of documents directly from the public file, and others (LIC809F and LIC9099F) are excerpts of public documents captured as part of the original thesis work from which this website was derived.  Two things to know:  

• this site does not have all document types for each facility, and
• the excerpt documents (LIC809Fs and LIC9099Fs) are placeholders until CARR's Advocates can again access the public file. Placeholder documents will be replaced with scans of the originals from which the excerpts were taken.

Why Review Public Documents?

The benefit of reviewing the public file is that consumers don't have to rely on a facility's assertion that the "food is delicious," or that they "have sufficient staff at all times".  You can now conveniently read the state's evaluations (LIC 809s) and complaint reports (LIC 9099s) for yourself to evaluate whether those assertions, and others, are correct.  

Source of Public Documents

Most sites offering information on RCFEs only provide you with the data they've downloaded from CCLD's website, or solicited from the facilities themselves.  CARR's information and documents come solely from source documents publicly available through CCLD, Superior Court, Police Records, Tax Records, Fire Marshal offices and California's Secretary of State's office.  

Documents Speak for Themselves

CARR attempts to report only information in the public file. When the state’s public file includes the new or updated public documents containing the new or updated information, then CARR will update its document database accordingly at the time of CARR's next surveillance.    

Ongoing File Surveillance 

As CARR continues its on-going surveillance of the public files for RCFEs in San Diego and Imperial counties, the number of public records available for each facility will be expanded.