30:6D-75 - Report of abuse required
30:6D-75 Report of abuse required.
3. a. A person employed or volunteering in a program, facility, community care residence, or living arrangement licensed or funded by the department, or a person providing community-based services with indirect State funding to a person with a developmental disability, as applicable, having reasonable cause to believe that an individual with a developmental disability has been subjected to abuse, neglect, or exploitation by a caregiver shall report the same immediately to the department by telephone or otherwise. Such report, where possible, shall contain the name and address of the individual with a developmental disability and the caregiver responsible for the care, custody, or control of the individual with a developmental disability, and the guardian, or other person having custody and control of the individual and, if known, the condition of the individual with a developmental disability, the nature and possible extent of the individual's injuries, maltreatment, abuse, neglect or exploitation, including any evidence of previous injuries, maltreatment, abuse, neglect or exploitation, and any other information that the person believes may be helpful with respect to the injuries, maltreatment, abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the individual with a developmental disability and the identity of the alleged offender.
b.Within the department, the commissioner shall maintain a unit to receive and prioritize such reports, initiate appropriate responses through timely and appropriate investigative activities, alert appropriate staff, and ensure that findings are reported in a uniform and timely manner.
c.A person employed or volunteering in a program, facility, community care residence, or living arrangement licensed or funded by the department, or a person providing community-based services with indirect State funding to a person with a developmental disability, as applicable, who fails to report an act of abuse, neglect, or exploitation against an individual with a developmental disability while having reasonable cause to believe that such an act has been committed, is a disorderly person.
L.2010, c.5, s.3.