Sec. 46a-11a. (Formerly Sec. 19a-458). Definitions.
Sec. 46a-11a. (Formerly Sec. 19a-458). Definitions. For the purposes of sections
46a-11a to 46a-11g, inclusive:
(1) "Abuse" means the wilful infliction of physical pain or injury or the wilful
deprivation by a caretaker of services which are necessary to the person's health or
safety;
(2) "Neglect" means a situation where a person with mental retardation either is
living alone and is not able to provide for himself the services which are necessary to
maintain his physical and mental health or is not receiving such necessary services from
the caretaker;
(3) "Caretaker" means a person who has the responsibility for the care of a person
with mental retardation as a result of a family relationship or who has assumed the
responsibility for the care of the person with mental retardation voluntarily, by contract
or by order of a court of competent jurisdiction. Neither a guardian nor a conservator
need be a caretaker;
(4) "Conservator" means a conservator of the person or of the estate appointed
pursuant to section 45a-644 to 45a-662, inclusive;
(5) "Director" means the director of the Office of Protection and Advocacy for
Persons with Disabilities;
(6) "Facility" means any public or private hospital, nursing home facility, training
school, regional facility, group home, community training home, school or other program serving persons with mental retardation;
(7) "Guardian" means the guardian or limited guardian of a person with mental
retardation appointed pursuant to sections 45a-669 to 45a-684, inclusive;
(8) "Person with mental retardation" means a person who: (A) Has mental retardation, as defined in section 1-1g, (B) is at least the age of eighteen and under the age of
sixty, except for purposes of subsection (b) of section 46a-11c, is eighteen years of age
or older, and (C) is substantially unable to protect himself from abuse and includes all
such persons living in residential facilities under the jurisdiction of the Department of
Developmental Services;
(9) "Protective services" means services provided by the state or any other governmental or private organization or individual which are necessary to prevent abuse or
neglect. Such services may include the provision of medical care for physical and mental
health needs; the provision of support services in the facility, including the time limited
placement of department staff in such facility; the relocation of a person with mental
retardation to a facility able to offer such care pursuant to section 17a-210, 17a-274 or
17a-277, as applicable; assistance in personal hygiene; food; clothing; adequately heated
and ventilated shelter; protection from health and safety hazards; protection from maltreatment, the result of which includes, but is not limited to, malnutrition, deprivation
of necessities or physical punishment; and transportation necessary to secure any of the
above-stated services, except that this term shall not include taking such person into
custody without consent; and
(10) "Commissioner" means the Commissioner of Developmental Services.
(P.A. 84-514, S. 1, 11; P.A. 86-41, S. 8, 11; 86-285, S. 2; P.A. 89-144, S. 5; P.A. 95-63, S. 1; P.A. 04-12, S. 1; P.A.
07-73, S. 2(a), (b).)
History: P.A. 84-514 effective February 1, 1985; P.A. 86-41 made technical change in definition of "facility"; P.A. 86-285 inserted new Subdiv. (b) defining "neglect", relettering remaining Subdivs. as necessary, and redefined "protective
services" to include those necessary to prevent neglect and support services in a facility; P.A. 89-144 amended Subsec.
(e) by substituting the office of protection and advocacy for persons with disabilities for the office of protection and advocacy
for handicapped and developmentally disabled persons; Sec. 19a-458 transferred to Sec. 46a-11a in 1991; (Revisor's note:
In 1993 a reference to repealed Sec. 17-128 was removed editorially by the Revisors); P.A. 95-63 substituted "person with
mental retardation" for "mentally retarded person" and made technical changes; P.A. 04-12 redesignated Subdivs. (a) to
(j) as Subdivs. (1) to (10), respectively, and redefined "person with mental retardation" in Subdiv. (8) to provide an exception
and to add Subpara. designators (Revisor's note: In 2005, a reference in Subdiv. (7) to Sec. 45a-668 was changed editorially
by the Revisors to Sec. 45a-669 to reflect the repeal of Sec. 45a-668 by P.A. 04-54); pursuant to P.A. 07-73 "Commissioner
of Mental Retardation" and "Department of Mental Retardation" were changed editorially by the Revisors to "Commissioner of Developmental Services" and "Department of Developmental Services", effective October 1, 2007.
Cited. 240 C. 766.