Legislative intent.

It is the intent of the Legislature to provide for the licensure of transitional living facilities and require the development, establishment, and enforcement of basic standards by the Agency for Health Care Administration to ensure quality of care and services to clients in transitional living facilities. It is the policy of the state that the least restrictive appropriate available treatment be used based on the individual needs and best interest of the client, consistent with optimum improvement of the client’s condition. The goal of a transitional living program for persons who have brain or spinal cord injuries is to assist each person who has such an injury to achieve a higher level of independent functioning and to enable the person to reenter the community. It is also the policy of the state that the restraint or seclusion of a client is justified only as an emergency safety measure used in response to danger to the client or others. It is therefore the intent of the Legislature to achieve an ongoing reduction in the use of restraint or seclusion in programs and facilities that serve persons who have brain or spinal cord injuries.