S 5406: Requires all state and private agencies with mandatory reporters of incidents involving vulnerable people to retrain all staff on reporting to a 9-1-1 operator and the county district attorney's office and state and private websites; requires written materials to be updated.

  
  STATE OF NEW YORK ________________________________________________________________________ 5406 2025-2026 Regular Sessions  IN SENATE February 21, 2025 ___________ Introduced by Sens. HARCKHAM, GALLIVAN, LANZA -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Disabil- ities AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring all state and private agencies with mandatory reporters of incidents involving vulnerable people to retrain all staff on reporting to a 9-1-1 operator and the county district attorney's office The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem- bly, do enact as follows: 1 Section 1. Section 491 of the social services law, as added by section 2 1 of part B of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, paragraph (d) of subdi- 3 vision 1 as added by chapter 391 of the laws of 2023, subdivision 4 as 4 amended by chapter 126 of the laws of 2014 and subdivision 5 as added by 5 chapter 422 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows: 6 § 491. Duty to report incidents. 1. (a) Mandated reporters shall 7 report allegations of reportable incidents to a 9-1-1 operator, the 8 county district attorney's office and the vulnerable persons' central 9 register as established by section four hundred ninety-two of this arti- 10 cle and in accordance with the requirements set forth therein. 11 (b) Allegations of reportable incidents shall be reported immediately 12 to a 9-1-1 operator, the county district attorney's office and the 13 vulnerable persons' central register upon discovery. For purposes of 14 this article, "discovery" occurs when the mandated reporter witnesses a 15 suspected reportable incident or when another person, including the 16 vulnerable person, comes before the mandated reporter in the mandated 17 reporter's professional or official capacity and provides the mandated 18 reporter with reasonable cause to suspect that the vulnerable person has 19 been subjected to a reportable incident. A report to the register shall 20 include the name, title and contact information of every person known to 21 the mandated reporter to have the same information as the mandated 22 reporter concerning the reportable incident. [Nothing in this subdivi- EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets [ ] is old law to be omitted. LBD01854-01-5 
 S. 5406 2 1 sion shall be construed to prohibit a mandated reporter from contacting 2 or reporting to law enforcement or emergency services before or after 3 reporting to the vulnerable persons' central register.] 4 (c) The substance or content of any psychological, psychiatric, thera- 5 peutic, clinical or medical reports, evaluations or like materials or 6 information pertaining to the treatment of a patient or client of a 7 mandatory reporter who reports a reportable incident of such patient or 8 client pursuant to this article, must be provided by such mandatory 9 reporter upon request of the justice center for the protection of people 10 with special needs if such records are essential for a full investi- 11 gation of such allegation, notwithstanding any applicable privilege 12 which would otherwise bar the disclosure of such materials and records 13 pursuant to article forty-five of the civil practice law and rules or 14 other provision of law except applicable federal law governing the 15 disclosure of patient and related medical records. 16 (d) Every mandated reporter is required to make a report to the regis- 17 ter as outlined in paragraph (b) of this subdivision unless (i) the 18 reporter has actual knowledge that the reportable incident has been 19 reported to the register; and (ii) that the reporter has been named as a 20 person with knowledge of the incident in such prior report. 21 2. Any person or official required to report allegations of reportable 22 incidents pursuant to this section may take or cause to be taken color 23 photographs of visible trauma and the face of the vulnerable person 24 named in the report and upon the consent of a person authorized to 25 consent to medical care for the vulnerable person, shall, if medically 26 indicated, cause to be performed a radiological examination of the 27 vulnerable person. Any photographs or radiological examinations taken 28 shall be provided to the justice center for use only for the purposes of 29 an investigation of a reportable incident. 30 3. (a) Any human services professional required by this article to 31 report a case of suspected abuse or neglect to a 9-1-1 operator, the 32 county district attorney's office and the vulnerable persons' central 33 register who knowingly and willfully fails to do so shall be guilty of a 34 class [A misdemeanor] E felony. 35 (b) A mandated reporter who knowingly and willfully fails to report a 36 case of suspected abuse or neglect to a 9-1-1 operator, the county 37 district attorney's office and the vulnerable persons' central register 38 may be subject to termination, subject to any applicable collective 39 bargaining agreement. Any person or official required by this article to 40 report a case of suspected abuse or neglect to a 9-1-1 operator, the 41 county district attorney's office and the vulnerable persons' central 42 register who knowingly and willfully fails to do so shall be civilly 43 liable for the damages proximately caused by such failure. 44 4. A medical or other public or private institution, state agency, 45 school, facility or provider agency or its vendors or contractors shall 46 not take any retaliatory personnel action, as such term is defined in 47 paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section seven hundred forty of the 48 labor law, against an employee or agent or vendor or contractor because 49 such employee or agent or vendor or contractor believes that [he or she] 50 such person has reasonable cause to suspect that a vulnerable person has 51 been subjected to a reportable incident and that employee or agent or 52 vendor or contractor therefore makes a report in accordance with this 53 section and/or cooperated with the investigation of a reportable inci- 54 dent. A court of competent jurisdiction may grant injunctive relief to 55 any person determined to have been subjected to such retaliation. 
 S. 5406 3 1 5. State oversight agencies shall ensure that all facilities or 2 provider agencies operated, licensed, or certified by such state over- 3 sight agencies have policies and procedures in place to identify and 4 report possible crimes against a service recipient by a custodian. State 5 oversight agencies shall provide guidance to facilities or provider 6 agencies operated, licensed, or certified by such state oversight agen- 7 cies that do not already have policies and procedures for the identifi- 8 cation and reporting of possible crimes. 9 6. All state and private agencies with mandatory reporters shall 10 retrain all staff on reporting to a 9-1-1 operator and the county 11 district attorney's office and all state and private websites, training 12 manuals, informational brochures or pamphlets directing reporting shall 13 state that such instances be reported to a 9-1-1 operator and the county 14 district attorney's office. All former posters and wallet cards and any 15 other information directing reporting of crimes and emergencies to the 16 justice center shall be removed and replaced by 9-1-1 reporting posters, 17 wallet cards and all other sources that shall be located conspicuously 18 in a timely manner. 19 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.