Bill Text: NY A07400 | 2019-2020 | General Assembly | Introduced


Bill Title: Relates to requiring care providers to provide information in cases of suspected domestic violence.

Spectrum: Slight Partisan Bill (Democrat 17-7)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-01-08 - referred to social services [A07400 Detail]

Download: New_York-2019-A07400-Introduced.html


                STATE OF NEW YORK
        ________________________________________________________________________
                                          7400
                               2019-2020 Regular Sessions
                   IN ASSEMBLY
                                       May 1, 2019
                                       ___________
        Introduced  by M. of A. JONES -- read once and referred to the Committee
          on Social Services
        AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to  requiring  care
          providers  to  provide  information  in  cases  of  suspected domestic
          violence
          The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and  Assem-
        bly, do enact as follows:
     1    Section 1. This act shall be known and may be cited as the "Jamie Rose
     2  care provider act".
     3    §  2. The social services law is amended by adding a new section 459-i
     4  to read as follows:
     5    § 459-i. Care providers required to provide information  in  cases  of
     6  suspected  domestic violence. 1. (a) Care providers in cities, towns and
     7  villages (i) with a population less than one million; and  (ii)  located
     8  in a county in which the county legislature has declared an agency other
     9  than  a  law-enforcement  agency as its primary domestic violence agency
    10  are required to provide domestic violence support information or, at the
    11  request of the suspected victim, cause a report to be made in accordance
    12  with this article when they have reasonable cause  to  suspect  that  an
    13  individual coming before them in their professional or official capacity
    14  is  the  victim of domestic violence. For purposes of this section "care
    15  providers" shall include, but are not limited to: any physician;  regis-
    16  tered  physician assistant; surgeon; medical examiner; coroner; dentist;
    17  dental  hygienist;  osteopath;  optometrist;  chiropractor;  podiatrist;
    18  resident;  intern;  psychologist;  registered nurse; nurse practitioner;
    19  social worker; emergency  medical  technician;  licensed  creative  arts
    20  therapist;  licensed  marriage  and  family  therapist;  licensed mental
    21  health counselor; licensed  psychoanalyst;  licensed  behavior  analyst;
    22  certified  behavior analyst assistant; hospital personnel engaged in the
    23  admission, examination,  care  or  treatment  of  persons;  a  Christian
    24  Science practitioner; school official, which includes but is not limited
         EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                              [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                                   LBD03004-03-9

        A. 7400                             2
     1  to  school  teacher,  school  guidance  counselor,  school psychologist,
     2  school social worker, school nurse, school administrator or other school
     3  personnel required to hold  a  teaching  or  administrative  license  or
     4  certificate;  full  or part-time compensated school employee required to
     5  hold a temporary coaching license or professional coaching  certificate;
     6  social  services worker; employee of a publicly-funded emergency shelter
     7  for families with children; director of  a  children's  overnight  camp,
     8  summer  day camp or traveling summer day camp, as such camps are defined
     9  in section thirteen hundred ninety-two of the  public  health  law;  day
    10  care  center worker; school-age child care worker; provider of family or
    11  group family day care; employee  or  volunteer  in  a  residential  care
    12  facility  for  children  that  is licensed, certified or operated by the
    13  office of children and family services;  or  any  other  child  care  or
    14  foster  care worker; mental health professional; substance abuse counse-
    15  lor; alcoholism counselor; all persons credentialed  by  the  office  of
    16  alcoholism  and substance abuse services; peace officer; police officer;
    17  district attorney or assistant district attorney; investigator  employed
    18  in the office of a district attorney; or other law enforcement official.
    19    (b)  Whenever  such person files a report under this article in his or
    20  her capacity as a member of the staff of a medical or  other  public  or
    21  private  institution,  school, facility or agency, he or she shall imme-
    22  diately notify the person in charge of such institution, school, facili-
    23  ty or agency, or his or her designated agent. Such person in charge,  or
    24  the designated agent of such person, shall be responsible for all subse-
    25  quent  administration  necessitated  by  the  report.  Any  report shall
    26  include the name, title and contact information for every  staff  person
    27  of the institution who is believed to have direct knowledge of the alle-
    28  gations in the report. Nothing in this section or article is intended to
    29  require  more than one report from any such institution, school or agen-
    30  cy.
    31    (c) A medical or other public or private institution, school, facility
    32  or agency shall not take any retaliatory personnel action, as such  term
    33  is  defined in paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section seven hundred
    34  forty of the labor  law,  against  an  employee  because  such  employee
    35  believes that he or she has reasonable cause to suspect that an individ-
    36  ual is the victim of domestic violence and that employee therefore makes
    37  a report in accordance with this article at the request of the suspected
    38  victim.  No  school,  school  official, child care provider, foster care
    39  provider, residential care facility provider, hospital, medical institu-
    40  tion provider or mental health facility provider shall impose any condi-
    41  tions, including prior approval or prior notification, upon a member  of
    42  their staff who files a report under this article.
    43    2.  Any  person,  institution, school, facility, agency, organization,
    44  partnership or corporation which employs persons that file a  report  of
    45  suspected  incidents of domestic violence pursuant to subdivision one of
    46  this section shall make a good-faith effort to provide all such  current
    47  and  new  employees  with  written  information explaining the reporting
    48  process set out in such subdivision. Such written information  shall  be
    49  prepared  by  the  advisory  council of the office for the prevention of
    50  domestic violence, and shall be made available on  the  office  for  the
    51  prevention of domestic violence website.  The employers shall be respon-
    52  sible  for the costs associated with printing and distributing the writ-
    53  ten information.  If an employer is unable to provide such  information,
    54  the  employer  may  request  the  office  for the prevention of domestic
    55  violence mail the information to such employer.

        A. 7400                             3
     1    3. The office for the prevention of domestic violence shall  create  a
     2  form for the reporting of suspected domestic violence cases described in
     3  subdivision one of this section. Such form shall be provided by a person
     4  that  files  a  report  of  suspected  domestic  violence  cases  to the
     5  suspected  victim  of  domestic violence, and shall be made available on
     6  the office for the prevention of domestic violence  website.  Such  form
     7  shall include, but not be limited to, a description of the circumstances
     8  leading  to  the suspected case of domestic violence, the alleged perpe-
     9  trator of domestic violence and the date of the suspected incident. Such
    10  form shall be submitted by the  care  provider  to  the  county  primary
    11  domestic  violence agency.   Such primary domestic violence agency shall
    12  keep all such forms on file.
    13    4. Any employer which employs a care provider shall hold annual train-
    14  ings for care providers on  how  to  recognize  the  signs  of  domestic
    15  violence.
    16    5.  For  purposes  of this section "domestic violence support informa-
    17  tion" shall include, but not be limited to, materials discussing options
    18  that a survivor of domestic violence has in  order  to  protect  him  or
    19  herself  at  any  given  time, and the resources that a primary domestic
    20  violence agency provides in the county. Such material shall  be  updated
    21  by the primary domestic violence agency in the county every two years.
    22    6.  The  suspected  domestic  violence  victim shall have the right to
    23  refuse domestic violence support information at any time.
    24    § 3. This act shall take effect on the thirtieth day  after  it  shall
    25  have become a law.
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