(1) (a) A person specified in subsection
(1)(b) of this section who observes the mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk
adult or who has reasonable cause to believe that an at-risk adult has been
mistreated or is self-neglecting or is at imminent risk of mistreatment or self-neglect is urged to report such fact to a county department not more than twenty-four hours after making the observation or discovery.
(a.5) As required by section 18-6.5-108, C.R.S., certain persons specified in
paragraph (b) of this subsection (1) who observe the mistreatment, as defined in
section 18-6.5-102 (10.5), C.R.S., of an at-risk elder, as defined in section 18-6.5-102
(3), C.R.S., or an at-risk adult with IDD, as defined in section 18-6.5-102 (2.5), C.R.S.,
or who have reasonable cause to believe that an at-risk elder or an at-risk adult
with IDD has been mistreated or is at imminent risk of mistreatment shall report
such fact to a law enforcement agency not more than twenty-four hours after
making the observation or discovery.
(b) The following persons, whether paid or unpaid, are urged to report as
described in subsection (1)(a) of this section:
(I) Any person providing health-care or health-care-related services
including general medical, surgical, or nursing services; medical, surgical, or
nursing speciality services; dental services; vision services; pharmacy services;
chiropractic services; or physical, occupational, musical, or other therapies;
(II) Hospital and long-term care facility personnel engaged in the admission,
care, or treatment of patients;
(III) First responders, including emergency medical service providers, fire
protection personnel, law enforcement officers, and persons employed by,
contracting with, or volunteering with any law enforcement agency, including victim
advocates;
(IV) Code enforcement officers;
(V) Medical examiners and coroners;
(VI) Veterinarians;
(VII) Psychologists, addiction counselors, professional counselors, marriage
and family therapists, and unlicensed psychotherapists, as those persons are
defined in article 245 of title 12;
(VIII) Social workers, as defined in part 4 of article 245 of title 12;
(IX) Staff of case management agencies, as defined in section 25.5-6-1702;
(X) Staff, consultants, or independent contractors of service agencies, as
defined in section 25.5-10-202 (34), C.R.S.;
(XI) Staff or consultants for a licensed or unlicensed, certified or uncertified,
care facility, agency, home, or governing board, including but not limited to long-term care facilities, home care agencies, or home health providers;
(XII) Caretakers, staff members, employees of, or consultants for, a home
care placement agency, as defined in section 25-27.5-102 (5), C.R.S.;
(XIII) Persons performing case management or assistant services for at-risk
adults;
(XIV) Staff of county departments of human or social services;
(XV) Staff of the state departments of human services, public health and
environment, or health care policy and financing;
(XVI) Staff of senior congregate centers or senior research or outreach
organizations;
(XVII) Staff, and staff of contracted providers, of area agencies on aging,
except the long-term care ombudsmen;
(XVIII) Employees, contractors, and volunteers operating specialized
transportation services for at-risk adults;
(XIX) Landlords and staff of housing and housing authority agencies for at-risk adults;
(XX) Court-appointed guardians and conservators;
(XXI) Personnel at schools serving persons in preschool through twelfth
grade;
(XXII) Clergy members; except that the reporting requirement described in
paragraph (a) of this subsection (1) does not apply to a person who acquires
reasonable cause to believe that an at-risk adult has been mistreated or has been
exploited or is at imminent risk of mistreatment or exploitation during a
communication about which the person may not be examined as a witness pursuant
to section 13-90-107 (1)(c), C.R.S., unless the person also acquires such reasonable
cause from a source other than such a communication; and
(XXIII) Persons working in financial services industries, including banks,
savings and loan associations, credit unions, and other lending or financial
institutions; accountants; mortgage brokers; life insurance agents; and financial
planners.
(c) In addition to those persons urged by this subsection (1) to report known
or suspected mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult and circumstances or
conditions that might reasonably result in mistreatment or self-neglect, any other
person may report such known or suspected mistreatment or self-neglect and
circumstances or conditions that might reasonably result in mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult to the local law enforcement agency or the county
department. Upon receipt of such report, the receiving agency shall prepare a
written report within twenty-four hours.
(2) Pursuant to subsection (1) of this section, the report must include:
(a) The name and address of the at-risk adult;
(b) The name and address of the at-risk adult's caretaker, if any;
(c) The age, if known, of the at-risk adult;
(d) The nature and extent of the at-risk adult's injury, if any;
(e) The nature and extent of the condition that will reasonably result in
mistreatment or self-neglect; and
(f) Any other pertinent information.
(3) A copy of the written report prepared by the county department in
accordance with subsections (1) and (2) of this section that includes an allegation of
mistreatment must be forwarded within twenty-four hours after receipt of the
report to a local law enforcement agency. A written report prepared by a local law
enforcement agency must be forwarded within one business day of the receipt of
the report to the county department.
