N.Y. Social Services Law § 461-e: Records and reports

§ 461-e. Records and reports. 1. Every adult care facility shall

maintain, as public information available for public inspection under

such conditions as the department shall prescribe, records containing

copies of the most recent inspection report pertaining to the facility

that has been issued by the department or social services district or to

the facility.

2. Pursuant to the provisions of article six of the public officers

law, the department shall make available for public inspection copies of

all inspection reports of adult care facilities issued by the

department.

3. Every adult care facility shall:

(a) Post in a prominent position in the facility so as to be

accessible to all residents and to the general public, a summary of the

most recent inspection of such facility performed by the department or a

social services district.

(b) Provide to any resident and each applicant for admission an

opportunity to review the most recent inspection report pertaining to

and issued by the department or social services district to such

facility.

4. (a) Each adult home and residence for adults except those operated

by a social services district shall file an annual financial statement

with the department on or before the fifteenth day of the sixth calendar

month after the close of the facility's fiscal year for which such

report is due, upon forms prescribed by the department and in compliance

with the regulations of the department. Such statement shall clearly set

forth all financial information pertaining to the operation of such

facility in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles,

including but not limited to the following:

(i) revenues and expenses by categories during such fiscal year.

(ii) a balance sheet of the facility as of the end of such fiscal

year, setting forth assets and liabilities at such date, including all

capital, surplus, reserve, depreciation and similar accounts.

(iii) a statement of operations of the facility for such fiscal year,

setting forth all revenues, expenses, taxes, extraordinary items and

other credits or charges.

(iv) the name and address of each of the following persons:

(1) the operator of the facility;

(2) any person who, directly or indirectly, beneficially owns any

interest in the land on which the facility is located;

(3) any person who, directly or indirectly, beneficially owns any

interest in the building in which the facility is located;

(4) any person who, directly or indirectly, beneficially owns any

interest in any mortgage, note, deed of trust or other obligation

secured in whole or in part by the land on which or building in which

the facility is located; and

(5) any person who, directly or indirectly, has any interest as lessor

or lessee in any lease or sub-lease of the land on which or the building

in which the facility is located.

(v) if the facility or any person named in response to subparagraph

(iv) of this paragraph is a partnership, then the name and home address

of each partner.

(vi) if the facility or any person named in response to subparagraph

(iv) of this paragraph is a corporation, other than a corporation whose

shares are traded on a national securities exchange or are regularly

quoted in an over-the-counter market or which is a commercial bank,

savings bank or savings and loan association, then the name and address

of each officer, director, and each principal stockholder and

controlling person of such corporation.

(vii) if any corporation named in response to subparagraph (iv) of

this paragraph is a corporation whose shares are traded on a national

securities exchange or are regularly quoted in an over-the-counter

market or which is a commercial bank, savings bank or savings and loan

association, then the name and address of the principal executive

officers and each director and, if known, each principal stockholder of

such corporation.

(viii) if the facility paid or received an aggregate of five hundred

dollars or more during the fiscal year in connection with transactions

with any person named in response to subparagraph (iv), (v), (vi) or

(vii) of this paragraph or any affiliate of said person, a description

of the transactions, naming the parties thereto and describing the

relationships which require the transactions to be described and the

goods, services, payments or other consideration received by each party

to the transactions. Such facility must make available to the

department, when requested, adequate documentation to support the costs

involved including access to books and records related to such

transactions.

(ix) if known, the nature and amount of any interest in, or

relationship with, any other adult care facility, held by any person

named in response to subparagraph (iv) of this paragraph, or by any

affiliate of such person.

