Bill Text: NY S07580 | 2023-2024 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Requires all state and private agencies with mandatory reporters of incidents involving vulnerable people to retrain all staff on reporting to a 9-1-1 operator and the county district attorney's office and state and private websites; requires written materials to be updated.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Republican 2-1)

Status: (Introduced) 2024-01-03 - REFERRED TO DISABILITIES [S07580 Detail]

Download: New_York-2023-S07580-Introduced.html



                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________

                                          7580

                               2023-2024 Regular Sessions

                    IN SENATE

                                      June 9, 2023
                                       ___________

        Introduced  by Sen. HARCKHAM -- read twice and ordered printed, and when
          printed to be committed to the Committee on Rules

        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation  to  requiring  all
          state  and  private  agencies  with  mandatory  reporters of incidents
          involving vulnerable people to retrain all staff  on  reporting  to  a
          9-1-1 operator and the county district attorney's office

          The  People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:

     1    Section 1. Section 491 of the  social  services  law,  as  amended  by
     2  section 1 of part B of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, subdivision 4 as
     3  amended by chapter 126 of the laws of 2014 and subdivision 5 as added by
     4  chapter 422 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
     5    §  491.  Duty  to  report  incidents.  1. (a) Mandated reporters shall
     6  report allegations of reportable incidents  to  a  9-1-1  operator,  the
     7  county  district  attorney's  office and the vulnerable persons' central
     8  register as established by section four hundred ninety-two of this arti-
     9  cle and in accordance with the requirements set forth therein.
    10    (b) Allegations of reportable incidents shall be reported  immediately
    11  to  a  9-1-1  operator,  the  county  district attorney's office and the
    12  vulnerable persons' central register upon  discovery.  For  purposes  of
    13  this  article, "discovery" occurs when the mandated reporter witnesses a
    14  suspected reportable incident or  when  another  person,  including  the
    15  vulnerable  person,  comes  before the mandated reporter in the mandated
    16  reporter's professional or official capacity and provides  the  mandated
    17  reporter with reasonable cause to suspect that the vulnerable person has
    18  been  subjected to a reportable incident. A report to the register shall
    19  include the name, title and contact information of every person known to
    20  the mandated reporter to have  the  same  information  as  the  mandated
    21  reporter  concerning  the reportable incident. [Nothing in this subdivi-
    22  sion shall be construed to prohibit a mandated reporter from  contacting

         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD10881-01-3

        S. 7580                             2

     1  or  reporting  to  law enforcement or emergency services before or after
     2  reporting to the vulnerable persons' central register.]
     3    (c) The substance or content of any psychological, psychiatric, thera-
     4  peutic,  clinical  or  medical reports, evaluations or like materials or
     5  information pertaining to the treatment of a  patient  or  client  of  a
     6  mandatory  reporter who reports a reportable incident of such patient or
     7  client pursuant to this article, must  be  provided  by  such  mandatory
     8  reporter upon request of the justice center for the protection of people
     9  with  special  needs  if  such records are essential for a full investi-
    10  gation of such  allegation,  notwithstanding  any  applicable  privilege
    11  which  would  otherwise bar the disclosure of such materials and records
    12  pursuant to article forty-five of the civil practice law  and  rules  or
    13  other  provision  of  law  except  applicable  federal law governing the
    14  disclosure of patient and related medical records.
    15    2. Any person or official required to report allegations of reportable
    16  incidents pursuant to this section may take or cause to be  taken  color
    17  photographs  of  visible  trauma  and  the face of the vulnerable person
    18  named in the report and upon the  consent  of  a  person  authorized  to
    19  consent  to  medical care for the vulnerable person, shall, if medically
    20  indicated, cause to be  performed  a  radiological  examination  of  the
    21  vulnerable  person.  Any  photographs or radiological examinations taken
    22  shall be provided to the justice center for use only for the purposes of
    23  an investigation of a reportable incident.
    24    3. (a) Any human services professional required  by  this  article  to
    25  report  a  case  of  suspected abuse or neglect to a 9-1-1 operator, the
    26  county district attorney's office and the  vulnerable  persons'  central
    27  register who knowingly and willfully fails to do so shall be guilty of a
    28  class [A misdemeanor] E felony.
    29    (b)  A mandated reporter who knowingly and willfully fails to report a
    30  case of suspected abuse or neglect  to  a  9-1-1  operator,  the  county
    31  district  attorney's office and the vulnerable persons' central register
    32  may be subject to termination,  subject  to  any  applicable  collective
    33  bargaining agreement. Any person or official required by this article to
    34  report  a  case  of  suspected abuse or neglect to a 9-1-1 operator, the
    35  county district attorney's office and the  vulnerable  persons'  central
    36  register  who  knowingly  and  willfully fails to do so shall be civilly
    37  liable for the damages proximately caused by such failure.
    38    4. A medical or other public or  private  institution,  state  agency,
    39  school,  facility or provider agency or its vendors or contractors shall
    40  not take any retaliatory personnel action, as such term  is  defined  in
    41  paragraph  (e)  of subdivision one of section seven hundred forty of the
    42  labor law, against an employee or agent or vendor or contractor  because
    43  such  employee  or agent or vendor or contractor believes that he or she
    44  has reasonable cause to  suspect  that  a  vulnerable  person  has  been
    45  subjected  to a reportable incident and that employee or agent or vendor
    46  or contractor therefore makes a report in accordance with  this  section
    47  and/or  cooperated  with  the  investigation of a reportable incident. A
    48  court of competent jurisdiction  may  grant  injunctive  relief  to  any
    49  person determined to have been subjected to such retaliation.
    50    5.  State  oversight  agencies  shall  ensure  that  all facilities or
    51  provider agencies operated, licensed, or certified by such  state  over-
    52  sight  agencies  have  policies  and procedures in place to identify and
    53  report possible crimes against a service recipient by a custodian. State
    54  oversight agencies shall provide  guidance  to  facilities  or  provider
    55  agencies  operated, licensed, or certified by such state oversight agen-

        S. 7580                             3

     1  cies that do not already have policies and procedures for the  identifi-
     2  cation and reporting of possible crimes.
     3    6.  All  state  and  private  agencies  with mandatory reporters shall
     4  retrain all staff on reporting  to  a  9-1-1  operator  and  the  county
     5  district  attorney's office and all state and private websites, training
     6  manuals, informational brochures or pamphlets directing reporting  shall
     7  state that such instances be reported to a 9-1-1 operator and the county
     8  district  attorney's office. All former posters and wallet cards and any
     9  other information directing reporting of crimes and emergencies  to  the
    10  justice center shall be removed and replaced by 9-1-1 reporting posters,
    11  wallet  cards  and all other sources that shall be located conspicuously
    12  in a timely manner.
    13    § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
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