Bill Text: NY S06695 | 2021-2022 | General Assembly | Amended
Bill Title: Creates a bill of rights for people with developmental disabilities who reside in residences certified or approved by the office for people with developmental disabilities.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2022-01-05 - REFERRED TO DISABILITIES [S06695 Detail]
Download: New_York-2021-S06695-Amended.html
STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 6695--A 2021-2022 Regular Sessions IN SENATE May 12, 2021 ___________ Introduced by Sen. MANNION -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Disabilities -- committee discharged, bill amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to creating a bill of rights for individuals with developmental disabilities who reside in residences certified or approved by the office for people with developmental disabilities The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. The mental hygiene law is amended by adding a new section 2 13.04 to read as follows: 3 § 13.04 Residents' bill of rights. 4 (a) The principles in the bill of rights set forth in this section are 5 declared to be the public policy of the state. 6 (b) For purposes of this section: 7 (1) "resident" means an individual with a developmental disability who 8 is receiving services from a covered provider. 9 (2) "qualified person" means a resident, the resident's legal guardi- 10 an, the guardian's designee, the resident's designee, or if none exists, 11 in order of priority, a spouse, parent, adult child or an adult sibling 12 of the resident. 13 (3) "covered provider" means and includes any entity, providing resi- 14 dential services or programs to one or more persons with a developmental 15 disability, that is operated, licensed, or certified by the office. 16 (c) In addition to all other rights and privileges under law, a resi- 17 dent shall have the rights set forth below (the "Bill of Rights") which 18 the resident may exercise or another qualified person may exercise on 19 the resident's behalf. 20 "Bill of Rights" EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [] is old law to be omitted. LBD01457-03-1S. 6695--A 2 1 Individuals with a developmental disability who are receiving residen- 2 tial services from an entity that is operated, licensed or certified by 3 the office or a qualified person on such individual's behalf shall have 4 the following generally-described rights to: 5 Be treated with consideration and respect. 6 Participate in and provide meaningful input into the development, 7 review and revision of the resident's care plan, including placement or 8 transfer within or between facilities. 9 Access information regarding the resident's health and safety, 10 consistent with federal and state confidentiality protections. 11 Be notified within a reasonable time of any event that directly 12 impacts the resident's health and safety, consistent with federal and 13 state confidentiality protections. 14 Access any and all audio and video recordings which are relevant to 15 any incident which affects the resident whether or not the resident 16 appears in the audio or video. 17 Access information necessary for a qualified person to make informed 18 decisions, when appropriate, about the resident's care and care coordi- 19 nation. 20 Financial transparency, including access to budgetary information of 21 the facility and resident's expenses, consistent with federal and state 22 confidentiality protections. 23 Receive visitors who visit unannounced. 24 Be informed of any and all staffing changes. 25 Access a facility's fire and other safety plans and any information 26 regarding a facility's passage or failure of any safety drills conducted 27 by the facility and the office. 28 Access a facility's food menus. 29 Choose a care coordinator. 30 Consult and be represented by an independent advocate, mental hygiene 31 legal services or a private attorney; and if services are provided under 32 Medicaid managed care, to have a Medicaid ombudsman. 33 Be informed in writing in plain language with up-to-date information 34 about: 35 (i) the system of care and services for persons with developmental 36 disabilities, including but not limited to managed care; 37 (ii) the laws, rules, and regulations applicable to the rights of 38 individuals with a developmental disability, their legal guardians or 39 family members and other qualified persons to participate in decisions 40 about the individual's life and to access information, records, reports, 41 care plans, etc.; and 42 (iii) the procedures to challenge any decision affecting the resident. 43 Nothing in this bill of rights shall limit any other right or privi- 44 lege under law. If any residential facility service provider fails to 45 afford these rights, assistance may be sought from the facility or 46 provider, or the office. 47 (d) A qualified person other than a legal guardian may, in accordance 48 with law and appropriate due process, not exercise a right described in 49 this section if the resident, who is competent to do so, specifically 50 affirms, in a reasonably contemporaneous manner, that such identified 51 qualified person shall not be afforded such specific right. Such deter- 52 mination by the resident shall be described and recorded in writing in 53 the case file by appropriate staff of the facility or service provider 54 and a statement of reasons for such denial shall be provided to the 55 qualified person.S. 6695--A 3 1 (e) The statement of rights set forth in this section is intended to 2 be a guide to the rights of a resident or a qualified person. 3 (f) Nothing in this section shall be read to limit any other rights or 4 privileges that a resident or a qualified person may have or limit any 5 action or relief otherwise permitted by law. Nothing in this subdivi- 6 sion shall alter or affect any right of appeal, formal or otherwise, 7 such resident or qualified person may have concerning the denial of any 8 such right. 9 (g) Each covered provider shall conspicuously post a copy of the bill 10 of rights in a public place at each of the covered provider's facilities 11 and provide a copy to each qualified person. 12 (h) The commissioner shall: 13 (1) Post a copy of the bill of rights on the office's website; 14 (2) Make copies of the bill of rights in English, and the top six 15 languages other than English spoken in the state (according to the 16 latest available data from the U.S. bureau of census) available to the 17 public and every provider; 18 (3) Establish a public education program designed to disseminate 19 information regarding implementation of this section; 20 (4) Include specific information detailing the efforts of the commis- 21 sioner to effectuate this section in the statewide comprehensive plan 22 required pursuant to section 5.07 of this chapter; 23 (5) Adopt all rules and regulations necessary to effectuate this 24 section. 25 § 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after 26 it shall have become a law.
