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| 2 | 2 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2581 FILED ON: 1/19/2023 |
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| 3 | 3 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 138 |
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| 4 | 4 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 5 | 5 | | _________________ |
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| 6 | 6 | | PRESENTED BY: |
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| 7 | 7 | | Gerard J. Cassidy |
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| 8 | 8 | | _________________ |
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| 9 | 9 | | To the Honorable Senate and House of Representatives of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in General |
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| 10 | 10 | | Court assembled: |
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| 11 | 11 | | The undersigned legislators and/or citizens respectfully petition for the adoption of the accompanying bill: |
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| 12 | 12 | | An Act to further protect persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities from abuse. |
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| 13 | 13 | | _______________ |
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| 14 | 14 | | PETITION OF: |
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| 15 | 15 | | NAME:DISTRICT/ADDRESS :DATE ADDED:Gerard J. Cassidy9th Plymouth1/19/2023 1 of 3 |
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| 16 | 16 | | HOUSE DOCKET, NO. 2581 FILED ON: 1/19/2023 |
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| 17 | 17 | | HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 138 |
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| 18 | 18 | | By Representative Cassidy of Brockton, a petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 138) of |
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| 19 | 19 | | Gerard J. Cassidy for legislation to further protect persons with intellectual or developmental |
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| 20 | 20 | | disabilities from abuse. Children, Families and Persons with Disabilities. |
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| 21 | 21 | | [SIMILAR MATTER FILED IN PREVIOUS SESSION |
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| 22 | 22 | | SEE HOUSE, NO. 196 OF 2021-2022.] |
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| 23 | 23 | | The Commonwealth of Massachusetts |
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| 24 | 24 | | _______________ |
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| 25 | 25 | | In the One Hundred and Ninety-Third General Court |
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| 26 | 26 | | (2023-2024) |
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| 27 | 27 | | _______________ |
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| 28 | 28 | | An Act to further protect persons with intellectual or developmental disabilities from abuse. |
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| 29 | 29 | | Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority |
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| 30 | 30 | | of the same, as follows: |
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| 31 | 31 | | 1 Section 1. Subsection (a) of section 15 of chapter 19C of the General Laws, as inserted by |
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| 32 | 32 | | 2chapter 19 of the acts of 2020, is hereby amended by striking the definition of “Employer” and |
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| 33 | 33 | | 3inserting in place thereof the following definition:- |
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| 34 | 34 | | 4 “Employer”, an entity that provides services or treatment to persons with intellectual or |
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| 35 | 35 | | 5developmental disabilities pursuant to: (i) a contract or agreement with the department; (ii) |
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| 36 | 36 | | 6funding administered by the department; or (iii) a license issued pursuant to section 15 or 15A of |
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| 37 | 37 | | 7chapter 19B. An entity that provides services pursuant to a contract or agreement with the |
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| 38 | 38 | | 8department of youth services, the department of children and families, the department of early |
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| 39 | 39 | | 9education and care, the department of mental health, or the department of elementary and |
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| 40 | 40 | | 10secondary education. 2 of 3 |
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| 41 | 41 | | 11 Section 2. Subsection (d) of said section 15 of said chapter 19C, as so appearing, is |
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| 42 | 42 | | 12hereby amended by inserting after the first paragraph the following paragraph:- |
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| 43 | 43 | | 13 Prior to employing a person or contracting for client services, the department of youth |
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| 44 | 44 | | 14services, the department of children and families, the department of early education and care, the |
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| 45 | 45 | | 15department of mental health, the department of elementary and secondary education, or an |
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| 46 | 46 | | 16employer shall determine whether the person’s name and date of birth appear on the registry. |
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| 47 | 47 | | 17Neither the department of youth services, the department of children and families, the |
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| 48 | 48 | | 18department of early education and care, the department of mental health, the department of |
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| 49 | 49 | | 19elementary and secondary education, nor an employer shall hire, utilize the services of or employ |
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| 50 | 50 | | 20a person whose name and date of birth appear on the registry. The department of youth services, |
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| 51 | 51 | | 21the department of children and families, the department of early education and care, the |
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| 52 | 52 | | 22department of mental health, the department of elementary and secondary education, or an |
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| 53 | 53 | | 23employer shall have the prospective employee or current employee’s signed consent before |
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| 54 | 54 | | 24making any inquiry to the registry. The department of youth services, the department of children |
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| 55 | 55 | | 25and families, the department of early education and care, the department of mental health, the |
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| 56 | 56 | | 26department of elementary and secondary education, or an employer shall not hire or retain any |
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| 57 | 57 | | 27prospective or current employee who declines to provide such consent. At the time the |
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| 58 | 58 | | 28department of youth services, the department of children and families, the department of early |
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| 59 | 59 | | 29education and care, the department of mental health, the department of elementary and secondary |
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| 60 | 60 | | 30education, or an employer decides not to hire or retain a person whose name and date of birth |
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| 61 | 61 | | 31appear on the registry, the department of youth services, the department of children and families, |
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| 62 | 62 | | 32or the department of early education and care, the department of mental health or the department 3 of 3 |
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| 63 | 63 | | 33of elementary and secondary education shall so inform the person and shall provide the person |
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| 64 | 64 | | 34with the contact information for the commission. |
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| 65 | 65 | | 35 Section 3. Said section 15 of said Chapter 19C, as so appearing, is hereby amended by |
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| 66 | 66 | | 36striking out subsection (e) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:- |
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| 67 | 67 | | 37 (e) The information maintained in the registry, including the record of its proceedings, |
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| 68 | 68 | | 38shall not be a public record under clause Twenty-sixth of section 7 of chapter 4 or chapter 66. |
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| 69 | 69 | | 39Except as provided in subsection (c), the commission, the division, and the department shall keep |
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| 70 | 70 | | 40information contained in the registry confidential and shall not disseminate information about a |
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| 71 | 71 | | 41care provider, prospective employee, or current employee to anyone other than the care provider, |
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| 72 | 72 | | 42prospective employee, or current employee unless the dissemination is necessary for the |
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| 73 | 73 | | 43consideration of the department, the department of youth services, the department of children |
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| 74 | 74 | | 44and families, the department of early education and care, the department of mental health, the |
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| 75 | 75 | | 45department of elementary and secondary education, or an employer when reviewing current or |
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| 76 | 76 | | 46prospective employment of a care provider or a person or is otherwise provided by law. |
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| 77 | 77 | | 47Disclosure of information contained in the registry shall be made in compliance with regulations |
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| 78 | 78 | | 48promulgated pursuant to subsection (h). The regulations shall include, but not be limited to, |
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| 79 | 79 | | 49measures that are necessary to protect the confidentiality of victims, individuals listed on the |
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| 80 | 80 | | 50registry and third parties related to registrable abuse. |
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