ALBANY — “This is a civil rights issue,” said Michael Carey, standing on the third floor of the state Capitol building on Tuesday, June 6, with a handful of state legislators, members of the Autism Action Network and other family advocates to announce support for a bill that would require 911 to be called any time that a disabled individual in the care of a state or private facility shows signs of injury or abuse.
Under current law, when individuals with physical or cognitive disabilities exhibit signs of potential abuse, or if abuse is directly witnessed by caretakers or other human service professionals (i.e., doctors, teachers, therapists, legal representatives) who are designated “mandated reporters” by the state, the incident must be reported to the “vulnerable persons’ central register (VPCR),” run by the state Justice Center for the Protection of People with Special Needs, located in Delmar. At present, there is no requirement for mandated reporters to call emergency services or report the incident to law enforcement.
“This bill ends a discriminatory practice,” said Carey. “We’re treating the disabled unequally and not providing them the same emergency medical and police services.” In many cases, he said, even when there’s a death, 911 is never called. He referenced a 2014 report by Disability Right New York that found that a leading cause of “untimely death” of individuals receiving care was “telephone triage,” or “communication between direct care provider and on call nursing to assess need for medical attention.”
Carey is the father of Jonathan Carey, a developmentally disabled 13-year-old who died in 2007 when his caretaker at the Oswald D. Heck Developmental Center in Niskayuna crushed him to death while restraining him. Carey sued the state and won a $5 million settlement. He has since dedicated his life to fighting a system that he holds responsible for the loss of his son.
“I’ve sat down with three governors on this,” he said of the 911 legislation. “Face to face. I’ve pleaded with them. Including the current one.”
Not only does he believe that disabled individuals are deserving of the same emergency attention and care as everyone else, Carey also believes that involving emergency services will help to end what he characterizes as a culture of covering up incidents of abuse. “This stuff isn’t getting to the local police,” he said, “and stuff is disappearing internally, constantly.”
The Office of the State Comptroller recently released an audit criticizing The Justice Center for withholding documents regarding incidents of abuse that it is responsible for investigating. “Consequently,” it said, “we were unable to review more than 70 percent of the individual incidents reported in the VPCR database, including any cases where investigations have not been completed or where allegations were deemed to be unfounded . . . in most cases, the controls and compliance we were able to evaluate related more to ensuring that persons accused of (and subsequently found to have committed) serious instances of Abuse and Neglect received due process – and less to ensuring that all allegations of acts against vulnerable individuals had been investigated fully and timely and referred to law enforcement when appropriate.”
According to available information, the Justice Center declined to investigate most of the nearly 1,400 deaths of disabled individuals in state care during the past two years, leaving the majority of investigations to the facilities themselves.
Justice Center officials declined to comment.
Under the proposed legislation, mandated reporters would not only be required to call 911, but also notify both the district attorney and the VPCR. It would also amend current law to make the failure to do so a class E felony, rather than a class A misdemeanor.
“This bill is going to profoundly reform the state’s mental health system,” said Carey.
Two years ago, he took the legislation to Assembly Speaker Carl Heastie. Carey said Heastie told him he needed to get 76 Assembly members to sign on to the bill before he was willing to bring it to the floor for a vote. While Carey was only able to get 51 members to sign last year, more than 150 legislators from both houses have signaled their support this year.
“Most of them had no clue that the disabled weren’t getting 911 medical and police services when they were not in their home,” said Carey.
“How do we, as legislators, make good policy if we don’t know what’s going on?” asked Assemblyman Michael Kearns (D-West Seneca). “If this stuff is hidden, if it is swept under the rug, then we can’t stop it.”
“Each day people with disabilities and other vulnerabilities face abusive situations that go unreported,” said Assemblywoman Melissa Miller (R-Atlantic Beach). “The passage of this legislation will minimize abuse and ensure that the disabled community will be treated properly.”
Kearns and Miller both have close family members with special needs and spoke about the importance of giving disabled loved ones a voice. “This is so critical,” said Miller.
“This legislation offers further protections for the most vulnerable in our community who face abuse and cannot protect themselves from it,” said Assemblyman Peter Lopez (R-Schoharie), who referenced an Associated Press analysis from 2015, which found that only 2.5 percent of 7,000 substantiated allegations of abuse or neglect by caregivers in New York resulted in criminal charges. “As a society, we cannot tolerate the abuse of the disabled in our communities. This legislation will help ensure those responsible will be held accountable for their actions.”
Also on hand to show their support were Assistant Speaker Félix Ortiz (D-Brooklyn) and Assembly members Joseph Errigo (R-Pittsford), Michael Montesano (R-Hicksville), Brian Miller (R-New Hartford) and Dan Stec (R-Queensbury).
Concern has been raised by opponents online, in response to a Syracuse.com story, that 911 systems could potentially become overwhelmed.
“We are trusting Speaker Heastie to bring this bill to the floor for a vote,” said Carey. “We’re asking that everyone who wants to end this deadly discrimination against the disabled to call legislative leaders and their state legislators and ask them to swiftly bring the 911 Civil Rights Bill (S4736A/A6830) to the floor in both the Senate and the Assembly.”
