N.Y. Social Services Law § 492: Vulnerable persons' central register

§ 492. Vulnerable persons' central register. 1. There shall be

established in the justice center a statewide vulnerable persons'

central register. The register shall: (a) receive reports of allegations

of reportable incidents involving persons receiving services in

facilities or provider agencies subject to the requirements of this

article; (b) as warranted, refer reports alleging crimes to appropriate

law enforcement authorities; (c) notify appropriate persons and

officials of received and accepted reports; and (d) maintain an

electronic database of each report and the finding associated with each

report. In accordance with this section, the executive director shall

establish standards and procedures for the operation of the vulnerable

persons' central register.

2. (a) The vulnerable persons' central register shall be staffed by

persons with at least a baccalaureate or equivalent college degree in a

relevant field of study or at least two years of experience in the

direct provision of services, adult or child protective services, and

any other qualifications identified by the executive director. Direct

service provision shall include the care, investigation, assessment,

treatment, or case planning for persons in facilities or programs

covered by this article or equivalent facilities or programs. Vulnerable

persons' central register staff also shall have access to appropriate

law enforcement officers or others with law enforcement experience who

shall assist in screening reports that appear to allege criminal

offenses and help refer reports, as warranted, to appropriate law

enforcement authorities.

(b) The vulnerable persons' central register shall receive reports of

allegations of reportable incidents twenty-four hours per day, seven

days a week. Mandated reporters shall make such reports in accordance

with section four hundred ninety-one of this article; provided, however,

any person who has reasonable cause to suspect that a person receiving

services has been subjected to a reportable incident may make such a

report. In no event shall a report by a mandated reporter to the

vulnerable persons' central register eliminate the obligation of a

mandated reporter to report incidents in accordance with the applicable

laws, regulations and policy of the applicable state oversight agency.

(c) Reports of allegations of reportable incidents shall be submitted,

by a statewide, toll-free telephone number (a "hotline") or by

electronic transmission, in a manner and on forms prescribed by the

executive director. The information required on the reporting form shall

include but is not limited to: the name and contact information of the

person or persons making the report, if available, and, if the report is

made by a custodian, any other staff who have the same information; the

name and address of the facility or provider agency; the date, time,

specific location and description of the incident; the name and contact

information of the subject of the reportable incident, if known; the

name of the vulnerable person alleged to have been subjected to a

reportable incident; the names of personal representatives for the

vulnerable person who is alleged to have been subjected to a reportable

incident, if known; and any other information or documentation that the

executive director believes may be helpful. The inability of a person

making a report to identify a subject shall, in no circumstance,

constitute cause to reject such allegation for investigation or to fail

to refer such allegation for corrective action. The hotline shall accept

anonymous calls.

3. (a) When any allegation that could reasonably constitute a

reportable incident is received by the register, the register shall

accept and immediately transmit notice of the report orally or

electronically to the appropriate state oversight agency and, as

appropriate, to the director or operator of that facility or provider

agency.

(b) Whenever a telephone call or electronic transmission to the

vulnerable persons' central register alleges an act or circumstances

that may constitute a criminal offense or an immediate threat to a

vulnerable person's health, safety or welfare, the register shall

convey, by the most expedient means available, the information contained

in such call or transmission to the appropriate law enforcement agency

or district attorney and, to the extent necessary, the appropriate

emergency responder, and the state oversight agency.

(c) The justice center is responsible for commencing an investigation

of all allegations of reportable incidents that are accepted by the

vulnerable persons' central register. With respect to such an

investigation, the justice center shall:

(i) upon acceptance of a report of a reportable incident by the

vulnerable persons' central register, promptly commence an appropriate

investigation;

(ii) take all appropriate measures to protect the life and health of

the person who is the alleged victim of a reportable incident, which may

include working with the state oversight agency to take immediate steps

to remove the vulnerable person from his or her current facility or

program or to remove or suspend a subject from a facility or program,

subject to any applicable collective bargaining agreement, if the

justice center has reasonable cause to believe that the circumstances or

condition of the vulnerable person are such that continuing the

vulnerable person in his or her place of residence or program, or that

continuing such subject in his or her current facility or program,

presents an imminent danger to the vulnerable person's life or health;

(iii) determine whether the subject of the report is currently the

subject of an open or substantiated report in the vulnerable persons'

central register;

(iv) contact the statewide central register of child abuse and

maltreatment to determine whether the subject of the report has been or

is currently the subject of an indicated child abuse and maltreatment

report on file with the statewide central register of child abuse and

maltreatment;

