                                 CODE OF VIRGINIA

PROTECTION OF AGED OR INCAPACITATED ADULTS; MANDATED AND VOLUNTARY REPORTING (§
63.2-1606)

A. Matters giving reason to suspect the abuse, neglect or exploitation of adults
shall be reported immediately upon the reporting person&#8217;s determination
that there is such reason to suspect. Medical facilities inspectors of the
Department of Health are exempt from reporting suspected abuse immediately while
conducting federal inspection surveys in accordance with § 1864 of Title XVIII
and Title XIX of the Social Security Act, as amended, of certified nursing
facilities as defined in § 32.1-123. Reports shall be made to the local
department or the adult protective services hotline in accordance with
requirements of this section by the following persons acting in their
professional capacity:

   1. Any person licensed, certified, or registered by health regulatory boards
   listed in &#xA7; 54.1-2503, with the exception of persons licensed by the
   Board of Veterinary Medicine;

   2. Any mental health services provider as defined in &#xA7; 54.1-2400.1;

   3. Any emergency medical services provider certified by the Board of Health
   pursuant to &#xA7; 32.1-111.5, unless such provider immediately reports the
   suspected abuse, neglect or exploitation directly to the attending physician
   at the hospital to which the adult is transported, who shall make such report
   forthwith;

   4. Any guardian or conservator of an adult;

   5. Any person employed by or contracted with a public or private agency or
   facility and working with adults in an administrative, supportive or direct
   care capacity;

   6. Any person providing full, intermittent or occasional care to an adult for
   compensation, including, but not limited to, companion, chore, homemaker, and
   personal care workers;

   7. Any law-enforcement officer; and

   8. Any person who engages in the practice of behavior analysis, as defined in
   &#xA7; 54.1-2900.

B. The report shall be made in accordance with subsection A to the local
department of the county or city wherein the adult resides or wherein the adult
abuse, neglect or exploitation is believed to have occurred or to the adult
protective services hotline. Nothing in this section shall be construed to
eliminate or supersede any other obligation to report as required by law. If a
person required to report under this section receives information regarding
abuse, neglect or exploitation while providing professional services in a
hospital, nursing facility or similar institution, then he may, in lieu of
reporting, notify the person in charge of the institution or his designee, who
shall report such information, in accordance with the institution&#8217;s
policies and procedures for reporting such matters, immediately upon his
determination that there is reason to suspect abuse, neglect or exploitation.
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 that is the basis for the suspicion of adult abuse, neglect or
exploitation. 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 adult abuse, neglect or exploitation any
information, records or reports which document the basis for the report. All
persons required to report suspected adult abuse, neglect or exploitation 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. Criminal investigative reports received from law-enforcement
agencies shall not be further disseminated by the investigating agency nor shall
they be subject to public disclosure; such reports may, however, be disclosed to
the Adult Fatality Review Team as provided in &#xA7; 32.1-283.5 or to a local or
regional adult fatality review team as provided in &#xA7; 32.1-283.6 and, if
reviewed by the Team or a local or regional adult fatality review team, shall be
subject to applicable confidentiality requirements of the Team or a local or
regional adult fatality review team.

C. Any financial institution staff who suspects that an adult has been exploited
financially may report such suspected financial exploitation and provide
supporting information and records to the local department of the county or city
wherein the adult resides or wherein the exploitation is believed to have
occurred or to the adult protective services hotline.

D. 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 or to the adult
protective services hotline.

E. Any person who makes a report or provides records or information pursuant to
subsection A, C, or D, or who testifies in any judicial proceeding arising from
such report, records or information, or who takes or causes to be taken with the
adult&#8217;s or the adult&#8217;s legal representative&#8217;s informed consent
photographs, video recordings, or appropriate medical imaging of the adult who
is subject of a report shall be immune from any civil or criminal liability on
account of such report, records, information, photographs, video recordings,
appropriate medical imaging or testimony, unless such person acted in bad faith
or with a malicious purpose.

F. An employer of a mandated reporter shall not prohibit a mandated reporter
from reporting directly to the local department or to the adult protective
services hotline. Employers whose employees are mandated reporters shall notify
employees upon hiring of the requirement to report.

