Indiana
Indiana licenses residential care facilities under the health facility licensing law (IC 16-28). These facilities provide room, meals, laundry, activities, housekeeping and limited help with daily living, and may give residential nursing care or administer prescribed medications, but residents needing 24-hour comprehensive nursing care generally must be discharged. IDOH adopted a civil-penalty rule (LSA #26-14, adopted March 11, 2026) and in 2026 proposed amending 410 IAC 16.2-5 on resident rights and evictions (LSA #26-149, second hearing set for Oct 13, 2026).
License categories
Residential care facility
Key laws
IC 16-28-2
Licensure of Health Facilities
410 IAC 16.2-5
Residential Care Facilities — official text
Key requirements
- At least one awake staff person with current CPR and first aid certification must be on site at all times
- Annual in-service training: at least 8 hours for nursing staff and 4 hours for non-nursing staff
- Staff with resident contact need 6 hours of dementia-specific training within 6 months of hire and 3 hours each year after that
- Medicaid and SSI recipients must be screened for major mental illness before admission, in cooperation with the local community mental health center (410 IAC 16.2-5-11.1)
- Facilities with 50+ residents receiving nursing services must have a nursing staff person on site at all times
Sources
- https://www.in.gov/health/ltc/facility-licensing-and-certification/residential/
- https://www.in.gov/health/directory/office-of-the-commissioner/rules/
- https://regulations.justia.com/states/indiana/title-410/article-16-2/rule-2-5/
- https://regulations.justia.com/states/indiana/title-410/article-16-2/rule-2-5/section-5/
- https://regulations.justia.com/states/indiana/title-410/article-16-2/rule-2-5/section-4/
- https://regulations.justia.com/states/indiana/title-410/article-16-2/rule-2-5/section-1-d-5/
- https://www.in.gov/ombudsman/long-term-care-ombudsman/contact-information