Requires the office of children and family services to track and report elder abuse and to issue a biennial report to the governor and legislature and office for the aging regarding the incidence of elder abuse in the state.
NEW YORK STATE ASSEMBLY MEMORANDUM IN SUPPORT OF LEGISLATION submitted in accordance with Assembly Rule III, Sec 1(f)
 
BILL NUMBER: A83A
SPONSOR: Dinowitz (MS)
 
TITLE OF BILL:
An act to amend the social services law, in relation to the tracking and
reporting of elder abuse; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon the expiration thereof
 
PURPOSE OR GENERAL IDEA OF BILL:
Authorizes the Office of Children and Family Services, in cooperation
with the Office of the Aging, to track and report on the incidence of
elder abuse.
 
SUMMARY OF SPECIFIC PROVISIONS:
Section 1: Amends Social Services Law section 473 to: A) Authorize the
Office of Children and Family Services (OCFS), in cooperation with the
Office of the Aging, to collect data on elder abuse and neglect that may
be occurring in New York from state and local agencies, such as the
Division of Criminal Justice Services (DCJS), the Office of the Attorney
General (OAG), the Office for the Prevention of Domestic violence, and
the Department of Health to identify the incidence of elder abuse;
B) Authorizes OCFS to begin to establish an inter-agency reporting
system that contains a uniform set of standards to collect and analyze
information on the incidence of elder abuse; and
C) Requires the OCFS, in cooperation with the Office of the Aging, to
prepare a report to outline it's recommendations for defining the term
"elder abuse" in statute, the types of reporting requirements that
should be instituted to prevent the incidence of elder abuse, the actual
incidence of elder abuse in New York and those programs available to
prevent elder abuse and provide services to such victims.
 
JUSTIFICATION:
It has been said that a society's greatness is measured by the manner in
which it treats its most vulnerable members. One of our most at-risk
members of society are the elderly who need assistance to perform simple
tasks such as moving around, eating, bathing, and conducting financial
transactions. Thankfully, there are many members in our community who
have devoted their lives to helping these semi-dependent to dependent
senior citizens- nursing home workers, home health care aides, family
members and friends. These caretakers provide an invaluable service to
seniors-in-need and society-at-large. Further, these services are becom-
ing more important as the elderly population grows.
When dependent seniors become victims of physical or psychological
abuse, or are neglected or taken advantage of financially by their care-
takers, more than a trust has been broken; an abhorrent act has occurred
that violates our society's sense of decency. Yet we have been slow to
give elder abuse the attention that it rightfully deserves. While aware-
ness of elder abuse has risen in recent years, there is much we can do
in New York to gain a better understanding of the issue, increase
prevention, and provide needed services to victims.
Currently, there is no absolute definition of what constitutes "elder
abuse" in New York statute nor sufficient statistics on the incidence of
elder abuse in New York State, Public and private agencies and not-for-
profit organizations that provide services to elder abuse victims do not
always keep information to accurately track affected elderly persons.
Other governmental entities possess data on abuse and neglect, but
currently do not distinguish between elder abuse and those actions of
abuse to others in the adult population. Across agencies, there is a
lack of coordination and collaboration to determine the exact frequency
of elder abuse in New York.
At least 15,000 cases of elder abuse were reporting in 2007 to Adult
Protective Services alone, the primary agency tracking elder abuse.
Actual figures may be much higher, as the National Center on Elder Abuse
estimates that for every reported case of elder abuse, another five may
go unreported. This bill authorizes OCFS, which Adult Protective
Services is part of, to establish a uniform set of standards to collect
and analyze information for various state and local agencies. By identi-
fying the extent of the problem, the State of New York can take an
important first step towards ensuring that all of our seniors live their
golden years in dignity and security.
 
PRIOR LEGISLATIVE HISTORY:
2013-14 - S.2323 - Passed Senate
2011-12 - S.1040-A, Referred to Aging,
2009-10 - S.5376 - Referred to Aging; Passed Senate 2009 and 2010
 
FISCAL IMPLICATIONS:
Minimal.
 
EFFECTIVE DATE:
This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeeding in
the date on which it shall have become a law, and shall expire and be
deemed repealed January 1, 2021.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
83--A
2015-2016 Regular Sessions
IN ASSEMBLY(Prefiled)
January 7, 2015
___________
Introduced by M. of A. DINOWITZ, BARRETT -- read once and referred to
the Committee on Aging -- recommitted to the Committee on Aging in
accordance with Assembly Rule 3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill
amended, ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said commit-
tee
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to the tracking and
reporting of elder abuse; and providing for the repeal of such
provisions upon the expiration thereof
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Subdivisions 6, 7 and 8 of section 473 of the social
2 services law are renumbered subdivisions 7, 8 and 9 and a new subdivi-
3 sion 6 is added to read as follows:
4 6. (a) The office of children and family services (hereinafter
5 referred to in this section as the "office") shall, in cooperation with
6 the office for the aging, collect data on elder abuse possessed by state
7 and local agencies, including but not limited to the division of crimi-
8 nal justice services, the department of law, the office for the
9 prevention of domestic violence and the department of health, for the
10 purpose of identifying the incidence of elder abuse among the elderly.
11 The office shall create interagency reporting systems that contain a
12 uniform set of standards to collect and analyze such data. Furthermore,
13 the office, in consultation with the office for the aging, shall estab-
14 lish a definition for elder abuse and the minimum age of an elderly
15 person, that enables the office to accurately compare similar data from
16 different state and local agencies. For the purposes of this subdivi-
17 sion, the office and the office for the aging, in establishing the defi-
18 nition of elder abuse, may incorporate the types of physical, sexual and
19 emotional abuse, active and passive neglect, and financial exploitation
20 defined in subdivision seven of this section.
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01431-03-6
A. 83--A 2
1 (b) County and city social services agencies, adult protective
2 services units and protective services for adults units shall report
3 incidences of elder abuse, as defined by the office, to the office in
4 the format specified by such office and including, but not limited to,
5 the number of referrals, investigations, substantiated cases, and demo-
6 graphic information on victims and perpetrators.
7 (c) The office shall, in cooperation with the office for the aging,
8 issue a report to the governor, the temporary president of the senate,
9 the speaker of the assembly, the minority leader of the senate and the
10 minority leader of the assembly, on or before March first in odd
11 numbered years. Such report shall outline its recommendations for defin-
12 ing the term "elder abuse" in statute, the types of reporting require-
13 ments that should be instituted to prevent the incidence of elder abuse,
14 and the programs available to prevent elder abuse and to provide
15 services to victims of elder abuse.
16 § 2. This act shall take effect on the first of January next succeed-
17 ing the date on which it shall have become a law, and shall expire and
18 be deemed repealed January 1, 2021.