(4) A person, including a person specified in subsection (1) of this section,
shall not knowingly make a false report of mistreatment or self-neglect to a county
department or local law enforcement agency. Any person who willfully violates the
provisions of this subsection (4) commits a class 2 misdemeanor and shall be
punished as provided in section 18-1.3-501, and shall be liable for damages
proximately caused thereby.
(5) Any person, except a perpetrator, complicitor, or coconspirator, who
makes a report pursuant to this section shall be immune from any civil or criminal
liability on account of such report, testimony, or participation in making such report,
so long as such action was taken in good faith and not in reckless disregard of the
truth or in violation of subsection (4) of this section.
(6) A person shall not take any discriminatory, disciplinary, or retaliatory
action against any person who, in good faith, makes a report or fails to make a
report of suspected mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult.
(7) (a) Except as provided in subsection (7)(b) of this section, reports of the
mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk adult, including the name and address of
any at-risk adult, member of said adult's family, or informant, or any other
identifying information contained in such reports and subsequent cases resulting
from the reports, is confidential and is not public information.
(b) Disclosure of a report of the mistreatment or self-neglect of an at-risk
adult and information relating to an investigation of such a report and subsequent
cases resulting from the report is permitted only when authorized by a court for
good cause. A court order is not required, and such disclosure is not prohibited,
when:
(I) A criminal investigation into an allegation of mistreatment is being
conducted, when a review of death by a coroner is being conducted when the death
is suspected to be related to mistreatment, or when a criminal complaint,
information, or indictment is filed and the report and case information is relevant to
the investigation, death review, complaint, or indictment;
(II) There is a death of a suspected at-risk adult from mistreatment or self-neglect and a law enforcement agency files a formal charge or a grand jury issues
an indictment in connection with the death;
(III) The disclosure is necessary for the coordination of multiple agencies'
joint investigation of a report or for the provision of protective services to an at-risk
adult;
(IV) The disclosure is necessary for purposes of an audit of a county
department of human or social services pursuant to section 26-1-114.5;
(V) The disclosure is made for purposes of the appeals process relating to a
substantiated case of mistreatment of an at-risk adult pursuant to section 26-3.1-108 (2). The provisions of this subsection (7)(b)(V) are in addition to and not in lieu of
other federal and state laws concerning protected or confidential information.
(VI) The disclosure is made by the state department to an employer, or to a
person or entity conducting employee screening on behalf of the employer, as part
of a CAPS check pursuant to section 26-3.1-111 or by a county department pursuant
to section 26-3.1-107.
(VII) The disclosure is made to the at-risk adult who is the subject of the
report, or if the at-risk adult is otherwise incompetent at the time of the request, to
the guardian or guardian ad litem for the at-risk adult who is the subject of the
report. The information disclosed pursuant to this subsection (7)(b)(VII) must not be
disclosed until after the investigation is complete and must not include any
identifying information related to the reporting party or any other appropriate
persons. If the guardian is the substantiated perpetrator in a case of mistreatment
of an at-risk adult, the disclosure must not be made without authorization by a court
for good cause unless the disclosure is being made for the purposes of the
guardian's appeal process described in subsection (7)(b)(V) of this section. If the
court authorizes the release of information to a substantiated perpetrator, any
protected or confidential information pursuant to federal or state law must not be
disclosed.
(VIII) The disclosure is made to a county department that assesses or
provides protective services for children, when the information is necessary to
adequately assess for safety and risk or to provide protective services for a child.
The information disclosed pursuant to this subsection (7)(b)(VIII) is limited to
information regarding prior or current referrals, assessments, investigations, or
case information related to an at-risk adult or an alleged perpetrator. A county
department that assesses or provides protective services for at-risk adults is
similarly permitted to access information from a county department that assesses
or provides protective services for children pursuant to section 19-1-307 (2)(x). The
provisions of this subsection (7)(b)(VIII) are in addition to and not in lieu of other
federal and state laws concerning protected or confidential information.
(IX) The disclosure is made to an employer required to request a CAPS check
pursuant to section 26-3.1-111 or to the state department agency that oversees the
employer when the information is necessary to ensure the safety of other at-risk
adults under the care of the employer. The information must be the minimum
information necessary to ensure the safety of other at-risk adults under the care of
the employer or oversight of the state department agency.
(X) The disclosure is made pursuant to section 26-3.1-111 (12) to a health
oversight agency, as defined in 42 CFR 164.501, within the department of
regulatory agencies or a regulator, as defined in section 12-20-102 (14), within such
a health oversight agency; and
(XI) The disclosure is made to the court pursuant to section 26-3.1-111 (3)(b)
and (8.5)(b).
(c) Any person who violates any provision of this subsection (7) commits a
civil infraction.