CCS HCS#2 SS SCS SB 3 -- VULNERABLE PERSON ABUSE

This bill changes the laws regarding vulnerable person abuse.  In
its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Creates the crime of vulnerable person abuse and specifies
that a person who commits this crime in the first degree will be
guilty of a class A felony; in the second degree, a class B
felony; and in the third degree, a class A misdemeanor;

(2)  Requires the Department of Mental Health to investigate an
incident or report of vulnerable person abuse and promptly report
the incident to the appropriate law enforcement agency and
prosecutor;

(3)  Requires anyone who has reason to suspect vulnerable person
abuse or neglect to report it to the department;

(4)  Specifies that any person who knowingly fails to report
abuse or neglect or files a false report will be guilty of a
class A misdemeanor and subject to a fine of up to $1,000 for the
first offense.  A second or subsequent offense will be a class D
felony with a fine of up to $5,000;

(5)  Specifies that any residential facility, day program, or
specialized service licensed by the department that prevents or
discourages a person from reporting a patient's abuse will be
subject to license revocation and fines of up to $5,000 for each
attempt to prevent reporting;

(6)  Specifies that any person, official, or institution that
makes a report or cooperates with the department is immune from
civil or criminal liability unless the individual or institution
acted negligently, recklessly, in bad faith, or with malicious
purpose;

(7)  Requires the department to establish rules to notify the
parent or guardian of a patient, resident, or client or the
consumer who is his or her own guardian of the possibility of
being placed in a facility with a registered sexual offender or
an individual who has been found incompetent to stand trial for
offenses that would have required the person to register as a
sexual offender;

(8)  Specifies the information that should be included in a
report of vulnerable person abuse or neglect;

(9)  Specifies that substantiated reports are open records and
will be made available for release, with the identifying
information remaining confidential;

(10)  Increases the fine for providers who do not correct
problems cited by the department in a licensing inspection from
$100 a day to $10,000 a day;

(11)  Requires the Department of Mental Health to notify the
Department of Health and Senior Services within 10 days of
revoking a medical facility's license due to the failure to
comply with rules and standards.  The Department of Health and
Senior Services must initiate within 30 days an investigation of
the facility to determine if licensure revocation is appropriate;
and

(12)  Requires the Department of Mental Health to establish a
mental health fatality review panel to examine all deaths of
adults in the care and custody of the department and to establish
rules for physicians and hospitals to identify the suspicious
death of a patient in the care and custody of the department.

Missouri House of Representatives
94th General Assembly, 1st Regular Session
Last Updated July 25, 2007 at 11:21 am