Senate Bill S7414

                                 BILL NUMBER:  S7414

 TITLE OF BILL :

An act to amend the social services law, in relation to the
requirement to check the justice center's register of substantiated
category one cases of abuse or neglect

 PURPOSE OF THE BILL :

This bill would require additional service providers to check the
Staff Exclusion List ("SEL") register of substantiated category one
cases of abuse or neglect maintained by the Justice Center for the
Protection of People with Special Needs ("Justice Center") before
hiring employees or allowing persons to have regular and substantial
contact with service recipients, and would allow all providers to
re-check it no more than once in any six-month period.

 SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS :

Section 1 of the bill would amend subdivisions 2 and 3 of the Social
Services Law ("SSL") § 495. A new paragraph (a) would be added to
subdivision 2 to add the following entities to the list of facilities
and providers authorized to check the SEL: overnight, summer and
traveling summer day camps for children that are subject to article
thirteen of the Public Health Law (PHL); nursing homes licensed by
              

Article 28 of the PHL, certified home health agencies, licensed home
care services agencies ,and long term home health care programs
certified under Article 36 of the PHL, and any adult home or enriched
housing program or residence for adults licensed under Article 7 of
the SSL.

Section 1 would also add a subparagraph (b) to subdivision 2 to allow
all providers required to check the SEL to re-check it no more than
once in any six-month period. It also would amend subdivision 3 of SSL
§ 495 to require the additional entities defined in subdivision 2 to
make a decision about hiring an individual who is on the SEL in
accordance with guidelines established by the Executive Director of
the Justice Center.

Section 2 of the bill would amend SSL § 424-a(7) to clarify that a
facility or provider agency as defined by SSL § 488(4) that is
required to check the SEL is not required to conduct a subsequent
check of the Statewide Central Register for Child Abuse and
Maltreatment maintained by the Office of Children and Family Services
if the potential employee is already on the SEL.

Section 3 of the bill would make it effective 60 days after it is
signed into law.

 STATEMENT IN SUPPORT :

Under SSL § 495 the Justice Center is responsible for maintaining a
register of individuals who have been found to have a substantiated
category one case of abuse or neglect, known as the Staff Exclusion
List ("SEL"). Facilities and providers under the Justice Center's
jurisdiction as defined in SSL § 488(4), other providers of services
to vulnerable persons in programs licensed, certified or funded by the
Office of Mental Health (OMH), the Office for People With
Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD), the Office of Alcoholism and
Substance Abuse Services (OASAS), the Office of Children and Family
Services (OCFS), the Department of Health (DOH) and the State
Education Department (SED) and other providers and licensing agencies
defined in SSL § 424-a(3) and (4) are all required to check the SEL
prior to determining whether to hire an individual who will have the

potential for regular and substantial contact with a service
recipient.

SSL § 495 further provides that facilities or provider agencies that
provide services to vulnerable persons in programs licensed or
certified by OMH, OPWDD, OASAS, OCFS, DOH and SED shall not hire a
person who is on the SEL if that person would be in a position to have
regular and substantial contact with a service recipient. For those
providers defined in SSL § 424-a(3) and (4), hiring decisions for
persons on the SEL are governed by guidelines established by OCFS in
consultation with relevant state agencies, but there is no mandatory
bar to hiring for these providers.

A person can only be placed on the SEL after each allegation is
thoroughly investigated and substantiated based upon a preponderance
of evidence. The staff person has an opportunity to appeal the
decision before permanently being placed on the SEL. Requiring
providers to check the SEL prevents individuals who have already
committed serious abuse or neglect against a vulnerable person from
working with them again.

While many providers and facilities are required to check the SEL,
there are additional entities that provide services and care to
vulnerable populations that should have access to this information
about potential employees. This proposed legislation would add nursing
homes, home care and long term home health programs, all children's
camps and all adult care facilities to the list of entities that must
check the SEL. Currently, only children's camps that serve twenty
percent or more of children with developmental disabilities and adult
homes or enriched housing programs that have 80 or more beds and in
which at least twenty-five percent of the residents are persons with
serious mental illness are required to check the SEL. Expanding access
to the SEL to these settings will help to provide these facilities and
providers with critical information when making decisions about
allowing an individual to interact with vulnerable persons. It also
would address the concern that persons on the SEL who are currently
barred from working in a facility or provider agency under the Justice
Center's jurisdiction will instead seek employment at a facility or
program providing services to vulnerable individuals that is not
required or authorized to check the SEL.

The legislation also includes language to authorize subsequent checks
of the SEL by employers. Currently, there is no mechanism for a
provider or facility to check the SEL once an individual is hired.
Often, individuals who provide services to vulnerable persons work in
more than one facility or program. If an individual is substantiated
for category one abuse or neglect in one setting, his or her other
employer may not have knowledge of that finding. Allowing regular
checks of the SEL by authorized entities would provide employers with
important information about individuals working with vulnerable
populations. This language authorizing subsequent checks mirrors the
language that allows providers to re-check the Statewide Central
Register for Child Abuse and Maltreatment.

 PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY :

This is a new bill.

 FISCAL IMPLICATIONS :

This bill would be implemented within the Justice Center's existing
resources.

 LOCAL IMPACT :

This bill would have no impact on local governments.
 EFFECTIVE DATE :
This bill would take effect 60 days after it is signed into law.