General Assembly Raised Bill No. 362
February Session, 2014 LCO No. 1923
*01923_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
General Assembly
Raised Bill No. 362
February Session, 2014
LCO No. 1923
*01923_______PH_*
Referred to Committee on PUBLIC HEALTH
Introduced by:
(PH)
AN ACT CONCERNING MANDATORY REPORTING OF ABUSE AND NEGLECT OF INDIVIDUALS WITH AUTISM SPECTRUM DISORDER AND THE DEFINITION OF ABUSE.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Assembly convened:
Section 1. Section 17a-247a of the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2014):
As used in this section, section 2 of this act and sections 17a-247b to 17a-247e, inclusive:
(1) "Abuse" means (A) the wilful infliction by an employee of physical pain or injury, [or] financial exploitation, psychological abuse or verbal abuse; (B) the wilful deprivation of services necessary to the physical and mental health and safety of [a department client] an individual who receives services or funding from the department; or (C) sexual abuse.
(2) "Authorized agency" means any agency authorized in accordance with the general statutes to conduct abuse and neglect investigations and responsible for issuing or carrying out protective services for persons with intellectual disability or individuals receiving services or funding from the department's Division of Autism Spectrum Disorder Services.
(3) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Developmental Services.
(4) "Department" means the Department of Developmental Services.
[(5) "Department client" means a person who is eligible for, and receives services or funding from, the department.]
[(6)] (5) "Employee" means any [individual] person employed (A) by the department, or (B) by an agency, organization or [individual] person that is licensed or funded by the department.
[(7)] (6) "Employer" means (A) the department, or (B) an agency, organization or [individual] person that is licensed or funded by the department.
(7) "Financial exploitation" means the theft, misappropriation or unauthorized or improper use of property, money or other resource that is intended to be used by or for an individual who receives services or funding from the department.
(8) "Neglect" means the failure by an employee, through action or inaction, to provide [a department client] an individual who receives services or funding from the department with the services necessary to maintain such [client's] individual's physical and mental health and safety.
(9) "Protective services" has the same meaning as provided in section 46a-11a.
(10) "Psychological abuse" means an act intended to (A) humiliate, intimidate, degrade or demean an individual who receives services or funding from the department, (B) inflict emotional harm or invoke fear in such individual, or (C) otherwise negatively impacts the mental health of such individual.
[(10)] (11) "Registry" means a centralized data base containing information regarding substantiated abuse or neglect.
(12) "Sexual abuse" means (A) any sexual contact between an individual who receives services or funding from the department, regardless of such individual's ability to consent and an employee, or (B) the encouragement by an employee of an individual who receives services or funding from the department to engage in sexual activity.
[(11)] (13) "Substantiated abuse or neglect" means a determination by an authorized agency, following an investigation conducted or monitored by such agency, that (A) abuse or neglect of [a department client] an individual who receives services or funding from the department has occurred, or (B) there has been a criminal conviction of a felony or misdemeanor involving abuse or neglect.
(14) "Verbal abuse" means the use of offensive or intimidating language that is intended to provoke or cause the distress of an individual who receives services or funding from the department.
Sec. 2. (NEW) (Effective October 1, 2014) (a) (1) For purposes of this section, "commissioner" means the Commissioner of Developmental Services or the commissioner's designee.
(2) Any mandated reporter described in subsection (a) of section 46a-11b of the general statutes who has reasonable cause to suspect or believe that an individual who receives services or funding from the Department of Developmental Services' Division of Autism Spectrum Disorder Services has been subjected to abuse or neglect, as such terms are defined in section 17a-247a of the general statutes, as amended by this act, shall, as soon as practicable but not later than seventy-two hours after such abuse or neglect is suspected or believed by a mandated reporter, report such information or cause a report to be made in any reasonable manner to the commissioner. Such initial report shall be followed by a written report not later than five calendar days after the initial report is made. Any mandated reporter who fails to make such report shall be fined not more than five hundred dollars.
(b) The report described in subsection (a) of this section shall contain (1) the name and address of the allegedly abused or neglected individual, (2) a statement from the mandated reporter indicating his or her belief that the allegedly abused or neglected individual is receiving services or funding from the department's Division of Autism Spectrum Disorder Services, (3) information supporting the supposition that such individual is substantially unable to protect himself or herself from abuse or neglect, (4) information regarding the nature and extent of the abuse or neglect, and (5) any other information that the mandated reporter believes might be helpful in an investigation of the case and the protection of the individual receiving services or funding from the department.
(c) Any person, other than a mandated reporter, who has reasonable cause to suspect or believe that an individual who receives services or funding from the department's Division of Autism Spectrum Disorder Services has been subjected to abuse or neglect, as such terms are defined in section 17a-247a of the general statutes, as amended by this act, may report such information, in any reasonable manner, to the commissioner.
(d) The commissioner, upon receiving a report described in subsection (a) of this section, shall investigate such report to determine whether the individual who receives services or funding from said division has been abused or neglected. The commissioner shall include in the state-wide registry, described in section 17a-247b of the general statutes, the reports received pursuant to this section, the evaluation and findings and actions recommended.
(e) Neither the original report nor an investigation report that includes findings and recommendations shall be deemed a public record for purposes of section 1-210 of the general statutes. The name of the person making the original report shall not be disclosed to any person unless the person making the original report consents to such disclosure or unless a judicial proceeding results therefrom.
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2014 17a-247a
Sec. 2 October 1, 2014 New section
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following sections:
Section 1
October 1, 2014
17a-247a
Sec. 2
October 1, 2014
New section
Statement of Purpose:
To require reporting of suspected abuse or neglect of persons receiving services from the Department of Developmental Services' Division of Autism Spectrum Disorder Services and to expand the definition of abuse for purposes of the registry of persons who have been terminated or separated from employment as a result of substantiated abuse or neglect.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline, except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is not underlined.]