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Developed and maintained by the Division of Legislative Automated Systems.
2001 SESSION
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
1. That § 63.1-55.3 of the Code of Virginia is amended and reenacted as follows:
§ 63.1-55.3. Protection of aged or incapacitated adults; physicians, nurses, etc., to report abuse, neglect or exploitation of adults; complaint by others; penalty for failure to report.
A. Matters giving reason to suspect the abuse, neglect or exploitation of
adults shall be reported by any person licensed to practice medicine or any of
the healing arts, any hospital resident or intern, any person employed in the nursing
profession, any person employed by a public or private agency or facility and working with
adults, any person providing full-time or part-time care to adults for pay on a
regularly scheduled basis, any person employed as a social worker, any mental
health professional and any law-enforcement officer, in his professional or
official capacity, who has reason to suspect that an adult is an abused,
neglected or exploited adult, shall. The report the matter shall be made
immediately to the local department of the county or city wherein the adult resides or wherein the abuse, neglect or
exploitation is believed to have occurred. If neither locality is known, then
the report shall be made to the local department of the county or city where
the abuse, neglect, or exploitation was discovered. If the information is
received by a staff member, resident, intern or nurse in the course of
professional services in a hospital or similar institution, such person may, in
place of the report, immediately notify the person in charge of the institution
or department, or his designee, who shall make such report forthwith. Any
person required to make the report or notification required by this subsection
shall do so either orally or in writing and shall disclose all information
which that is the basis for the suspicion of abuse, neglect or
exploitation of the adult. Upon request, any person required to make the report
shall make available to the adult protective services worker and the local
department investigating the reported case of abuse, neglect or exploitation
any information, records or reports which document the basis for the report.
All persons required to report suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation who
maintain a record of a person who is the subject of such a report shall
cooperate with the investigating adult protective services worker of a local
department and shall make information, records and reports which are relevant
to the investigation available to such worker to the extent permitted by state
and federal law.
B. The report required by subsection A shall be reduced to writing within seventy-two hours by the director of the local department on a form prescribed by the State Board of Social Services.
C. Any person required to make a report pursuant to subsection A who has reason to suspect that an adult has been sexually abused as that term is defined in § 18.2-67.10, and any person in charge of a hospital or similar institution, or a department thereof, who receives such information from a staff member, resident, intern or nurse, also shall immediately report the matter, either orally or in writing, to the local law-enforcement agency where the adult resides or the sexual abuse is believed to have occurred, or if neither locality is known, then where the abuse was discovered. The person making the report shall disclose and, upon request, make available to the law-enforcement agency all information forming the basis of the report.
D. Any financial institution that suspects that an adult customer has been exploited financially may report such suspected exploitation to the local department of the county or city wherein the adult resides or wherein the exploitation is believed to have occurred. Such a complaint may be oral or in writing. For purposes of this section, a financial institution means any bank, savings institution, credit union, securities firm or insurance company.
E. Any person other than those specified in subsection A who suspects that an adult is an abused, neglected or exploited adult may report the matter to the local department of the county or city wherein the adult resides or wherein the abuse, neglect or exploitation is believed to have occurred. Such a complaint may be oral or in writing.
E. F. Any person who makes a report or provides records or information pursuant
to subsection A, or D or E of this section or who testifies in any judicial
proceeding arising from such report, records or information shall be immune
from any civil or criminal liability on account of such report, records,
information or testimony, unless such person acted in bad faith or with a
malicious purpose.
F. G. All law-enforcement departments and other state and local departments,
agencies, authorities and institutions shall cooperate with each adult protective services worker of
a local department in the detection and prevention of abuse, neglect or exploitation of adults.
G. H. Any person who is found guilty of failing to make a required report or
notification pursuant to subsection A or C of this section, within 24 hours of having the reason to
suspect abuse shall be fined not more than $500 for the first failure and not less than $100 nor more
than $1,000 for any subsequent failures.