N.Y. MHY Law § 16.19

§ 16.19 Confinement, care and treatment of persons with developmental\n disabilities.\n (a) No individual who is or appears to have a developmental disability\nshall be detained, deprived of liberty or otherwise confined without\nlawful authority, or inadequately, unskillfully, cruelly or unsafely\ncared for or supervised by any person.\n (b) If the commissioner has reason to believe that a person is being\ndetained or given inadequate, unskillful, cruel or unsafe care, as\ndescribed in subdivision (a) of this section, he shall promptly\ninvestigate the matter. If, after giving the person accused of violating\nsubdivision (a) of this section an opportunity to be heard, he finds\nthat a violation did occur, the commissioner shall issue an order\ndirecting that person to cease and desist from continued violation.\n (c) In addition to any other remedies available under this article,\nthe commissioner may bring an action in the supreme court to enjoin any\nperson from unlawfully subjecting a person with a developmental\ndisability to physical, sexual, or emotional abuse, or active, passive\nor self neglect, or detaining a person with a developmental disability\nor providing inadequate, unskillful, cruel or unsafe care or supervision\nfor such a person.\n (d) (1) If, upon receiving a report that any adult thought to have a\ndevelopmental disability has been subjected to physical, sexual, or\nemotional abuse, or active, passive or self neglect, and the\ncommissioner has reason to believe that such adult is known by the\ncommissioner to have received services from providers duly authorized by\nthe commissioner and has been subjected to such abuse or neglect, the\ncommissioner shall intervene pursuant to this section or, if such adult\nhas not received services from said authorized providers, the\ncommissioner shall, immediately or as soon as practicable, notify adult\nprotective services established pursuant to section four hundred\nseventy-three of the social services law. The commissioner shall, within\nforty-eight hours, forward copies of reports made pursuant to this\nsubdivision to the state commission of quality of care and advocacy for\npersons with disabilities and indicate if such report was referred to\nadult protective services.\n (2) In order to carry out the provisions of this subdivision, the\ncommissioner and commissioner of the office of children and family\nservices shall develop a model memorandum of understanding which shall\nbe entered into between each developmental disability services office\nand each local department of social services within its jurisdiction.\nSuch agreement shall define the responsibilities of each developmental\ndisability services office and social services district with respect to\nreports pursuant to paragraph one of this subdivision and reasonable\ntime frames for implementing such responsibilities. Such agreement\nentered into in accord with such memorandum of understanding shall be\nfinalized between all developmental disability services offices and all\nlocal departments of social services no later than ninety days after the\neffective date of this subdivision. A developmental disabilities\nservices office shall be deemed a provider of services for the purposes\nof access to adult protective records under section four hundred\nseventy-three-e of the social services law.\n (e) The commissioner shall promulgate rules and regulations requiring\nthat when the office or a provider licensed, certified or operated by\nthe office conducts an investigation regarding potential abuse,\nmaltreatment or neglect of a person receiving services, any affected\nemployee or volunteer shall be provided a copy of regulations and\nprocedures governing such investigations and, in writing, notify the\nemployee or volunteer subject of the investigation of the right and\nprocedures for obtaining and responding to any report filed by the\nprovider with the office in accordance with this section.\n