State SealARIZONA HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES


 

SB1538: adult protective services

PRIME SPONSOR: Senator Brophy McGee, LD 28

BILL STATUS: Transmitted

                                                               

 

Overview

☐ Prop 105 (45 votes)	     ☐ Prop 108 (40 votes)      ☐ Emergency (40 votes)	☐ Fiscal NoteUpdates the Adult Protective Services (APS) statutes.

History

Adult Protective Services (APS) is a program under the Department of Economic Security (DES) responsible for investigating allegations of abuse, exploitation and neglect of vulnerable adults. Exploitation is the illegal or improper use of a vulnerable adult or their resources for another person's profit or advantage. A vulnerable adult is an individual who is eighteen years of age or older and who is unable to protect himself from abuse, neglect or exploitation by others because of a physical or mental impairment or is incapacitated (A.R.S § 46-451).

An eligible person in any county may request that the general public be prohibited from accessing their residential address and telephone number contained in certain documents maintained by the county recorder, county assessor and county treasurer. Statute outlines what an eligible person must include in their affidavit request for confidentiality on an application form developed by the administrative office of the courts in agreement with an association of counties, an organization of peace officers and the Motor Vehicle Division of the Arizona Department of Transportation (ADOT) (A.R.S. §§ 11-483 and 11-484).

Eligible person is currently defined as a former public official, peace officer, spouse of a peace officer, spouse or minor child of a deceased peace officer, justice, judge, commissioner, public defender, prosecutor, code enforcement officer, adult or juvenile corrections officer, corrections support staff member, probation officer, member of the Board of Executive Clemency, law enforcement support staff member, Department of Child Safety, national guard member when acting in support of a law enforcement agency, a person who is protected under an order of protection or injunction against harassment, a participant in the Address Confidentiality Program or a firefighter assigned to the Arizona Counterterrorism Center (A.R.S. §§ 11-483 and 11-484).

Provisions

1.       Protects the identity of an APS worker. (Sec. 1-7)    

2.       States it is unlawful for a person to knowingly make available on the worldwide web the personal information of an employee of APS and makes it a class 5 felony to do so. (Sec. 3)

3.       Adds an employee of APS to the definition of eligible person as it relates to protecting their personal information. (Sec. 4-6)

4.       Removes unneeded language. (Sec. 8)

5.       Allows employees of DES, the Department of Law and the court to release confidential information to a tribal government. (Sec. 8)

6.       Creates a definition for adult protective services central intake unit. (Sec. 9)

7.       Modifies the definition of neglect by removing "a pattern of conduct without the person's informed consent resulting in".

8.       Adds the following professionals to the duty to report abuse, neglect, and exploitation of vulnerable adults:

a.       Physician assistant;

b.       Licensed practical or registered nurse;

c.        Certified nursing assistant;

d.       Emergency medical technician;

e.       Home health provider;

f.         Psychiatrist;

g.       Pharmacist;

h.       Speech, physical or occupational therapist;

i.         Long-term care provider;

j.         Medical examiner;

k.       Guardian;

l.         Conservator;

m.     Fire protection personnel;

n.       Developmental disabilities provider; and

o.       Employee of DES. (Sec. 10)

9.       Requires the guardian or conservator of a vulnerable adult to immediately report or cause reports to be made of such reasonable basis to the adult protective services intake unit. (Sec. 10)

10.   Removes the requirement for a written follow-up report and allows for an online report. (Sec. 10)

11.   Provides that an employee or agent of the health care institution whose procedures require that all suspected abuse, neglect and exploitation be reported to APS as required by law is deemed to have met the reporting requirements by reporting or causing a report to be made to the health care institution. (Sec. 10)

12.   Deletes public fiduciary language. (Sec. 10)

13.   Requires reporting to APS intake unit by outlined persons. (Sec. 10)

14.   Prohibits retaliation against a person who in good faith reports abuse, neglect or exploitation and prohibits retaliation against a vulnerable adult who is the subject of a report. Any adverse action taken against a person who reports abuse, neglect or exploitation or a vulnerable adult who is the subject of the report within 90 days after the report is filed is presumed to be retaliation.  (Sec. 10)

Adult Protective Services Information

15.   Specifies that all personally identifying information concerning any person involved in an APS program, including the reporting source's identity, other than a perpetrator against whom an allegation of abuse, neglect or exploitation has been substantiated, and all information that is gathered or created by APS that is contained in adult protective services records is confidential and may only be released as specified. (Sec. 11)

