Senate Bill S3839

                                
 
BILL NUMBER: S3839

SPONSOR: SERINO
 
TITLE OF BILL:

An act to direct a report regarding calls received during extended hours
of the Adult Protective Services line

 
PURPOSE:

To require a report on data relating to the Adult Protective Services
line.

 
SUMMARY OF PROVISIONS:

Section 1: Requires the Office of Children and Family Services in
conjunction with the Office for the Aging to submit a report on the
number of additional calls to the Adult Protective Services line during
the extended hours, the nature of the phone calls, variance in call
rates by hour and consumer feedback received regarding the extended
hours.
              

Section 2: Establishes the effective date.

 
JUSTIFICATION:

The Adult Protective Services (APS) hotline receives complaints of
suspected elder abuse through the Office of Children and Family Services
(OCFS). While the Children Protective Services hotline - serviced
through OCFS as well - is operated on a 24 hour, 7-day-a-week basis, the
APS hotline, which now runs from 8:30 AM to 8:00 PM, until recently only
operated Monday through Friday from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM. Many advocates
argued that limited hotline hours decreased the amount of reporting and
deterred complainants who received no answer after 5:00 PM or on the
weekends. As such, funding was appropriated in the 2018-2019 FY State
Executive Budget to extend the hours of the APS line by three hours,
Monday through Friday, so that the hotline would run from 9:00 a.m. to
8:00 p.m., instead of ending at 5:00 p.m. The intent of this extension
was to increase the times in which suspected abuse may be reported and
identify whether evening hours result in increased investigations.

This legislation capitalizes on this opportunity to also require that
OCFS track the number of increased calls and generate a report as to the
effectiveness of broader hotline availability.

Studies have estimated that hundreds of thousands of seniors are abused
each year, and many are suffering in silence. Elder abuse is one of the
most underreported crimes in the state, with estimates as high as 24
cases going unreported for each case that is. It has also been found
that seniors who have experienced even moderate abuse have a 300% higher
risk of death compared to those who have not been abused. Given the dire
consequences of such abuse, combined with the rate of unreported inci-
dents, it is easy to see why every additional minute the hotline is open
can make a world of difference-especially since abuse is not limited to
standard business hours.

 
LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:

2019-20: S.1419 Reported and Committed to Finance
2018: S.8533 Passed Senate

 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:

Minimal.

 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect immediately.