The Massachusetts House of Representatives passed a bill Jan. 15 to create a list of care providers who have harmed anyone with an intellectual or developmental disability.
The bill, dubbed “Nicky’s Law,” would prevent such care providers from being hired by programs and employers funded and operated by the Department of Developmental Services. The state Senate passed its version of the law in October, and the two chambers must now agree on a joint bill before it lands on Gov. Charlie Baker’s desk.
The law was named after Nicky Chan, an autistic and non-verbal man whose family discovered he was being physically beaten at his daycare program.
After discovering the maltreatment toward her son, Nicky’s mother Cheryl Chan connected with Sen. Mike Moore, as well as The Arc of Massachusetts, a group advocating for those with intellectual and developmental disabilities, to draft a bill to protect people with disabilities from abuse.
Maura Sullivan, director of government affairs at the Arc of Massachusetts, contributed to the five years of work that led up to the bill’s passing in the House. Sullivan said although the legislation won’t prevent all future abuses in the system, it is a great first step to bar those who have harmed in the past from future opportunities to do the same.
“This bill isn’t going to stop abuse across the system, but it will stop repeated abusers,” Sullivan said. “I think that is a huge fear for parents, family members and individuals who don’t know whether they can trust the people taking care of them.”
The ratio of criminal charges to abuse case referrals in the last decade is in the 10 to 15 percent range, according to statistics provided by The Arc. This means there are caretakers who have committed abuse who are still working, unconvicted and uncharged.
Sullivan said what is legally considered abuse would have to meet specific criteria as defined by the bill. Abuse, Sullivan said, must be something that has been substantiated by an investigation through police and the DDS or the Disabled Persons Protection Commission.
“Not every little thing, neglectful situation or a situation that only needs retraining would end up on the registry, but severe physical and emotional abuse would do that,” Sullivan said. “Every state is a little different. [Massachusetts] has a higher standard of abuse, but a longer time on the registry.”
Sullivan said the registry is currently available only to providers within the Massachusetts DDS.
“We definitely hope in the very next session that we will be able to expand the registry to other agencies in Massachusetts,” Sullivan said. “We hope to really grow the registry across Human Services.”
Bonnie Griffith, care manager supervisor at Adult Foster Care of the North Shore, an organization that provides support for adults with disabilities, said that while her agency has a screening process for their caregivers, gaining access to the additional registry would be helpful.
“I think [for] anybody that needs to be cared for and is looking for help to find that person, it’s our obligation to do our diligence to screen them the best that we can,” Griffith said. “Having another form of registry will be very helpful because sometimes things that happen don’t get reported on.”
Abuse of disabled individuals can vary depending on the situation, Griffith said, and that they can range from verbal to financial.
“Sometimes, in a family situation, a person with a disability will receive a social security check [that is] supposed to be primarily for their care,” Griffith said, “and we see it being used not appropriately.”
According to Griffith, a healthy relationship between a caregiver and a patient should include qualities such as trust, comfort, personality and an “intimate” understanding of each other.
“It’s important that the person with the disability feels comfortable at that level,” Griffith said. “The caregiver should be comfortable with whatever situation as well. There are always so many variables.”
Back Bay resident Lisa Liu, 28, said although she supports the bill, she is confused as to why something like “Nicky’s Law” wouldn’t already exist.
“It seems obvious that caregivers who are abusers should never be able to find a job again,” Liu said. “I wouldn’t ever want someone who’s deliberately caused others harm to be anywhere near me or people I care about.”
Emily O’Loughlin, 44, of Downtown said she is appalled by the idea of a person with disabilities receiving the treatment Chan had.
“I can’t imagine hiring someone to take care of a disabled family member, only to find out that they have been abusing someone close to me in private, whether verbally or physically,” O’Loughlin said. “I’m glad that the bill has been passed. I hope [Chan] is doing well.”
Tina Dwyer, 37, of South Boston said she thinks a solution should have been created faster.
“It’s really a shame it took them this long to finally realize that disabled people get abused,” Dwyer said. “Really took them a long time to come up with a simple solution.”
