BILL NUMBER: S5406
SPONSOR: HARCKHAM
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring all
state and private agencies with mandatory reporters of incidents involv-
ing vulnerable people to retrain all staff on reporting to a 9-1-1 oper-
ator and the county district attorney's office
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Requires all state and private agencies with mandatory reporters of
incidents involving vulnerable people to retrain all staff; mandates
reportable incidents involving vulnerable people upon allegation &
discovery of medical emergency, physical emergency, trauma, abuse, or
neglect to be reported to a 9-1-1 operator, the county district attor-
ney's office, and state and private websites; requires written materials
for reporting and training to be updated and conspicuously located in a
timely manner
 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:
Section 1 amends subsections 1 & 3 of social services law section 491
and adds a 6th subsection:
Subsection 1 expands mandated reporting of incidents to include 9-1-1 &
the district attorney's office, details when reporting becomes mandato-
ry, and requires content of relevant medical evaluations to be included
in the report.
* As referenced in section 492 of this article, such mandatory report-
able incidents include all suspicious and unexplained injuries to
include broken bones, hematomas, open wounds beyond minor first aid,
black eyes, swollen noses, extreme and questionable bruising, choke
marks, burns, all individuals served found unresponsive and all death
incidents
-Subsection 3 is amended to expand knowing and willful reporting
violations to include failure to call 9-1-1 and the district attorney's
office; increases the crime from a class A misdemeanor to a class E
felony.
Subsection 6 requires all public and private agencies in NYS with manda-
tory reporters to retrain their staff; update all training materials and
information brochures, wallet cards, and/or posters; and requires all
such materials to be conspicuously located in a timely manner.
Section 2 states the effective date.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
Under current law, any patient abuse discovered at a residential facili-
ty for individuals with disabilities in NYS must first be reported to
the Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs
(Justice Center). However, there is no legal requirement to call 9-1-1.
Employees are trained to call the Justice Center immediately resulting
in a delay call to 9-1-1 if ever done. While the Justice Center was
created in 2012 with good intentions, this process discriminates and
bypasses emergency response and circumvents all local authorities;
creating opportunities for abuse or medical emergencies to be concealed
and perpetuated.
After the Justice Center's third year of operation, their annual report
found 11,254 cases of abuse or neglect reported at disability residences
in NYS, but only 114 cases (-1%) were deemed worthy of criminal prose-
cution. During that same time period: allegations of abuse or neglect at
the hand of a caretaker, employee, or authority figure were reported and
subsequently investigated for 287 deaths-at least 140 of which the
Justice Center determined abuse or neglect likely occurred-but not a
single criminal charge was brought in response. 0-1% prosecution for
harming, or even murdering, some of New York's most vulnerable residents
is horrific & nauseating.
We cannot continue to bypass 9-1-1 call systems and discriminate against
our most vulnerable; Police and Emergency Medical Services exist to
protect the entire population. The agency created explicitly for the
protection of people with special needs should also be contacted when
vulnerable persons suffer neglect or abuse, but the Justice Center
cannot be a substitute for those in physical or medical danger, and
treating the Justice Center as such has led to appalling, astronomical
miscarriages of justice.
References:
*SPECTRUM NEWS NY, 10 Years After Son's Death, Father's Vigilance for
Those Living in Mental Health Facilities Remains,
https://ny1.com/nyc/queens/news/2017/02/15/jonathan-carey- facility-
protections-for-developmentally-disabled-albanv
*TIMES UNION, Five years in, critics say NY agency offers little justice
for disabled,
https://www.timesunion,com/news/article/5-years-in-critics-say- NY-agen-
cy-offers-little-13098350.php
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2023-2024: S7580/A7004 - Died in Disabilities/Died in Social Services
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
TBD
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.