G. Any person 14 years of age or older who makes or causes to be made a report
of adult abuse, neglect, or exploitation that he knows to be false is guilty of
a Class 4 misdemeanor. Any subsequent conviction of this provision is a Class 2
misdemeanor.

H. Any person who fails to make a required report or notification pursuant to
subsection A shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500 for the
first failure and not less than $100 nor more than $1,000 for any subsequent
failures. Civil penalties under subdivision A 7 shall be determined by a court
of competent jurisdiction, in its discretion. All other civil penalties under
this section shall be determined by the Commissioner for Aging and
Rehabilitative Services or his designee. The Commissioner for Aging and
Rehabilitative Services shall establish by regulation a process for imposing and
collecting civil penalties, and a process for appeal of the imposition of such
penalty pursuant to &#xA7; 2.2-4026 of the Administrative Process Act.

I. Any mandated reporter who has reasonable cause to suspect that an adult died
as a result of abuse or neglect shall immediately report such suspicion to the
appropriate medical examiner and to the appropriate law-enforcement agency,
notwithstanding the existence of a death certificate signed by a licensed
physician. The medical examiner and the law-enforcement agency shall receive the
report and determine if an investigation is warranted. The medical examiner may
order an autopsy. If an autopsy is conducted, the medical examiner shall report
the findings to law enforcement, as appropriate, and to the local department or
to the adult protective services hotline.

J. No person or entity shall be obligated to report any matter if the person or
entity has actual knowledge that the same matter has already been reported to
the local department or to the adult protective services hotline.

K. 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, investigation
and prevention of adult abuse, neglect and exploitation.

L. Financial institution staff may refuse to execute a transaction, may delay a
transaction, or may refuse to disburse funds if the financial institution staff
(i) believes in good faith that the transaction or disbursement may involve,
facilitate, result in, or contribute to the financial exploitation of an adult
or (ii) makes, or has actual knowledge that another person has made, a report to
the local department or adult protective services hotline stating a good faith
belief that the transaction or disbursement may involve, facilitate, result in,
or contribute to the financial exploitation of an adult. The financial
institution staff may continue to refuse to execute a transaction, delay a
transaction, or refuse to disburse funds for a period no longer than 30 business
days after the date upon which such transaction or disbursement was initially
requested based on a good faith belief that the transaction or disbursement may
involve, facilitate, result in, or contribute to the financial exploitation of
an adult, unless otherwise ordered by a court of competent jurisdiction. Upon
refusing to execute a transaction, delaying a transaction, or refusing to
disburse funds, the financial institution shall report such refusal or delay
within five business days to the local department or the adult protective
services hotline. Upon request, and to the extent permitted by state and federal
law, financial institution staff may report any information or records relevant
to a report or investigation to the local department of social services or to a
court-appointed guardian ad litem for the adult who is the subject of the
investigation. Absent gross negligence or willful misconduct, the financial
institution and its staff shall be immune from civil or criminal liability for
(a) providing information or records to the local department of social services
or to a court-appointed guardian ad litem or (b) refusing to execute a
transaction, delaying a transaction, or refusing to disburse funds pursuant to
this subsection. The authority of a financial institution staff to refuse to
execute a transaction, to delay a transaction, or to refuse to disburse funds
pursuant to this subsection shall not be contingent upon whether financial
institution staff has reported suspected financial exploitation of the adult
pursuant to subsection C.

HISTORY: 1977, c. 547, § 63.1-55.3; 1984, c. 628; 1986, cc. 448, 487; 1990, c.
308; 1991, c. 33; 1994, c. 891; 1997, c. 687; 1999, c. 749; 2001, c. 191; 2002,
c. 747; 2004, cc. 749, 1011; 2008, c. 539; 2009, c. 538; 2012, cc. 803, 835;
2013, cc. 72, 331; 2015, c. 108; 2017, c. 195; 2019, cc. 339, 420, 421; 2020, c.
931; 2021, Sp. Sess. I, cc. 207, 208; 2022, cc. 743, 766.