S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                    823
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                (PREFILED)
 
                              January 8, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by  M.  of  A.  KIM,  TAYLOR,  BURDICK, LUNSFORD, DeSTEFANO,
   BENDETT, FALL, STIRPE,  ANGELINO,  SIMONE,  DAVILA,  SHIMSKY,  SAYEGH,
   LUPARDO,  GIBBS,  CHANDLER-WATERMAN  --  read once and referred to the
   Committee on Social Services

 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:
 
   Section 1. Section 491 of the social services law, as added by section
 1 of part B of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, paragraph (d) of  subdi-
 vision  1  as added by chapter 391 of the laws of 2023, subdivision 4 as
 amended by chapter 126 of the laws of 2014 and subdivision 5 as added by
 chapter 422 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
   § 491. Duty to report  incidents.  1.  (a)  Mandated  reporters  shall
 report  allegations  of  reportable  incidents  to A 9-1-1 OPERATOR, THE
 COUNTY DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND the  vulnerable  persons'  central
 register as established by section four hundred ninety-two of this arti-
 cle and in accordance with the requirements set forth therein.
   (b)  Allegations of reportable incidents shall be reported immediately
 to A 9-1-1 OPERATOR, THE  COUNTY  DISTRICT  ATTORNEY'S  OFFICE  AND  the
 vulnerable  persons'  central  register  upon discovery. For purposes of
 this article, "discovery" occurs when the mandated reporter witnesses  a
 suspected  reportable  incident  or  when  another person, including the
 vulnerable person, comes before the mandated reporter  in  the  mandated
 reporter's  professional  or official capacity and provides the mandated
 reporter with reasonable cause to suspect that the vulnerable person has
 been subjected to a reportable incident. A report to the register  shall
 include the name, title and contact information of every person known to
 
  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
              

                                                            LBD01854-01-5
 A. 823                              2
 
 the  mandated  reporter  to  have  the  same information as the mandated
 reporter concerning the reportable incident. [Nothing in  this  subdivi-
 sion  shall be construed to prohibit a mandated reporter from contacting
 or  reporting  to  law enforcement or emergency services before or after
 reporting to the vulnerable persons' central register.]
   (c) The substance or content of any psychological, psychiatric, thera-
 peutic, clinical or medical reports, evaluations or  like  materials  or
 information  pertaining  to  the  treatment  of a patient or client of a
 mandatory reporter who reports a reportable incident of such patient  or
 client  pursuant  to  this  article,  must be provided by such mandatory
 reporter upon request of the justice center for the protection of people
 with special needs if such records are essential  for  a  full  investi-
 gation  of  such  allegation,  notwithstanding  any applicable privilege
 which would otherwise bar the disclosure of such materials  and  records
 pursuant  to  article  forty-five of the civil practice law and rules or
 other provision of law  except  applicable  federal  law  governing  the
 disclosure of patient and related medical records.
   (d) Every mandated reporter is required to make a report to the regis-
 ter  as  outlined  in  paragraph  (b) of this subdivision unless (i) the
 reporter has actual knowledge that  the  reportable  incident  has  been
 reported to the register; and (ii) that the reporter has been named as a
 person with knowledge of the incident in such prior report.
   2. Any person or official required to report allegations of reportable
 incidents  pursuant  to this section may take or cause to be taken color
 photographs of visible trauma and the  face  of  the  vulnerable  person
 named  in  the  report  and  upon  the consent of a person authorized to
 consent to medical care for the vulnerable person, shall,  if  medically
 indicated,  cause  to  be  performed  a  radiological examination of the
 vulnerable person. Any photographs or  radiological  examinations  taken
 shall be provided to the justice center for use only for the purposes of
 an investigation of a reportable incident.
   3.  (a)  Any  human  services professional required by this article to
 report a case of suspected abuse or neglect to  A  9-1-1  OPERATOR,  THE
 COUNTY  DISTRICT  ATTORNEY'S  OFFICE AND the vulnerable persons' central
 register who knowingly and willfully fails to do so shall be guilty of a
 class [A misdemeanor] E FELONY.
   (b) A mandated reporter who knowingly and willfully fails to report  a
 case  of  suspected  abuse  or  neglect  to A 9-1-1 OPERATOR, THE COUNTY
 DISTRICT ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND the vulnerable persons' central  register
 may  be  subject  to  termination,  subject to any applicable collective
 bargaining agreement. Any person or official required by this article to
 report a case of suspected abuse or neglect to  A  9-1-1  OPERATOR,  THE
 COUNTY  DISTRICT  ATTORNEY'S  OFFICE AND the vulnerable persons' central
 register who knowingly and willfully fails to do  so  shall  be  civilly
 liable for the damages proximately caused by such failure.
   4.  A  medical  or  other public or private institution, state agency,
 school, facility or provider agency or its vendors or contractors  shall
 not  take  any  retaliatory personnel action, as such term is defined in
 paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section seven hundred forty  of  the
 labor  law, against an employee or agent or vendor or contractor because
 such employee or agent or vendor or contractor believes that [he or she]
 SUCH PERSON has reasonable cause to suspect that a vulnerable person has
 been subjected to a reportable incident and that employee  or  agent  or
 vendor  or  contractor  therefore makes a report in accordance with this
 section and/or cooperated with the investigation of a  reportable  inci-
 A. 823                              3
 
 dent.  A  court of competent jurisdiction may grant injunctive relief to
 any person determined to have been subjected to such retaliation.
   5.  State  oversight  agencies  shall  ensure  that  all facilities or
 provider agencies operated, licensed, or certified by such  state  over-
 sight  agencies  have  policies  and procedures in place to identify and
 report possible crimes against a service recipient by a custodian. State
 oversight agencies shall provide  guidance  to  facilities  or  provider
 agencies  operated, licensed, or certified by such state oversight agen-
 cies that do not already have policies and procedures for the  identifi-
 cation and reporting of possible crimes.
   6.  ALL  STATE  AND  PRIVATE  AGENCIES  WITH MANDATORY REPORTERS SHALL
 RETRAIN ALL STAFF ON REPORTING  TO  A  9-1-1  OPERATOR  AND  THE  COUNTY
 DISTRICT  ATTORNEY'S OFFICE AND ALL STATE AND PRIVATE WEBSITES, TRAINING
 MANUALS, INFORMATIONAL BROCHURES OR PAMPHLETS DIRECTING REPORTING  SHALL
 STATE THAT SUCH INSTANCES BE REPORTED TO A 9-1-1 OPERATOR AND THE COUNTY
 DISTRICT  ATTORNEY'S OFFICE. ALL FORMER POSTERS AND WALLET CARDS AND ANY
 OTHER INFORMATION DIRECTING REPORTING OF CRIMES AND EMERGENCIES  TO  THE
 JUSTICE CENTER SHALL BE REMOVED AND REPLACED BY 9-1-1 REPORTING POSTERS,
 WALLET  CARDS  AND ALL OTHER SOURCES THAT SHALL BE LOCATED CONSPICUOUSLY
 IN A TIMELY MANNER.
   § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.