Connecticut 2022 2022 Regular Session

Connecticut Senate Bill SB00286 Comm Sub / Bill

Filed 03/29/2022

                     
 
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General Assembly  Substitute Bill No. 286  
February Session, 2022 
 
 
 
 
 
AN ACT CONCERNING DEADLINES FOR MANDATORY REPORTING 
OF SUSPECTED ELDER ABUSE AND PENALTIES FOR FAILURE TO 
REPORT.  
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General 
Assembly convened: 
 
Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 17b-451 of the 2022 supplement to 1 
the general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 2 
thereof (Effective July 1, 2022): 3 
(a) A mandatory reporter who has reasonable cause to suspect or 4 
believe that any elderly person has been abused, neglected, exploited or 5 
abandoned, or is in a condition that is the result of such abuse, neglect, 6 
exploitation or abandonment, or is in need of protective services, shall, 7 
not later than [seventy-two] twenty-four hours after such suspicion or 8 
belief arose, report such information or cause a report to be made in any 9 
reasonable manner to the Commissioner of Social Services or to the 10 
person or persons designated by the commissioner to receive such 11 
reports. Any mandatory reporter who fails for the first time to make 12 
such report within the prescribed time shall [be fined not more than five 13 
hundred dollars, except that, if] retake the mandatory training on 14 
detecting potential abuse, neglect, exploitation and abandonment of 15 
elderly persons and provide the commissioner with proof of successful 16 
completion of such training. Any mandatory reporter who subsequently 17  Substitute Bill No. 286 
 
 
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fails to make such report within the prescribed time period shall be fined 18 
not more than five hundred dollars and shall retake the mandatory 19 
training on detecting potential abuse, neglect, exploitation and 20 
abandonment of elderly persons and provide the commissioner with 21 
proof of successful completion of such training. If such person 22 
intentionally fails to make such report within the prescribed time 23 
period, such person shall be guilty of a class C misdemeanor for the first 24 
offense and a class A misdemeanor for any subsequent offense. Any 25 
institution, organization, agency or facility employing individuals to 26 
care for persons sixty years of age or older shall provide mandatory 27 
training on detecting potential abuse, neglect, exploitation and 28 
abandonment of such persons and inform such employees of their 29 
obligations under this section. For purposes of this subsection, 30 
"mandatory reporter" means any (1) physician or surgeon licensed 31 
under the provisions of chapter 370, (2) resident physician or intern in 32 
any hospital in this state, whether or not so licensed, (3) registered nurse, 33 
(4) nursing home administrator, nurse's aide or orderly in a nursing 34 
home facility or residential care home, (5) person paid for caring for a 35 
resident in a nursing home facility or residential care home, (6) staff 36 
person employed by a nursing home facility or residential care home, 37 
(7) residents' advocate, other than a representative of the Office of the 38 
Long-Term Care Ombudsman, as established under section 17a-405, 39 
including the State Ombudsman, (8) licensed practical nurse, medical 40 
examiner, dentist, optometrist, chiropractor, podiatrist, social worker, 41 
clergyman, police officer, pharmacist, psychologist or physical 42 
therapist, (9) person paid for caring for an elderly person by any 43 
institution, organization, agency or facility, including but not limited to, 44 
any employee of a community-based services provider, senior center, 45 
home care agency, homemaker and companion agency, adult day care 46 
center, village-model community and congregate housing facility, (10) 47 
person licensed or certified as an emergency medical services provider 48 
pursuant to chapter 368d or 384d, including any such emergency 49 
medical services provider who is a member of a municipal fire 50 
department, and (11) driver of a paratransit vehicle, as defined in section 51 
13b-38k. 52  Substitute Bill No. 286 
 
 
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This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following 
sections: 
 
Section 1 July 1, 2022 17b-451(a) 
 
 
Statement of Legislative Commissioners:   
In Subsec. (a), "elder abuse training" was changed to "mandatory 
training on detecting potential abuse, neglect, exploitation and 
abandonment of elderly persons" for consistency. 
 
HS 
 
Joint Favorable Subst.