Bill > S2411

This bill aims to increase the safety of disabled individuals living in group homes by establishing a disability abuse registry. The key provisions include: 1. Creating a centralized database (the "Disability Abuse Registry") of caregivers who have had substantiated findings of abuse, neglect, or exploitation of a person with a disability, as determined by the Disabled Persons Protection Commission or other EOHHS agencies. 2. Prohibiting any caregiver whose name is on the registry from being employed by EOHHS-licensed or -contracted facilities and programs that provide services to individuals with disabilities. 3. Requiring service providers to review the registry before hiring new employees and on a quarterly basis for current employees to ensure no one on the registry is employed. 4. Authorizing EOHHS to impose monetary sanctions of up to $5,000 on providers that fail to check the registry and hire someone whose name is on it. 5. Requiring the executive director of the Disabled Persons Protection Commission to immediately submit substantiated abuse investigations to EOHHS for inclusion in the registry. The goal of this bill is to enhance protections for disabled individuals living in group homes and other care settings by creating a system to identify and prevent the employment of caregivers who have been found to have abused, neglected, or exploited people with disabilities.

Budget and Finance

https://malegislature.gov/Bills/190/S2411