What's happening
This bill requires oversight, audits, and new policies for managing cash accounts and gift cards for people with developmental disabilities in state facilities.
Why it matters
Addresses risks of financial exploitation and mismanagement. by requiring consistent audits and policies for handling residents’ cash and gift cards, giving families and advocates greater confidence in the protection of vulnerable individuals’ funds.
Establishes standardized procedures and training. for staff conducting audits, which can reduce errors, prevent fraud, and ensure greater accountability across all facilities, regardless of location or operator.
Improves transparency and documentation. by mandating that gift cards are tracked as part of personal expenditure plans and prohibiting unverifiable self-generated receipts, making it harder for funds to be misused or unaccounted for.
May increase administrative workload and oversight responsibilities. for facility supervisors and staff, potentially prompting improvements in internal controls but also requiring additional resources or adjustments to current practices.
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Who cares
Residents with developmental disabilities
The bill would safeguard their cash accounts through mandatory audits and rules governing gift card purchases and use.
Certified facilities and service providers
They would face statewide cash-account audit requirements and a ban on self-generated receipts as evidence of meals purchased by cash custodians outside the residence.
Supervisors and staff conducting audits
They would receive a uniform audit system and direct training, while supervisory staff would have to include gift cards in residents’ personal expenditure plans.
Commissioner overseeing certified facilities and providers
The bill would require the commissioner to establish audit policies, provide training and develop gift card rules, including notification to supervisors when residents receive gift cards.
Headline styles
Protect Disabled Residents’ Money
Plain English, a few words. Used as the page title.
Sponsors
Senator · Senate District 8
History
- Referred to mental health
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 60–0
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.612
- Referred to mental health and developmental disabilities
- Returned to senate
- Died in assembly
- Referred to mental health
- Delivered to assembly
- Passed senateVote 60–0
Show 6 earlier actions
- Amended on third reading 1672a
- Advanced to third reading
- 2nd report cal.
- 1st report cal.422
- Reported and committed to finance
- Referred to mental health and developmental disabilities
Companion bill
The same bill in the other chamber. A bill becomes law when one version passes both houses and the governor signs it, so either number can carry it.
Protect Facility Resident Funds
In Assembly Committee · Mental Health · Sponsor Kimberly Jean-Pierre
Full text
2 pagesUnderlined is new[Struck] is removedOfficial text on nysenate.gov ↗
STATE OF NEW YORK
1672--A Cal. No. 422
2019-2020 Regular Sessions
IN SENATE
January 15, 2019
Introduced by Sens. BROOKS, KENNEDY, RIVERA, SANDERS -- read twice and ordered printed, and when printed to be committed to the Committee on Mental Health and Developmental Disabilities -- reported favorably from said committee and committed to the Committee on Finance -reported favorably from said committee, ordered to first and second report, ordered to a third reading, amended and ordered reprinted, retaining its place in the order of third reading
AN ACT to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to safeguarding cash accounts for people with developmental disabilities in a facility
The People of the State of New York, represented in Senate and Assembly, do enact as follows:
Section 1. Subdivision (f) of section 16.11 of the mental hygiene law is relettered subdivision (g) and a new subdivision (f) is added to read as follows:
(f) The commissioner shall provide for the oversight of facilities and providers of services holding operating certificates pursuant to section 16.03 of this article by:
(1) developing a statewide policy mandating audits for residents' cash accounts including the frequency of the audits, who is responsible for conducting the audits, and policies and procedures for how the audits will be conducted;
(2) developing a uniform system for audits of residents' cash accounts to assist supervisors in audits;
(3) providing training directly to anyone required to conduct audits of residents' cash accounts, including information regarding audit policies and practices of residents' cash accounts;
(4) developing a policy on the purchase and use of gift cards by or on behalf of residents, including, but not limited to, requirements that supervisory staff include gift cards in residents' personal expenditure plans and notification to supervisors of the purchase or delivery of a gift card to a resident; and
EXPLANATION--Matter in italics (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
[ ] is old law to be omitted.
LBD06816-02-9
S. 1672--A 2
(5) prohibiting the use of self-generated receipts as evidence of a meal purchased by cash custodians for meals outside the residence.
§ 2. This act shall take effect on the one hundred twentieth day after it shall have become a law. Effective immediately, the addition, amendment and/or repeal of any rule or regulation necessary for the implementation of this act on its effective date are authorized to be made and completed on or before such effective date.
Reflowed for reading: line numbers and page breaks removed. Cite the official text.
Sponsor's memo
Title of bill
An act to amend the mental hygiene law, in relation to safeguarding cash accounts for people with developmental disabilities in a facility
Purpose
The purpose of this bill is to establish a uniform set of procedures and guidelines for the management of cash accounts for residents who live in individualized residential alternatives.
Summary of provisions
Section 1. directs the commissioner of the Office for People With Devel- opmental Disabilities to provide for the oversight of facilities and providers of services under section 16.03 of the mental hygiene law relating to the management of the cash accounts of residents. Oversight of resident's cash accounts shall include a statewide policy mandating audits, policies governing the purchase of gift cards, and prohibiting the use of self-generated receipts as evidence of meal purchases by cash custodians for meals outside of the residence.
Section 2. is the enacting clause
Justification
Under New York State law, residents who live in individualized residen- tial alternatives (such as community residences) and family care home settings are entitled to personal allowance accounts that the resident can use for personal expenses such as personal shopping, entertainment, vacation, home and family visits. Staff members who assist residents with their purchases must comply with the Personal Expenditure Plan.
In October 2016, Inspector General Catherine Leahy Scott released the results of an investigation of personal allowance accounts maintained by OPWDD on behalf of OPWDD residents. The Inspector General's 'office investigated ten instances of mismanagement of cash accounts maintained by OPWDD and concluded that OPWDD's current policies regarding the management of personal allowance accounts fails to adequately safeguard residents' personal allowance accounts.
Among other things, the report found that residents' personal allowance accounts were "pilfered" by OPWDD employees because of inadequate safe- guards and oversight of the accounts by supervisors and OPWDD. The report recommended OPWDD take the following actions: Provide standard- ized training on the management and review of individuals' personal allowance accounts to staff in supervisory positions; Develop a state- wide approach to implement the use of debit cards for individuals' personal allowance accounts and a policy on their use; Issue a policy on the process for purchasing, recording and using gift cards for individ- uals in its care; Reinforce the requirement of an original receipt from the vendor documenting a transaction for out-of-residence mean purchases; Reinforce existing policy requiring purchases to be invento- ried upon receipt in the home; and Retrain staff on the requirement to conduct an inventory at the time of purchase and to follow proper proce- dures.
This bill would require OPWDD to implement the recommendations made in the Inspector General Report in order to better safeguard OPWDD resi- dents' personal allowance accounts, though recommendations regarding debit card use are being pursued in separate legislation.
Fiscal implications
None to the state
Local fiscal implications
To be determined.
Effective date
This act shall take effect immediately.
Summaries, headlines and scores are AI-generated from the official bill text. How we score bills. Source: NYS Open Legislation.