State Codes and Statutes

Statutes > Connecticut > Title17b > Chap319dd > Sec17b-454

      Sec. 17b-454. (Formerly Sec. 17a-434). Access to records. Authority of Department of Social Services. Any person, department, agency or commission authorized to carry out the duties enumerated in sections 17b-450 to 17b-461, inclusive, shall have access to all relevant records, except that records which are confidential to an elderly person shall only be divulged with the written consent of the elderly person or the representative of such elderly person. If the Commissioner of Social Services has reasonable cause to believe that the elderly person lacks capacity to give consent to release confidential records or if the caretaker of such elderly person is refusing consent and the commissioner has reasonable cause to believe that such caretaker has abused, neglected, exploited or abandoned the elderly person, the commissioner may issue a subpoena to obtain confidential records necessary to investigate the allegations of abuse, neglect, exploitation or abandonment. The commissioner may request the Attorney General to petition the Superior Court for such order as may be appropriate to enforce the provisions of this section. The authority of the Department of Social Services shall include, but not be limited to, the right to initiate or otherwise take those actions necessary to assure the health, safety and welfare of any elderly person, subject to any specific requirement for individual consent, and the right to authorize the transfer of an elderly person from a nursing home.

      (P.A. 77-613, S. 5, 15; 77-614, S. 521, 587, 610; P.A. 78-303, S. 85, 136; P.A. 93-262, S. 52, 87; P.A. 01-209, S. 3, 7.)

      History: P.A. 77-614 and P.A. 78-303 replaced department of social services with department of human resources, effective January 1, 1979; Sec. 46a-18 transferred to Sec. 17a-434 in 1991; P.A. 93-262 changed reference to departments of income maintenance and human resources to department of social services, effective July 1, 1993; Sec. 17a-434 transferred to Sec. 17b-454 in 1995; P.A. 01-209 added provisions re subpoena power of commissioner, allowed commissioner to request Attorney General to seek a court order as appropriate to enforce provisions of section and made a technical change for purposes of gender neutrality, effective July 1, 2001.

      See Sec. 19a-534 re emergency transfer of patients to other facilities.

      See Sec. 19a-535 re transfer or discharge of patients generally.

      Annotation to former section 46a-18:

      Cited. 199 C. 524.