After COVID-19 has prevented loved ones from seeing their family members. Families are pleading with lawmakers in South Carolina, Connecticut, Ohio and other states to allow cameras to see loved ones. The visitation bans are necessary evils but they have negative effects. There is renewed interest in legislation that would allow families to put remote cameras inside the facilities to help see how loved ones are doing. About a dozen states already have laws or regulations in place allowing residents and their families to install video cameras, subject to certain rules.
The cameras allow families to monitor loved ones in real time or make recordings. In most cases, residents can ask that they be turned off for privacy. There are safeguards to protect roommates from being filmed unknowingly. Signs in rooms alert staff and visitors that the cameras are operating.