Bill Text: NJ A2248 | 2014-2015 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Requires DHS to verify level of severity of reports received about incidents involving individuals with developmental disabilities.
Sponsorship: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2014-01-27 - Introduced, Referred to Assembly Human Services Committee [A2248 Detail]
Download: New_Jersey-2014-A2248-Introduced.html
Sponsored by:
Assemblyman RONALD S. DANCER
District 12 (Burlington, Middlesex, Monmouth and Ocean)
SYNOPSIS
Requires DHS to verify level of severity of reports received about incidents involving individuals with developmental disabilities.
CURRENT VERSION OF TEXT
As introduced.
An Act concerning individuals with developmental disabilities, supplementing chapter 6D of Title 30 of the Revised Statutes, and amending P.L.2010, c.5.
Be It Enacted by the Senate and General Assembly of the State of New Jersey:
1. (New section) a. Within 48 hours of receipt of a report of an unusual incident in a program, facility, community care residence, or living arrangement licensed or funded by the Department of Human Service for an individual with a developmental disability, including a report of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an individual with a developmental disability by a caregiver pursuant to section 3 of P.L.2010, c.5 (C.30:6D-75), the Commissioner of Human Services shall send an employee of the department or a case manager employed by the department or an agency under contract with the department, as applicable, to the location of the reported unusual incident to verify the level of severity of the incident.
b. As used in this section:
"Abuse" means wrongfully inflicting or allowing to be inflicted physical abuse, sexual abuse, or verbal or psychological abuse or mistreatment upon an individual with a developmental disability.
"Exploitation" means the act or process of using an individual with a developmental disability or his resources for another person's profit or advantage.
"Intimate parts" means the following body parts of a person: sexual organs, genital area, anal area, inner thigh, groin, buttock, or breast.
"Lewdness" means the exposing of the genitals for the purpose of arousing or gratifying the sexual desire of any individual, or any flagrantly lewd and offensive act which the actor knows or reasonably expects is likely to be observed by an individual with a developmental disability.
"Neglect" shall consist of any of the following acts on an individual with a developmental disability: willfully failing to provide proper and sufficient food, clothing, maintenance, medical care, or a clean and proper home; or failure to do or permit to be done any act necessary for the well-being of the individual with a developmental disability.
"Physical abuse" means a physical act directed at an individual with a developmental disability of a type that causes one or more of the following: pain, injury, anguish, or suffering. Such acts include, but are not limited to, the individual with a developmental disability being kicked, pinched, bitten, punched, slapped, hit, pushed, dragged, or struck with a thrown or held object.
"Sexual abuse" means an act or attempted act of lewdness, sexual contact, or sexual penetration between an individual with a developmental disability, who is incapable of consent to such acts, and another individual.
"Sexual contact" means an intentional touching by any individual, either directly or through clothing, of the intimate parts of the individual with a developmental disability or another individual for the purpose of sexually arousing or sexually gratifying an individual other than the individual with a developmental disability. Sexual contact of the other individual with himself must be in view of the individual with a developmental disability whom the other individual knows to be present.
"Sexual penetration" means vaginal intercourse, cunnilingus, fellatio, or anal intercourse between an individual with a developmental disability and another individual or insertion of the hand, finger, or object into the anus or vagina, either by another individual or upon the other individual's instruction.
"Unusual incident" means an occurrence involving the care, supervision, or actions of an individual with a developmental disability that is adverse in nature or has the potential to have an adverse impact on the health, safety, or welfare of the individual or others and shall include, but not be limited to: a death, abuse, neglect, exploitation, criminal activity, contraband, violation of the requirement to report a life-threatening emergency pursuant to P.L.2003,c.191 (C.30:6D-5.1 et seq.), an injury, a medical incident, unauthorized restraint use, violation of rights, suicide attempt, elopement, and operational breakdown.
"Verbal or psychological abuse or mistreatment" means any verbal or non-verbal act or omission by an individual that inflicts one or more of the following: emotional harm; mental distress; or invocation of fear, humiliation, intimidation, or degradation to an individual with a developmental disability. Examples include, but are not limited to: bullying; ignoring need; verbal assault; use of racial or ethnic slurs; or intimidating gestures, such as shaking a fist at an individual with a developmental disability.