(x) the following definitions shall be applicable to this paragraph

and to any reports filed pursuant to this paragraph:

(1) "affiliate" means:

(A) with respect to a partnership, each partner thereof;

(B) with respect to a corporation, each officer, director, principal

stockholder and controlling person thereof;

(C) with respect to a natural person (a) each member of said person's

immediate family, (b) each partnership and each partner thereof of which

said person or any affiliate of said person is a partner, and (c) each

corporation in which said person or any affiliate of said person is an

officer, director, principal stockholder or controlling person;

(2) "controlling person" of any corporation, partnership or other

entity means any person who has the power, directly or indirectly, to

significantly influence or direct the actions or policies of such

facility. Neither the department nor any employee of the department

shall, by reason of his or her official position, be deemed a

controlling person of any corporation, partnership or other entity;

(3) "immediate family" of any person includes each parent, child,

spouse, brother, sister, first cousin, aunt and uncle of such person

whether such relationship arises by reason of birth, marriage or

adoption;

(4) "principal stockholder" of a corporation means any person who

beneficially owns, holds or has the power to vote, ten percent or more

of any class of securities issued by said corporation.

(xi) together with such other information as may be required by the

department.

Such statement shall be accompanied by an opinion signed by an

independent licensed accountant that such financial statement represents

the financial operations and position of the facility, except such

opinion shall not be required for facilities with a capacity of nine or

less.

(b) The department shall accept in full satisfaction of the provisions

of this subdivision from operators of adult homes and residences for

adults who are required to submit an annual report as a charitable

organization to the secretary of state of the state of New York or are

required to submit to the commissioner of the New York state department

of health an annual report of residential health care facilities, a

certified copy of such report and upon request from the department an

uncertified copy of the financial statement required to be filed with

the department pursuant to the provisions of this subdivision.

(c) The department may examine the books and records of any adult home

or residence for adults to determine the accuracy of the annual

financial statement or for any other reason deemed appropriate by the

department to effectuate the purposes of this section.

(d) The department shall perform on a selected sample of adult homes

and residences for adults, a financial audit as part of the inspection

procedure.

(e) Each enriched housing program shall file financial statements with

the department on at least an annual basis, in accordance with

regulations.

5. The department may promulgate regulations which require each adult

care facility to maintain the following written records and any other

such records, under such conditions and for such time, as may be

prescribed pursuant to such regulations: (i) a chronological admission

and discharge register consisting of a listing of residents registered

in and discharged from such facility by name, age, race or ethnicity,

sex of resident, and place from or to which the resident is registered

or discharged, (ii) a daily census record, (iii) a personal non-medical

record for each resident, including but not limited to, identification

of his or her next-of-kin, family and sponsor, the name and address of

the person or persons to be contacted in the event of an emergency, and

all details of the referral and registration and non-medical

correspondence and papers concerning the resident, (iv) a financial

record for each resident, including but not limited to, copies of all

agreements, resident account records and a current inventory of personal

property being held by the operator.

6. No facts and information retained as part of individual resident

records by an operator of an adult care facility may be released to

anyone other than the resident, the resident's next-of-kin or authorized

representative of the resident, the operator, his employees or agents,

or an employee or designee of the department without the written

permission of the resident.

7. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or deemed to

require the public disclosure of confidential medical, social, personal

or financial records of any resident. The department shall adopt such

regulations as may be necessary to give effect to the provisions of this

section and to preserve the confidentiality of medical, social, personal

or financial records of residents.

8. Nothing contained in this section shall be construed or deemed to

require the disclosure of the names and addresses or other information

that would identify or tend to identify persons who file complaints with

the department concerning the operation of adult care facilities. This

shall apply to all complaints, regardless of whether the department is

able to substantiate the complaint. Such information shall be deemed to

be confidential and shall only be made available to a district attorney

or police officer conducting a criminal investigation or prosecution

relating to an adult care facility and only upon the written request of

the investigating officer or district attorney; or to a court or to the

presiding officer of an administrative proceeding and the parties to

such proceeding if, with the consent of the persons providing such

information, it is to be utilized by the department or any other state

or local agency or subdivision in such proceeding. If a party is not

provided with the identity of a person providing information in

accordance with the provisions of this section, the fact that such

confidential report was made shall in no way be relied upon by any court

or presiding officer of an administrative proceeding in the course of

reaching a determination in such proceeding. The department shall,

consistent with the provisions of this section, adopt such regulations

as may be necessary to preserve the confidentiality of persons making

such complaints.