16.19 - Confinement, care and treatment of the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled.
§ 16.19 Confinement, care and treatment of the mentally retarded and developmentally disabled. (a) No individual who is or appears to be mentally retarded or developmentally disabled shall be detained, deprived of liberty or otherwise confined without lawful authority, or inadequately, unskillfully, cruelly or unsafely cared for or supervised by any person. (b) If the commissioner has reason to believe that a person is being detained or given inadequate, unskillful, cruel or unsafe care, as described in subdivision (a) of this section, he shall promptly investigate the matter. If, after giving the person accused of violating subdivision (a) of this section an opportunity to be heard, he finds that a violation did occur, the commissioner shall issue an order directing that person to cease and desist from continued violation. (c) In addition to any other remedies available under this article, the commissioner may bring an action in the supreme court to enjoin any person from unlawfully subjecting a mentally retarded or developmentally disabled person to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, or active, passive or self neglect, or detaining a mentally retarded or developmentally disabled person or providing inadequate, unskillful, cruel or unsafe care or supervision for such a person. (d) (1) If, upon receiving a report that any adult thought to have mental retardation or another developmental disability has been subjected to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, or active, passive or self neglect, and the commissioner has reason to believe that such adult is known by the commissioner to have received services from providers duly authorized by the commissioner and has been subjected to such abuse or neglect, the commissioner shall intervene pursuant to this section or, if such adult has not received services from said authorized providers, the commissioner shall, immediately or as soon as practicable, notify adult protective services established pursuant to section four hundred seventy-three of the social services law. The commissioner shall, within forty-eight hours, forward copies of reports made pursuant to this subdivision to the state commission of quality of care and advocacy for persons with disabilities and indicate if such report was referred to adult protective services. (2) In order to carry out the provisions of this subdivision, the commissioner and commissioner of the office of children and family services shall develop a model memorandum of understanding which shall be entered into between each developmental disability services office and each local department of social services within its jurisdiction. Such agreement shall define the responsibilities of each developmental disability services office and social services district with respect to reports pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision and reasonable time frames for implementing such responsibilities. Such agreement entered into in accord with such memorandum of understanding shall be finalized between all developmental disability services offices and all local departments of social services no later than ninety days after the effective date of this subdivision. A developmental disabilities services office shall be deemed a provider of services for the purposes of access to adult protective records under section four hundred seventy-three-e of the social services law. (3) The commissioner and the commissioner of children and family services shall submit a report on the physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, or active, passive or self neglect of adults with mental retardation or other developmental disabilities to the governor, temporary president of the senate and speaker of the assembly by January first, two thousand seven, and annually thereafter. In consultation with the commission on quality of care and advocacy for persons withdisabilities, the commissioner and the commissioner of children and family services shall include in such report a description of systemic issues; a summary of strategies used for intervening in such cases; an evaluation of the success of such strategies; an evaluation of the implementation of the memorandum of understanding developed pursuant to paragraph two of this subdivision and the specific status of developmental disabilities services offices and local departments of social services, with respect to entering into an agreement as required by paragraph two of this subdivision; and any recommendations the commissioner believes are necessary to protect adults from abuse or mistreatment. The report shall also include the number of reports and a summary of common situations and trends contained in such reports which were: a. made to the commissioner pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision; b. not referred to adult protective services, but in response to which the commissioner intervened, and the outcome of such intervention; and c. referred to adult protective services pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision and the outcome of such referral.