2. Section 3 of P.L.2010, c.5 (C.30:6D-75) is amended to read as follows:
3. a. A case manager or case manager's supervisor in the department, a person employed or volunteering in a program, facility, community care residence, or living arrangement licensed or funded by the department, or a person providing community-based services with indirect State funding to a person with a developmental disability, as applicable, having reasonable cause to believe that an individual with a developmental disability has been subjected to abuse, neglect, or exploitation by a caregiver shall report the same immediately to the department by telephone or otherwise. Such report, where possible, shall contain the name and address of the individual with a developmental disability and the caregiver responsible for the care, custody, or control of the individual with a developmental disability, and the guardian, or other person having custody and control of the individual and, if known, the condition of the individual with a developmental disability, the nature and possible extent of the individual's injuries, maltreatment, abuse, neglect or exploitation, including any evidence of previous injuries, maltreatment, abuse, neglect, or exploitation, and any other information that the person believes may be helpful with respect to the injuries, maltreatment, abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the individual with a developmental disability and the identity of the alleged offender.
b. Within the department, the commissioner shall:
(1) maintain a unit to receive and prioritize such reports [,];
(2) provide for verification of the unit's prioritization of the reports by sending an employee or case manager to the appropriate location within 48 hours to verify the level of severity of the report, as provided for in section 1 of P.L. , c. (C. )(pending before the Legislature as this bill);
(3) initiate appropriate responses through timely and appropriate investigative activities [,];
(4) alert appropriate staff [,]; and
(5) ensure that findings are reported in a uniform and timely manner.
c. (1) A person employed or volunteering in a program, facility, community care residence, or living arrangement licensed or funded by the department, or a person providing community-based services with indirect State funding to a person with a developmental disability, as applicable, who fails to report an act of abuse, neglect, or exploitation against an individual with a developmental disability while having reasonable cause to believe that such an act has been committed, is a disorderly person.
(2) A case manager or case manager's supervisor in the department who fails to report an act of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an individual with a developmental disability while having reasonable cause to believe that such an act has been committed, shall be guilty of a disorderly person's offense, unless the abuse, neglect, or exploitation results in the death of an individual with a developmental disability, in which case the case manager or case manager's supervisor shall be guilty of a crime of the fourth degree.
d. In addition to any penalty imposed pursuant to this section, a person convicted under this section shall be subject to a penalty in the amount of $350 for each day that the abuse, neglect, or exploitation was not reported, payable to the Treasurer of the State of New Jersey, which shall be used by the department to fund the provision of food and care to individuals with developmental disabilities residing in community care residences.
e. A case manager or case manager's supervisor who is charged with failure to report an act of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of an individual with a developmental disability while having reasonable cause to believe that such an act has been committed, shall be temporarily reassigned to duties that do not involve contact with individuals with developmental disabilities or other vulnerable populations and shall be terminated from employment if convicted.
In the case of a case manager or case manager's supervisor who is employed by the department, the case manager or supervisor shall retain any available right of review by the Civil Service Commission.
(cf: P.L. 2012, c.69, s.9)
3. The Commissioner of Human Services shall adopt, pursuant to the "Administrative Procedure Act," P.L.1968, c.410 (C.52:14B-1 et seq.), rules and regulations as the commissioner deems necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
4. This act shall take effect on the first day of the seventh month next following the date of enactment, but the Commissioner of Human Services may take such anticipatory administrative action in advance thereof as shall be necessary for the implementation of this act.
STATEMENT
This bill requires that the Department of Human Services (DHS), within 48 hours of receipt of a report of an "unusual incident" concerning an individual with a developmental disability, send a DHS employee or case manager to the location of the reported unusual incident to verify the level of severity of the reported incident. The bill defines "unusual incident" as an occurrence involving the care, supervision, or actions of an individual with a developmental disability that is adverse in nature or has the potential to have an adverse impact on the health, safety, or welfare of the individual or others, and lists examples of these incidents.
The bill also amends the law governing the Central Registry of Offenders Against Individuals with Developmental Disabilities to require the same verification of the level of severity for reports received under that law.
Currently, reports of these incidents are prioritized by DHS to indicate level of severity based on the received report, but there is no subsequent routine visit within 48 hours to verify the level of severity of the incident. This bill would provide for timely verification.
The bill is based on a recommendation from the Office of the State Auditor in the Office of Legislative Services in its report, issued December 30, 2013, on Community Programs in the Division of Developmental Disabilities in DHS.