(v) if it is discovered that the subject of a report has one or more

substantiated reports of abuse or neglect or indicated reports of child

abuse or maltreatment in the statewide central register of child abuse

and maltreatment and an investigation was or investigations were

conducted by a different state agency, or a local child protective

service, contact all known agencies or services who investigated such

previous report or reports to obtain information on such reports in

accordance with section four hundred ninety-six of this article;

(vi) notify the personal representative of the person alleged to have

been abused or neglected and, except in the case of a criminal

investigation, or if the executive director or his or her designee

determines that doing so would interfere with any ongoing investigation,

notify the subject or subjects of the report and any other persons named

in the report in writing of the existence of the report; provided,

however, that such notification may be limited in accordance with

subdivision (c) of section 33.16 of the mental hygiene law;

(vii) if a report of a reportable incident to the vulnerable persons'

central register involves the death of a person, the justice center

shall give telephone notice and immediately send a copy of the report to

the appropriate district attorney and to the medical examiner or

coroner. The medical examiner or coroner shall conduct a prompt

investigation and shall forward a preliminary written report of his or

her findings within sixty days of the date of death, absent

extraordinary circumstances, and his or her final written report

promptly, absent extraordinary circumstances, to the appropriate

district attorney, the appropriate law enforcement official, the state

agency responsible for overseeing the investigation, the justice center

medical review board and, if the death occurred in a hospital, the

hospital;

(viii) submit reportable incident findings to the vulnerable persons'

central register in accordance with section four hundred ninety-three of

this article;

(ix) notify the applicable state oversight agency and the director or

operator, where appropriate, to develop a plan of prevention or

remediation that the facility or program must implement in response to

the report's findings which must be approved and its implementation

monitored by the justice center or the state oversight agency, as

appropriate; and

(x) refer suspected cases of falsely reporting abuse or neglect in

violation of subdivision four of section 240.50 of the penal law to the

appropriate law enforcement agency or district attorney for

investigation and prosecution.

(d) Whenever a telephone call or electronic transmission to the

vulnerable persons' central register cannot be accepted as a report, but

the information provided alleges other potential wrongdoing at a

facility or provider agency, the register shall forward the report to

the applicable state oversight agency for investigation and protective

actions, as needed, pursuant to section four hundred ninety-one of this

article.

4. The justice center shall maintain and keep up-to-date records of

all incidents reported, together with any additional information

obtained during an investigation of such a report and a record of the

final disposition of the report.

5. The vulnerable persons' central register shall maintain an

electronic database of all accepted reports of reportable incidents.

State oversight agencies shall have access to information in the

database, limited to cases involving facilities or provider agencies

under their jurisdiction.

(a) A unique identifier shall be assigned to each report by the

vulnerable persons' central register.

(b) The register shall include the following information for each

report: a record of the final disposition of the report; the names and

identifying data; dates and circumstances of any person requesting or

receiving information from the register; whether the person making the

report authorized the disclosure of his or her name and personally

identifiable information; and any other information that the executive

director, in consultation with the commissioners of the state oversight

agencies covered by this article, identifies as furthering the purposes

of this article and complying with state and federal regulations

regarding the security and confidentiality of individually identifying

health information.

6. The justice center shall review such electronic database to

identify incident patterns and trends, and implement preventive and

corrective actions, and to identify patterns and trends in the reporting

and response to allegations of reportable incidents and develop plans of

improvement based on such reviews.

7. (a) General information about the existence and purposes of the

vulnerable persons' central register and how to make a report to the

register shall be made available on the website of the justice center,

with links to such information provided on the websites of each of the

state oversight agencies covered by this article.

(b) The justice center, in collaboration with the state oversight

agencies covered by this article, shall develop and widely distribute

written information explaining the reporting requirements and processes

consistent with this article. In addition, upon a vulnerable person's

commencement of the receipt of services by a facility or a provider

agency, personal representatives shall be provided with such

information, and such information shall be made available upon request

to any person.

(c) The justice center, in collaboration with the state agencies

operating, licensing or certifying facilities or the provider agencies

covered by this article, shall provide mandated reporters with written

information explaining the reporting requirements in accordance with

this article.

(d) The justice center shall develop and implement programs to

publicly recognize and value the contributions of reporters of

allegations of reportable incidents whose actions prompt corrections and

improvements in the service system; provided, however, that the name and

other personally identifiable information of such reporter shall not be

shared unless such person authorizes disclosure.

8. In a case where a subject of a report of alleged abuse or neglect

resigns from his or her position or is terminated while under

investigation, the state operating agency or the applicable facility or

provider agency shall promptly report such resignation or termination to

the justice center. The investigation of the report shall continue

despite the resignation or termination of such subject.