Requires all state and private agencies with mandatory reporters of incidents involving vulnerable people to retrain all staff on reporting to a 9-1-1 operator and the county district attorney's office and state and private websites; requires written materials to be updated.
STATE OF NEW YORK
________________________________________________________________________
10655
IN ASSEMBLY
March 19, 2026
___________
Introduced by M. of A. SANTABARBARA -- read once and referred to the
Committee on Social Services
AN ACT to amend the social services law, in relation to requiring all
state and private agencies with mandatory reporters of incidents
involving vulnerable people to retrain all staff on reporting to a
9-1-1 operator and the county district attorney's office
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assem-bly, do enact as follows:
1 Section 1. Section 491 of the social services law, as added by section
2 1 of part B of chapter 501 of the laws of 2012, paragraph (d) of subdi-
3 vision 1 as added by chapter 391 of the laws of 2023, subdivision 4 as
4 amended by chapter 126 of the laws of 2014 and subdivision 5 as added by
5 chapter 422 of the laws of 2017, is amended to read as follows:
6 § 491. Duty to report incidents. 1. (a) Mandated reporters shall
7 report allegations of reportable incidents to a 9-1-1 operator, the
8 county district attorney's office and the vulnerable persons' central
9 register as established by section four hundred ninety-two of this arti-
10 cle and in accordance with the requirements set forth therein.
11 (b) Allegations of reportable incidents shall be reported immediately
12 to a 9-1-1 operator, the county district attorney's office and the
13 vulnerable persons' central register upon discovery. For purposes of
14 this article, "discovery" occurs when the mandated reporter witnesses a
15 suspected reportable incident or when another person, including the
16 vulnerable person, comes before the mandated reporter in the mandated
17 reporter's professional or official capacity and provides the mandated
18 reporter with reasonable cause to suspect that the vulnerable person has
19 been subjected to a reportable incident. A report to the register shall
20 include the name, title and contact information of every person known to
21 the mandated reporter to have the same information as the mandated
22 reporter concerning the reportable incident. [Nothing in this subdivi-
23 sion shall be construed to prohibit a mandated reporter from contacting
24 or reporting to law enforcement or emergency services before or after
25 reporting to the vulnerable persons' central register.]
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[] is old law to be omitted.
LBD01854-01-5
A. 10655 2
1 (c) The substance or content of any psychological, psychiatric, thera-
2 peutic, clinical or medical reports, evaluations or like materials or
3 information pertaining to the treatment of a patient or client of a
4 mandatory reporter who reports a reportable incident of such patient or
5 client pursuant to this article, must be provided by such mandatory
6 reporter upon request of the justice center for the protection of people
7 with special needs if such records are essential for a full investi-
8 gation of such allegation, notwithstanding any applicable privilege
9 which would otherwise bar the disclosure of such materials and records
10 pursuant to article forty-five of the civil practice law and rules or
11 other provision of law except applicable federal law governing the
12 disclosure of patient and related medical records.
13 (d) Every mandated reporter is required to make a report to the regis-
14 ter as outlined in paragraph (b) of this subdivision unless (i) the
15 reporter has actual knowledge that the reportable incident has been
16 reported to the register; and (ii) that the reporter has been named as a
17 person with knowledge of the incident in such prior report.
18 2. Any person or official required to report allegations of reportable
19 incidents pursuant to this section may take or cause to be taken color
20 photographs of visible trauma and the face of the vulnerable person
21 named in the report and upon the consent of a person authorized to
22 consent to medical care for the vulnerable person, shall, if medically
23 indicated, cause to be performed a radiological examination of the
24 vulnerable person. Any photographs or radiological examinations taken
25 shall be provided to the justice center for use only for the purposes of
26 an investigation of a reportable incident.
27 3. (a) Any human services professional required by this article to
28 report a case of suspected abuse or neglect to a 9-1-1 operator, the
29 county district attorney's office and the vulnerable persons' central
30 register who knowingly and willfully fails to do so shall be guilty of a
31 class [A misdemeanor] E felony.
32 (b) A mandated reporter who knowingly and willfully fails to report a
33 case of suspected abuse or neglect to a 9-1-1 operator, the county
34 district attorney's office and the vulnerable persons' central register
35 may be subject to termination, subject to any applicable collective
36 bargaining agreement. Any person or official required by this article to
37 report a case of suspected abuse or neglect to a 9-1-1 operator, the
38 county district attorney's office and the vulnerable persons' central
39 register who knowingly and willfully fails to do so shall be civilly
40 liable for the damages proximately caused by such failure.
41 4. A medical or other public or private institution, state agency,
42 school, facility or provider agency or its vendors or contractors shall
43 not take any retaliatory personnel action, as such term is defined in
44 paragraph (e) of subdivision one of section seven hundred forty of the
45 labor law, against an employee or agent or vendor or contractor because
46 such employee or agent or vendor or contractor believes that [he or she]
47 such person has reasonable cause to suspect that a vulnerable person has
48 been subjected to a reportable incident and that employee or agent or
49 vendor or contractor therefore makes a report in accordance with this
50 section and/or cooperated with the investigation of a reportable inci-
51 dent. A court of competent jurisdiction may grant injunctive relief to
52 any person determined to have been subjected to such retaliation.
53 5. State oversight agencies shall ensure that all facilities or
54 provider agencies operated, licensed, or certified by such state over-
55 sight agencies have policies and procedures in place to identify and
56 report possible crimes against a service recipient by a custodian. State
A. 10655 3
1 oversight agencies shall provide guidance to facilities or provider
2 agencies operated, licensed, or certified by such state oversight agen-
3 cies that do not already have policies and procedures for the identifi-
4 cation and reporting of possible crimes.
5 6. All state and private agencies with mandatory reporters shall
6 retrain all staff on reporting to a 9-1-1 operator and the county
7 district attorney's office and all state and private websites, training
8 manuals, informational brochures or pamphlets directing reporting shall
9 state that such instances be reported to a 9-1-1 operator and the county
10 district attorney's office. All former posters and wallet cards and any
11 other information directing reporting of crimes and emergencies to the
12 justice center shall be removed and replaced by 9-1-1 reporting posters,
13 wallet cards and all other sources that shall be located conspicuously
14 in a timely manner.
15 § 2. This act shall take effect immediately.