16.   States that employees of DES, the Department of Law and the court may obtain the information described in the performance of their duties as authorized by rule and adopted by the director of DES. (Sec. 11)

17.   Permits employees of DES to release any information that is otherwise held confidential, including the identity of the person who makes a report of suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation, to the following or under any of the following circumstances:

a.       Pursuant to a superior court order;

b.       To law enforcement to be used only for purposes of conducting investigations;

c.        To agencies that are responsible for investigating a report of abuse, neglect or exploitation when the investigation is authorized by statute or by an agreement with DES;

d.       In any judicial or administrative proceeding involving an APS client if the director considers the information pertinent to the proceeding; and

e.       To agencies of the federal government, any state, any political subdivision of any state for official purposes or any tribal government. All information received by a governmental agency must be maintained as confidential, except where pertinent to a criminal investigation. (Sec. 11)

18.   Allows employees of DES to release any information that is otherwise held confidential except the reporting source's identity, to the following or under any of the following circumstances:

a.       The client when a request is made in writing specifically requesting information that directly relates to the person requesting information;

b.       When necessary for purposes that are directly connected with the administration of adult protective services, including:

i.         To protect against a clear and substantial risk of imminent serious injury to a client or to others;

ii.       In oral and written communications with the minimal necessary release of information needed to conduct an investigation of allegations of abuse, neglect or exploitation;

iii.     In oral and written communications to arrange specific services for a vulnerable adult;

iv.     To a person that has the legal responsibility or authorization to care for, evaluate, treat or supervise a vulnerable adult; and

v.       To the extent necessary to make claims on behalf of a client for public or private assistance, insurance or health or medical assistance to which the client may be entitled;

c.        Pursuant to the consent of the client who is receiving services;

d.       Persons identified by the client pursuant to one of the following:

i.         If the client is present or otherwise available and has the capacity to make decisions, an APS worker may disclose the information if one of the following applies:

Ř  The client agrees orally or in writing by signing a consent form that authorizes disclosure; and

Ř  The client is given an opportunity to object and does not express an objection;

ii.       If the client is not present or the opportunity to agree or object to the disclosure of information cannot practicably be provided because of the client's incapacity or an emergency circumstance, the APS worker may disclose the information if the disclosure of the information is in the best interests of the client;

e.       Any statutorily created team that is mandated to review APS and the clients served in the completion of the official duties;

f.         To disclose statistics or other summary information if personally identifiable information is not revealed by the disclosure;

g.       To confirm, clarify, correct or supplement information concerning an allegation or actual instance of vulnerable adult abuse, neglect or exploitation that has been made public by a source or sources outside DES; and

h.       Any person who is engaged in bona fide research, if no personally identifying information is made available, unless it is essential to the research and the director or the director's designee gives prior approval. If the researcher wants to contact a subject of a record, the subject's consent must be obtained by DES before the contact. (Sec. 11)

19.   Permits DES to adopt rules to implement. (Sec. 11)

20.   Assigns a class 2 misdemeanor to anyone who violates the provisions related to adult protective services information. (Sec. 11) 

Multidisciplinary Adult Protection Team

21.   Permits APS to establish a multidisciplinary adult protection team consisting of employees of the APS program, the county attorney or the county attorney's designee and representatives of law enforcement, behavioral health, domestic violence and sexual assault or other appropriate human service agencies. Representatives from local tribal governments and adult disability and advocate groups may be added to the multidisciplinary adult protection team. (Sec. 11)

22.   Allows APS to make available to members of the multidisciplinary adult protection team all information or records that are necessary for the official duties without the designation of the client's name unless the client's name is required for the official purposes. The case information received by members of the multidisciplinary adult protection team must be maintained as confidential unless a consent to release has been given pursuant to this section or pursuant to a court order in this state or another state. Any member of the multidisciplinary adult protection team may share information that is acquired in the team members' professional capacity with other members of the multidisciplinary adult protection team to assist the multidisciplinary adult protection team in its function. (Sec. 11)

23.   Provides that case consultation may be performed by a committee of the team consisting of the team members representing social services, law enforcement, the county attorney, health care and persons directly involved in an individual case as determined by the case consultation committee. (Sec. 11)

24.   Prohibits a person who is released information from using or releasing the information except in the proper performance of the person's official duties unless a consent to release has been given or pursuant to a court order or grand jury subpoena. (Sec. 11)

25.   Defines case consultation. (Sec. 11)

 

 

 

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Fifty-fourth Legislature                               SB 1538

First Regular Session                    Version 4: Transmitted

 

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