N.J. Admin. Code § 10:44D-5.1

Current through Register Vol. 56, No. 23, December 2, 2024

Section 10:44D-5.1 - Central Registry of Offenders Against Individuals with Developmental Disabilities Review

(a) The Commissioner, or the Commissioner's designee, shall decide whether to place the names of a caregiver who has been found to be a substantiated perpetrator of abuse, neglect, or exploitation on the Central Registry of Offenders Against Individuals with Developmental Disabilities.

1. As soon as possible, and no later than 14 business days after receipt of the completed investigation report of the incident of abuse, neglect, or exploitation, the Commissioner, or the Commissioner's designee, shall review the incident.

2. The offending caregiver of a substantiated incident shall be included on the Central Registry as expeditiously as possible.

3. The decision of the Commissioner, or the Commissioner's designee, shall be deemed to be the departmental finding.

(b) The Commissioner, or the Commissioner's designee, shall notify the individual, who has been substantiated as a perpetrator of abuse, neglect, and/or exploitation, of the intention to place or not place him or her on the Central Registry of Offenders Against Individuals with Developmental Disabilities. The notification will include the perpetrator's name, address, the Unusual Incident Report number issued by the Critical Incident Management Unit, date upon which the decision was made, brief description of the incident and findings, and, in the case of placement on the Central Registry, a summary of the right to appeal procedures. Copies of the notification will be sent to the perpetrator's employer and the contracting or licensing unit providing funding to the perpetrator.

1. The Commissioner, or the Commissioner's designee, shall also notify the guardian of the individual with a developmental disability who was the subject of the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the caregiver's inclusion on the Central Registry, as set forth in P.L. 2017, c. 238 (designated as Stephen Komninos' Law). The Commissioner, or the Commissioner's designee, shall designate staff to notify the individual of any action taken by the Department to remediate a condition that may have contributed to the occurrence of the abuse, neglect, or exploitation of the individual. If the individual with a developmental disability has no guardian, notification pursuant to this subsection shall be given to an authorized family member who requests such notification, unless the individual has expressly prohibited the family member from receiving such notification.

(c) Forty-five calendar days after having mailed notification of the Commissioner's intent to place a person on the Central Registry to the substantiated perpetrator's best, last known address, that person shall be placed on the Central Registry, unless that person properly requests an informal hearing or a hearing before the Office of Administrative Law, as described in N.J.A.C. 10:44D-6.1 and 6.2.

(d) Any person placed on the Central Registry shall cease all contact with persons with developmental disabilities, except immediate family members, for whom they directly or indirectly received State funding, upon notification.

(e) Upon placement on the Central Registry, a person shall remain on the Central Registry until an affirmative proof of rehabilitation is offered to the Commissioner who will determine if removal of the individual from the Central Registry is warranted (as described in at 10:44D-6.3) .

N.J. Admin. Code § 10:44D-5.1

Amended by 51 N.J.R. 85(a), effective 1/7/2019